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Ian Chappell the former Australia Captain who made 75 Test Match appearances in the Baggy Green has said that Ireland are a side that should be feared at the ICC World Twenty20 in Bangladesh.
The former Australia captain spoke in glowing terms about the current state of Irish cricket as William Porterfield’s T20 side moved to the top of Group B on Wednesday.

Ireland recorded a 21-run victory over United Arab Emirates on the Duckworth/Lewis method to leave them needing victory over the Netherlands on Friday to reach the Super 10 stage.

Chappell is confident that the Irish have the quality to progress on Friday and tipped Porterfield’s men to spring a surprise and reach the quarter-finals.

“Any major team that doesn’t take Ireland very, very seriously and keep the pedal to the floor is making a huge mistake and is likely to get beaten,” Chappell told The Sport Review following the ESPNcricinfo awards 2013.

“They’re a wildcard. I’d put Ireland in that category. They’re a very dangerous qualifier.”

Ireland play the Netherlands on Friday at 9.30am

Offering an antithesis to Roy Keane’s analysis of the Republic of Ireland at Euro 2012, Chappell believes that Porterfield’s side aren’t making up the numbers in Bangladesh but harbour serious ambitions of making a real impact.

“They don’t turn up at these tournaments just to be, ‘look at us, we’ve made the World Cup, isn’t it fantastic’, they actually come along to do as well as they can and get as far as they can,” Chappell added.

“That has been a really important factor in the success that they have had. I’ve admired what Ireland have done.

“I don’t think for the moment that they could win it. If they could get to the quarter-final stage, they can be proud of that.”

Ashes-winning Aussie captain Chappell believes that the secret to Ireland’s success is their team ethic, although the former batsman holds special admiration for Kevin O’Brien following his memorable display against England in 2011.

“They do play as a team. Everybody contributes and everyone puts a shift in,” Chappell continued.

“Obviously Kevin O’Brien’s performance in the 50-over World Cup against England was hugely impressive. I think if you look at Ireland’s success, it’s never one or two blokes doing it all the time.

“Everyone seems to contribute. They play well together as a team.”

This article first appeared on The Sport Review website as part of an exclusive interview by Kieran Beckles, to read the article in full please click here.

Kieran Beckles/The Sport Review
Ian Chappell, second from right pictured last year © Getty Images
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