Johnston proud of Irish effort

Cricket:  Ireland captain Trent Johnston saw his side bow out of the World Cup after a convincing defeat at the hands of Sri…

Cricket: Ireland captain Trent Johnston saw his side bow out of the World Cup after a convincing defeat at the hands of Sri Lanka but insisted they can leave the tournament with their heads held high.

Their performances exceeded all expectations and wins over Pakistan and Bangladesh will live long in the memories of Ireland fans - but they could not muster another upset as they were bowled out for 77 in Grenada and lost by eight wickets.

Johnston believes that those wins, and the all-round professionalism that won them many admirers in the Caribbean, will help to change perceptions of the game in Ireland.

"I hope we will not be judged on this result because we've done well and we've got some good cricketers," Johnston said.

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"We came out here to achieve that [putting Ireland on the map] not only to people around the world but to people in our own back yard.

"We can reflect now on a great seven weeks."

Johnston also thanked Adrian Birrell, who now leaves his post as coach to be replaced by former West Indies star Phil Simmons.

"I'd like to thank, from all the boys, Adrian Birrell who finishes as our coach today," he said. "It was not the send-off we'd have liked to give him but he's been great and we'd like to thank him very much."