Importance of Bray cannot be understated

Ireland stubbornly refuse to play the role of sacrificial lamb in this tournament and the hopes of another win over the coming weeks remains a realistic target, writes Richard Gillisin Georgetown.

They deserve great credit for the way they played against South Africa on Tuesday, a team that only two weeks ago humiliated Ireland's fellow Associates by seven wickets with 27 overs still to bowl. South Africa captain Graeme Smith is not a man known to suffer long nights of self doubt. But he recognised his team had been given a game and offered a keen analysis of Ireland.

"They may not be winning these games but they are showing a lot of energy and commitment," he said. "They are showing the world that they are a good team. They are full of young guys, the average age is very young, so they have a good future."

There are obvious differences in class between Ireland and the teams they face over the next two weeks. Starting with the in-form New Zealand here next Monday, they then meet the mighty Australia and many people's dark horses for a final place, Sri Lanka. The match holding Ireland's best chance of a win, against Bangladesh, is on Sunday, April 15th.

However, as they showed against Pakistan, and have further demonstrated in the games against England and South Africa here, they are playing well. If the big teams have an off-day, or other factors play in their favour, they are ready.

The squad now has six days without a game, plenty of time to sit back and assess what needs to happen if that great day on St Patrick's Day is to be repeated.

In Tuesday's game against South Africa the toss was a critical factor, as it has been throughout the tournament. The light closes in quickly here in the evenings and is the reason that games are starting at 9.30am. The early morning moisture aids the swing of Ireland's opening bowlers. "I would have liked to see big Boyd (Rankin) and Lanky (Dave Langford Smith) bowl on that pitch first thing in the morning," said Trent Johnston.

Since the green pitch at Sabina Park on St Patrick's Day, the wickets have been generally bereft of grass. This reduces the amount of sideways movement and has made life harder for Ireland's support seamers.

On the batting side, the early loss of Jeremy Bray is always a big setback. Bray is capable of scoring quickly and adds impetus to the innings.

At this level when a player makes runs, the film is processed and downloaded on to the laptops of every bowler, captain and coach in the tournament. Since his tremendous hundred against Zimbabwe, Bray has received very few balls short of a good length or wide of off stump, which has squeezed his favourite cut shot. On Tuesday, Shaun Pollock bowled a line forcing him to move forward and which asked him to score runs in areas he feels less comfortable. Ireland's hopes of another win may rest on how Bray responds to this heightened level of analysis.

His recent failures - he has been dismissed without scoring in the last two games - has a knock-on effect. When he fires, Eoin Morgan and William Porterfield can play around him, safe in the knowledge he will keep the run rate up. Morgan has made a couple of starts, but not moved beyond 28, in part due to coming in so early in difficult conditions. In the first hour survival has been paramount.

Andrew White's promotion to number five against South Africa was recognition of the need to push on through the middle overs, and to offer support to Niall O'Brien who is having a good tournament with the bat.

A question remains as to Trent Johnston's best spot in the order. The captain has rallied the end of the innings to great effect, but perhaps a higher slot would allow him the freedom to build an innings of more substance.

There were concerns that the team would run out of steam as the tournament went into the Super Eight stage. That this has not happened says much about the talent and the physical conditioning of the players.

"We looked a little tired before the England game, so we need to rest and recharge between matches," says coach Adrian Birrell. "The fitness level between our players and the professional teams are not that much different. They push themselves hard and are reaping the benefits of training well. Obviously coming from Ireland it is hard to play in this heat. They feel fatigue toward the end of the fifty overs."

Johnston's analysis of the recent game sums up where the team are: "We've fallen short against the number one ranked team in the world, which is another huge performance by a team of amateurs."

If things go their way over the next few weeks, Johnston's team of amateurs may just have one more shock in them.