White looking forward to facing Tigers in their own backyard

CRICKET WORLD CUP:THE NETHERLANDS may have failed to lay down a marker for the Associate nations after their six-wicket defeat to England on Tuesday but all-rounder Andrew White is confident Ireland will not slip up if offered similar opportunities in the World Cup.

Buoyed by a brilliant century from Ryan ten Doeschate, the Dutch compiled 292 for six on a batsman-friendly track in Nagpur, only for some poor bowling to allow England complete the third highest run chase in World Cup history.

With the focus on the performances of the Associate nations intensifying due to the International Cricket Council’s plans to reduce the World Cup from 14 to 10 teams in 2015, White knows that every upset in the competition will add weight to the call for a more inclusive tournament in the future.

“It was a great show Holland put on, it’s just a shame they didn’t go to the line,” said the 30-year-old schoolteacher from Belfast. “I think they had the makings of a win against England, they batted very well, but unfortunately didn’t hold it together with the ball in the end.

“They’ll be hugely disappointed but I’m pretty confident that if we get into a similar situation then we’ll go on and win the game.”

Ireland will be the last of the 14 teams to enter the fray when they get their Group B campaign underway against Bangladesh in front of a full-house of 25,000 in Dhaka tomorrow, but White doesn’t see this as a disadvantage.

“Maybe it’s given us a bit more time to get used to the conditions, we’ll see on Friday. The boys are champing at the bit, the slight delay means the guys are very keen to get out and get started and hopefully we’ll hit the ground running,” he added.

Ireland have beaten Bangladesh in their two meetings in major competitions, but lost all three One-Day Internationals against them in Dhaka at the beginning of 2008.

Spin bowling will play a key part in tomorrow’s meeting, but White, an off-spinner himself, believes Ireland are well prepared this time around to challenge the Tigers in their own backyard.

“I think we all know that the conditions here are very different to what we would encounter back home. The pitches tend to be slow and low and suit the spin bowlers, as we have seen from the games that have already been played in the tournament. So it’s no real surprise that Bangladesh will play four spinners and we’ll have our own tactics up our sleeves come Friday.”

And although a victory would put Ireland on the front foot ahead of the clashes against England and tournament favourites India in Bangalore next week, White points to the extended nature of the first round giving sides plenty of opportunities.

“I don’t think Friday’s match is the crucial match simply because we have six games in this group and if we win three or four, no matter who it is, then we’ll go through. Obviously with it being our first game we want to get off to a winning start and that will give us momentum going in to the other games.”

Ireland coach Phil Simmons is expected to pick his starting XI for the match after training today.

* World Cup, Group B:Bangladesh v Ireland, Mirpur, Dhaka, tomorrow, 8.30am. Sky Sports 1 (red button) from 8.30am and Sky Sports 1 from noon. Highlights on BBC 2 at 11.50pm.