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“Fairytale” ride for Ireland

Ireland’s coach Adrian Birrell has spoken of the fairytale ride his side has had in the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean.

After their memorable come from behind tie with Zimbabwe and their shock victory over Pakistan, Ireland defied nearly all critics to make it to the Super 8 stage of the tournament.

“To achieve what we’ve done is really special, it’s a fairytale and a dream come true,” Birrell told the BBC.

“You have to pinch yourself when you think you’re going to play England, Sri Lanka and South Africa.

“We dream of playing these matches so every one of these is our World Cup final.

“For us to play these teams is an honour, they are our heroes and we don’t get the opportunity very often to be here.”

Throughout the week, Birrell also took the opportunity to defend the places of minnow sides in one-day cricket’s most prestigious event.

“Ireland is a great example of why Associate Nations should be here. It should be the objective of the ICC to grow cricket around the world, and look at Sri Lanka. They used to be an associate, and now look at them,” he told the media.

Ireland take on England in their first Super 8 clash on Friday in Guyana.

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