Middlesex cricketers Paul Stirling and Andrew Balbirnie have high hopes for the Championship season, following Ireland’s “disappointing” exit from last month’s World Cup.
After the Boys in Green impressed at the tournament, which took place across Australia and New Zealand, the Irish duo return to the county fold.
Speaking to The Irish Post at Lord’s Cricket Ground in London, Dubliner Balbirnie said the team is confident that they can build on last year’s seventh-place Championship finish and contend for the 2015 title.
He said: “We’re a confident bunch of lads, we’re aiming high as we always do. We’ve got a talented bunch of cricketers, both first and second teams.”
Middlesex narrowly escaped relegation after batting out the draw against Lancashire in the final game of last season.
The 24 year old suggests that a repeated battle for survival at the bottom of Division One will be avoided, provided that the team maintain consistent performances.
The introduction of players, such as Australian Adam Voges - who will captain Middlesex for the opening four matches - is also a crucial addition.
While the Championship season begins, Balbirnie still has time to reflect on Ireland’s hard-fought World Cup campaign, particularly the frustration of losing their must-win game against Pakistan. “The final game was tough, I was quite disappointed with how I batted,” he said.
“I’d been batting well and positively throughout the tournament but that day it didn’t seem to go to plan.
“Defeat was a tough pill to take. A lot of guys got started well, Will [Porterfield] scored an incredible 100, but overall we came up short.”
Having made his tournament debut against the West Indies in Ireland’s first Pool B match in Nelson, he adds that he’s concerned for the future of “Associate” nations such as themselves.
“I’m fairly new to the Irish team in terms of World Cups, I felt a part of it, not out of my depth or anything,” he added.
“But then to be told that the International Cricket Council (ICC) are lowing the number of teams in the World Cup and that we’re not going to get as many One Day Internationals (ODIs) as everyone, it’s hard.
“It’s a shame, it’s not fair on the world of cricket. It’s making the smaller teams feel really small.”
International and county teammate, Stirling, 24, told The Irish Post that he shares a similar sentiment.
He said: “Ed [Joyce] and [Will] Purdy have been in the media and have been pretty strong in their views to try and get things changed in regards to Ireland playing Test Cricket, but ideally we just want to let our cricket do the talking.
“We just hope that word spreads and that change will come soon.”
The Belfast native hailed Ireland’s performances during the tournament, commending the determination that the team showcased on the world stage.
“We did ourselves proud, but we probably would have liked to lose the games we did by less runs, as it affected our net run rate,” he said.
“We showed fight and gutsy character, especially against South Africa.”
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