Captain William Porterfield has said Ireland must play “smart cricket” if they are to compete against South Africa.
Ireland go into the game against the South Africans (live blog on RTÉ.ie/sport from 3am Tuesday) with two wins from two in their World Cup openers, against the West Indies and the United Arab Emirates.
South Africa, though are one of the favourites for the tournament, and the game presents a new challenge for Porterfield and his team, not least because it is being played at the 13,000-capacity Manuka Oval in Canberra, a notably large pitch.
Speaking to RTÉ Sport’s John Kenny, Porterfield said Ireland would need to make the most of the size of the pitch.
“There have been a couple of games where [high scores were posted at this venue],” Porterfield said.
“Chris Gayle got his double hundred here, but I think a lot of that was power as well, and clearing his boundaries; it’s a pretty big ground, so if people can do that it obviously makes things easier.”
He sounded a positive note about his side’s performances in the run-up to the World Cup, and in their opening victories.
“They’re in fantastic form, and so are we. We’ve played very good cricket in the build-up, and I think that tomorrow we’ve just got to go out there and play smart cricket.
“I think that we know what we’ve got in our armoury, and we’ve just got to go out there and utilise it. We’ve mentioned that it is a big ground, and we’ve got to be smart, how we can use those angles, and those boundaries as well, and South Africa won’t be any different.
“As long as we’re on our game, and come prepared, with what we want to do, then I’ll be happy.”
