IRELAND’S bowlers will aim to counter the threat of South Africa batsman AB de Villiers in their third Pool B match on Tuesday at the Manuka Oval in Canberra.
The Boys in Green take on a South African side, who delivered a crushing defeat to the West Indies last week in response to their second-game loss to India and intend to progress to the knockout stages high up in the group.
Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Ireland captain William Porterfield, praised de Villiers’ century-hitting form and said: “It’s no fluke what he’s done. He’s done it a couple of times now over the last, what, six to eight weeks. He’s been in great nick, but I think you’ve just got to have your own simple plans and look after your own game.
“Once the bowler lets that ball go, that’s as much as he’s in control of, and if he can execute whatever plans we’ve got in place as best he can, if something out of the ordinary happens at the other end, then so be it. But we’ve got to control what we can control and where we look to land the ball. That’s what we’ll be looking to do.”
The sides have faced each other on three occasions, with each meeting resulting in a South African victory. Only the 2011 World Cup encounter was a 50 over encounter, with the two other games taking place in Guyana at the 2007 World Cup and in Belfast later that year.
Whilst South Africa are favourites going into the game, Porterfield is confident about his Ireland's preparation.
“We’ve played against great line ups before, and the lads have done very well,” he said. “I’m confident with how we’ve prepared and how we’ve been going over the last few weeks that we will cope.
“I have no doubt the lads are ready to go for tomorrow, and it doesn’t really matter who comes up in front of us, AB, Hashim [Amla], whatever. They’ve got a great line up. That’s the way it is in this World Cup, and we’re looking forward to it.”
Ireland have won both of their Pool B matches, beating the UAE by two wickets in a thrilling encounter at the Gabba in Brisbane last Wednesday, owing to Gary Wilson’s 80-run haul, and against the West Indies in their opening fixture.
The team will play three games in eight days as they then take on India and Zimbabwe in quick succession as they aim to reach the quarter finals.
