There is no reason why we cannot beat Pakistan, says Ireland captain William Porterfield

It has been quite a wait for Ireland after they received the Full Member status by the International Cricket Council (ICC) in June 2017 along with Afghanistan. While the Afghanistan team is scheduled to play their first Test match against India in June, Ireland is gearing up for their maiden Test against another subcontinental country, Pakistan on May 11, Friday.

The match will be hosted at Malahide, Dublin, giving the hosts an upper hand over the Pakistan team. Their captain William Porterfield is of the opinion that his team is quite capable of exploiting the home conditions to the best and surprise the visitors. But at the same time, he is very much overwhelmed at how things finally turned out for the Irish after years of hard work.

Never thought this was going to happen

“You never would have thought this was going to happen. To host a Test match against Pakistan in front of thousands of Irish fans, and millions more around the world watching it,” he was quoted saying by Irish sports news channel The42.

The former Warwickshire batsman got quite nostalgic while talking about Irish cricket and how far it has come.

“It’s nice to think we’ve contributed to Cricket Ireland moving forward and when, as a team, we look back in years to come, there will be a lot of pride there.”

But he understands the need of the hour is to stay focused on the match and give their best out their on the field. Porterfield thinks they should be able to show the world that they have duly earned this place.

“Our job this week is to go out and perform and showcase why we have deserved this chance and why we belong at the top table. There’s a game of cricket to be played and we’re here to win it,” he added.

Can we win?

If they can pull off a win, to say it would be historic is an understatement, and Porterfield knows that.

“Can we win? There’s absolutely no reason why we can’t beat them and take them down and make history. That’s the challenge for us now.”

Pakistan have included 5 uncapped players in their squad of 16, and in regard to that Porterfield suggests the visitors not take things lightly. His team is more or less experienced in comparison, and is capable of taking the wickets and scoring the runs, specially on home turf.

The Irish team has the likes of former English players Ed Joyce and Boyd Rankin. Brothers Kevin and Niall O’Brien are a part of the squad as well. Right after Ireland, Pakistan will play their neighbour England in a two-match Test series starting on May 24.

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