Ireland expecting 'very competitive' Australia

Colombo—Heinrich Malan has demanded sharper conviction from Ireland when they confront Australia at the T20 World Cup on Wednesday, insisting the setback against Sri Lanka has already supplied the blueprint for how to finish tight contests.

Ireland’s tournament opener slipped away in a blur of missed chances on Sunday: three catches spilled in four Matthew Humphreys deliveries during the 17th over allowed the co-hosts to plunder 59 off the last four overs and ultimately defend a target Ireland had threatened to overhaul. The Irish reply unravelled just as brutally, the final six wickets adding only 23 runs.

“Yeah, the clarity of our conviction is probably the most important part there,” Malan said on the eve of the Australia clash. “For a large part of that game we were playing exactly the sort of way we wanted to play from a planning and preparation point of view. Obviously a little bit of the execution throughout that critical period has let us down, so we had to turn that around pretty quickly.”

The Australians arrive at R. Premadasa Stadium wounded and undermanned. Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood have already been ruled out through injury, while power-hitter Tim David is rated doubtful for the tournament favourites, who have lost their last five T20 internationals—including a record defeat to Pakistan that sealed a 3-0 series humiliation.

Yet Malan refuses to read Australia as vulnerable. “Whatever Australian team rocks up will be a very competitive team,” he stressed. “You look at some of the names that are proven performers over the last couple of years. We’ve got some proven performers too, and it sets up to be an exciting challenge.”

Ireland’s lone meeting with Australia in the past decade came at the 2022 T20 World Cup in Brisbane, where the hosts eased home by 42 runs. A planned bilateral series in 2024 was scrapped when Cricket Ireland cited budget constraints, a decision Malan still laments. “We took a fair bit out of that game in Brisbane,” he said, “and hopefully we can apply some of those learnings on Wednesday.”

With Colombo’s evening humidity set to test both attacks, Malan believes meticulous planning can narrow the gap against higher-ranked opposition. “We’re very clear around some of the plans that we’ve got in place for some of the Australian players. If we can adapt to the situation and the conditions quickly, hopefully the boys can execute their skills well.”

Ireland will need every ounce of that clarity if they are to keep their World Cup hopes alive against an Australian outfit desperate to halt its slide.