It's a short distance from a slap on the back and a kick up the backside

I have a bit of a riddle for the all you blog readers.. Take a look at the following two sections. The question is what two teams are being described in the comments?


10/2/15

“The wheels have come off”

“Time for **** and his coaching team to go”

“Players are unsure of their roles”

“I am fearful for the group stages, **** cricket may get set back years”

12/2/15

“Great warm-up win and excellent momentum for the WC group stages!”

“Great so see a good result this morning! Just shows we can compete in the low scoring games!”

“That's more like it! :)”

That was a trick question of course, this only refers to one team and that team being Ireland. The comments are taken from the forum, the first set from the aftermath of the Scotland game and the second set from after the Bangladesh victory. How then did Ireland turn from a team staring into the abyss to a team looking optimistically at a quarter final berth?


Mental Resiliance

Toughness, resilience, boucebackability... call it what you will. Ireland had a bad day, which happens in sport. Yet clearly they were still confident that they would be able to put that right in the next warm up game and they did.

Experience on the field

This will be William Porterfields, Ed Joyce, The O'Briens and John Mooneys third world cup. This is not their first rodeo.

Experience off the field

In the film “Waterloo” Wellington's right flank is taking the brunt of Napoleons attack, a young General comes galloping on horseback and pleads with Wellington to reinforce the right thus weakening his centre. Wellington is silent for a moment before replying “I do not intend to flit about like a wet hen!”.

In the same way, I believe that Phil Simmons is a man who trusts his game-plan and his players. He would surely have had his ear bent and been sorely tempted to make wholesale changes however he didn't and that paid off.

Previous experience against the opponent

Ireland seem to have the wood over their Bangladeshi opponents dating back to the shock win at the 2007 World Cup. Indeed in the post match interviews a number of the players alluded to that fact and it was clear that that had been mentioned in team meetings.

Quick turnaround

As anyone who has dropped a catch in the first over can tell you it is a lonely place (Just ask Chris Woakes) and you rarely get a chance to atone, all you can do is watch as the opener piles on the runs for fifty overs.

The quick turnaround did not allow Ireland to dwell on the Scotland game and allowed them a chance to quickly make amends. A chance they gratefully accepted.

Getting back to basics

Ireland may not be able to compete with the best teams in terms of batting and bowling they have however always competed with the best in terms of their fielding. That was poor against Scotland however against Bangladesh it was excellent, catches were held and the ground fielding saved perhaps 10-15 runs.

So with all that in mind Ireland go in on the eve of their crucial first game against the West Indies on a positive footing. A game that if they win will set them up nicely for a potential quarter final berth (but not guarantee one) and a game if they lose will set them back (but again not prove fatal) I come back to my main point from the start of the article which can be summed up using an mantra from Rudyard Kipling's famous work “If”.

In the poem Kipling mentions the “two imposters” one being victory and one being defeat, he chastens the reader to treat the two imposters both the same. In other words do not get carried away by a victory nor too disheartened by a defeat.

So if Ireland do win against the West Indies they would do well to remember Kipling and perhaps the more agricultural caution mentioned in the title, “It is a short distance from a slap on the back and a kick up the backside”