‘Pride’ and ‘pressure’ for Balbirnie heading into T20 World Cup
Andy Balbirnie is embracing the pressure that comes with captaincy as he heads into his first ICC event as Ireland skipper.
A mainstay in Ireland’s team across all three formats, Balbirnie has captained the limited overs XIs since 2020 and the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 will be his first global event with the team reins.
“Whether you’re playing or captaining, there is always going to be pressure,” Balbirnie said. “Captaining – it’s the first time I’ll do it an ICC event so I’m very excited for it and excited to see how the guys adapt to it.
“Pride as well, it’s not every day you get to lead your team into a World Cup. We’ve got a lot of cricket to play beforehand but I think once we’re on the plane on the way out it will certainly sink in that we’re getting to do something very special.”
Having debuted in 2010, it was only in 2015 that Balbirnie established himself as a fixture in Ireland’s ODI XI, playing all six of their matches at the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup that year, notching two half-centuries.
It is a tournament he still remembers fondly and he is looking forward to Ireland’s youngsters enjoying the same opportunity at the T20 World Cup.
“The 2015 World Cup was probably the first time I got into the Irish team as a permanent fixture," he said. "Going to a place like Australia and having family and friends there was probably still the highlight of my career or one of the highlights.
“To be able to go to another T20 World Cup, albeit a delayed World Cup, is very exciting for the group.
“There are a lot of players who haven’t experienced that, so I know that they’re excited. Hopefully, we can produce some pretty good cricket and first and foremost get out of our group.”
Ireland have drawn a tough group in the First Round, competing with Sri Lanka, Netherlands and Namibia for the two Super 12 qualifying spots.
Balbirnie knows Ireland will have to be at their best in every match to secure one of those two coveted spots but one match in particular stands out for him.
“From a neutral (perspective) the Dutch game is a big one. We play them a lot. They just recently beat us in a 50-over series and they’re a team we know pretty well,” he said, referencing Netherlands’ 2-1 ICC World Cup Cricket Super League series win in June.
“Of course Sri Lanka are probably going to go in as favourites but we have got to put in good performances against all three teams and we’re going to have be at our best to get out of that group.
“In my opinion it’s probably the tougher group but hopefully our guys can rise to the occasion and get out of the group. I think the Netherlands is a game we’re certainly going to target as potentially the biggest game for us in that group.”
Ireland will face Netherlands in their opening match of the tournament on 18 October at Abu Dhabi.
“Whether you’re playing or captaining, there is always going to be pressure,” Balbirnie said. “Captaining – it’s the first time I’ll do it an ICC event so I’m very excited for it and excited to see how the guys adapt to it.
“Pride as well, it’s not every day you get to lead your team into a World Cup. We’ve got a lot of cricket to play beforehand but I think once we’re on the plane on the way out it will certainly sink in that we’re getting to do something very special.”
Having debuted in 2010, it was only in 2015 that Balbirnie established himself as a fixture in Ireland’s ODI XI, playing all six of their matches at the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup that year, notching two half-centuries.
It is a tournament he still remembers fondly and he is looking forward to Ireland’s youngsters enjoying the same opportunity at the T20 World Cup.
“The 2015 World Cup was probably the first time I got into the Irish team as a permanent fixture," he said. "Going to a place like Australia and having family and friends there was probably still the highlight of my career or one of the highlights.
“To be able to go to another T20 World Cup, albeit a delayed World Cup, is very exciting for the group.
“There are a lot of players who haven’t experienced that, so I know that they’re excited. Hopefully, we can produce some pretty good cricket and first and foremost get out of our group.”
Ireland have drawn a tough group in the First Round, competing with Sri Lanka, Netherlands and Namibia for the two Super 12 qualifying spots.
Balbirnie knows Ireland will have to be at their best in every match to secure one of those two coveted spots but one match in particular stands out for him.
“From a neutral (perspective) the Dutch game is a big one. We play them a lot. They just recently beat us in a 50-over series and they’re a team we know pretty well,” he said, referencing Netherlands’ 2-1 ICC World Cup Cricket Super League series win in June.
“Of course Sri Lanka are probably going to go in as favourites but we have got to put in good performances against all three teams and we’re going to have be at our best to get out of that group.
“In my opinion it’s probably the tougher group but hopefully our guys can rise to the occasion and get out of the group. I think the Netherlands is a game we’re certainly going to target as potentially the biggest game for us in that group.”
Ireland will face Netherlands in their opening match of the tournament on 18 October at Abu Dhabi.
Comments
Post a Comment