Legacy of Birrell

[suraj]

Ireland coach Adrian Birrell is proud of his legacy after guiding his team from associate also-rans to a fully-fledged one-day team. Sunday's crushing 74-run victory over Bangladesh at Kensington Oval secured a place on the International Cricket Council's one-day international official rankings table. They are effectively now the 12th best team in the world, five places below England, but will not receive an official rating until they have played at least eight matches against other major nations. Ireland graduated to the top table by virtue of a second win over Test opposition - the criteria set by the ICC - having knocked out Pakistan in the group stage. "I am very proud of what we've achieved, it is not only me, we've got a great squad of players, we're very tight, there is a wonderful team spirit," said Birrell, whose last game in charge is against Sri Lanka on Wednesday. "Five years ago we were ranked below Denmark and now we're ranked ahead of the other associate countries. "It is a very satisfying moment for me to know I have moved it forward that much. "It has been a great experience for me, the people have accepted me as one of their own. "There have been hard decisions and tough times along the way but the overriding feeling was that we made progress every year. "We constantly moved it forward and certainly so over the last few weeks." Ireland's historic success was all the more remarkable for coming just 48 hours after their obliteration by Australia on the same ground. They owed themselves and the 500-strong Blarney Army a better showing in a game they pin-pointed as a potential two points at the start of the Super Eight stage. "We said before the game we weren't going to allow the pressure to get to us, we were just going to go out and enjoy the game," said Birrell. "There was a certain pressure on us because we do believe we are a good side and we weren't satisfied with our performances against New Zealand and Australia. "We set our standards and against Bangladesh we reached those standards, outplayed them and they are a good side who have beaten top sides themselves. "They've beaten Australia before and South Africa just the other day. "Tomorrow they might defeat another Test country but this was our day." William Porterfield struck 85 and the muscular hitting of Kevin O'Brien (48) and captain Trent Johnston (30) ensured a competitive score of 243 for seven. The match was there for the taking when the seam attack dismissed half the Bangladesh side inside 22 overs. And Ireland skittled their opponents for just 169 to hit back at suggestions they should not have graced the second round. "We took those comments on board, turned them around and used them as motivation to prove those people wrong," said Johnston