CRICKET NEWS: IRELAND COACH Phil Simmons has targeted a place in the quarter-finals of the 2011 World Cup after his side got the rub of the green when the groups were unveiled in Johannesburg yesterday.
Ireland have been drawn in Group B with India, South Africa, England, West Indies, Bangladesh and the Netherlands, with the top four teams going through to the quarter-finals in the tournament that will be co-hosted by India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
The tougher-looking Group A is headed by defending champions Australia and also includes New Zealand, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Kenya and Canada.
The new format comes after the 2007 World Cup was criticised for going on for six weeks. The 2011 staging will have two fewer fixtures and is expected to be at least a week shorter.
Ireland made a stunning World Cup debut in the Caribbean, qualifying for the Super Eights phase under coach Adrian Birrell, while Simmons led the side to the second round in the World Twenty20 during the summer.
The former West Indies player sees no reason why Ireland can’t make a similar impression this time around.
“We never settle on the first round anymore. We’ve got to get to the second phase of any tournament we get to now, that’s the benchmark for us,” said Simmons on hearing of the draw yesterday.
“I think it might be a little tougher in the other group. It’s always good to be put in a group where there are more chances of winning games. Mind you, by the time we get there, I think we will have a chance of winning every game we play,” he added.
Ireland’s schedule will not be known until next month, but the likelihood is they will play at least one match in Bangladesh against the co-hosts, who they have beaten in both the recent World Twenty20 and at the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean.
They will prove a much sterner test in their backyard: Ireland went down 3-0 in a one-day series in Dhaka early last year.
Simmons believes his side will be much better prepared this time around, with at least two tours to the sub-continent planned before the World Cup gets under way in February 2011.
“More than likely we will play them in Dhaka. We didn’t have the experience the first time the guys played there, they knew nothing about it. But between now and the World Cup we are going to have a couple of times where we play down there, maybe in Sri Lanka next season. So we are going to know how to play there and it will give us a better chance than the last time,” said Simmons.
Bangladesh will stage the opening ceremony on Thursday, February 17th, with the tournament starting two days later.
Pakistan had been set to stage 14 games, but the International Cricket Council moved the games following the terrorist attack on the Sri Lanka team bus in Lahore at the beginning of March.
GROUP A:Australia, Pakistan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Canada, Kenya.
GROUP B:India, South Africa, England, West Indies, Bangladesh, IRELAND, Netherlands.
