Everyone expects to qualify for Bangladesh 2014. More than that, we are expected to win the competition over the next two weeks. It's dangerous saying before the tournament starts that anything else would be considered a failure, because let's be honest if we were to finish second and qualify from the preliminary round in Bangladesh everyone would consider it a resounding success, for sure.

Cricket Ireland has now got to the stage where we have to be seen to winning these competitions though. We, as players are aware that every game now can be seen on Internet streams etc and that we have a duty to deliver constant success, that is what we want. The minute that's not happening, we, as players and Cricket Ireland won't be where we want to.

The tournament has 16 teams and 6 qualify for the preliminary round next March. That tells you we should be there.

Sitting down at dinner this evening with Paul Stirling we decided that, yes, on the surface it sounds easy and of course we are confident it will happen. We will, however need to play good cricket throughout the the course of the two weeks.

Since I have been involved with the senior men's team we have been perennial poor starters. In fact, the last two t20 qualifying tournaments have seen us lose our first game..... Both times!

In 2010 it was Afghanistan that put us on the back foot, while two years ago we were stunned at how hard Namibia came at us in the first game. It is our southern Africa counterparts first up again this year and we will have to be at our best to beat a very dangerous, hard hitting outfit.

The loss of a certain 6ft 7in fast bowler certainly has an affect on our tactics as a bowling unit and sooner or later the ICC will have to listen to our pleads for more funding to keep our best players. Imagine a team that included Eoin Morgan, Boyd Rankin and that never lost Ed Joyce in the first place. It's conceivable that we may not even be in the UAE qualifying for the tournament.... That's a discussion for a another day.

Preparation for the tournament took a bit of a setback, when, for one reason or another we had to abandon the idea of a pre tour camp to India. The single best thing about going to India for a camp is the number of net bowlers queuing up wanting to bowl at you.... They just love to bowl at "Mr Kevin" of 2011 Bangalore fame.

We have instead decided to come straight to the Emirates. It has its plus points, no doubt. Acclimatising to the hot weather, the grounds that we will be playing at and the westernised society it pretty much portrays now are certainly a few. The fact that it took Tim Murtagh and I the best part of a day running around trying to sort our Indian visas, only for them not to be used at least provided some entertainment for the rest of the lads.

Since arriving here we have had three of the hardest days training I and I'm sure the rest of the lads have ever encountered. In 35 degree heat we battled through 3 double sessions before a day off. As always it takes a while to get used to everything. The slowness of the pitches compared to the various indoor centres we have been training at, the dryness of the desert heat and being back together as a team. So those first three sessions, although they were hard they were necessary.

Our first day off saw myself, Kevin, Phil Simmons and Tim Murtagh take to the golf course. It didn't end well for me and Simmo, whilst there is a stewards enquiry on Kevvy's handicap of 18.

The players are staying in two four bedroom apartments with the management in the other. Our room has the dartboard, brought by John Mooney who can't seem to understand having to put up a massive bit of cardboard behind it to cover people who can't hit the board (guilty). I'm still trying to come to terms with having to throw darts with Liverpool FC flights on them.

Our first match saw us take on Ex Ireland international Peter Connell's local Wings franchise. Batting first we scored a below par 120 (slow starters) with Max Sorensen striking the ball sweetly in a well played and needed 28. Not for the first time though our bowlers bailed us out and we won by 7 runs again with Maxy as the star performer.

With warm up match number two been and gone with another win as well as another round on the golf course, we start our official warm up games in relatively good form and its hopefully only upwards from here