Ireland can beat Australia says McDermott
September 10th 2012 by Cricket Ireland | International
Craig McDermott likes the balance of the Irish side © Getty Images
Cricket Ireland consultant bowling coach Craig McDermott believes that Ireland can beat Australia in the forthcoming ICC World Twenty 20 in Sri Lanka. The former Australia bowler has been with the Irish squad now for nearly a week in Sri Lanka and has high hopes for his new squad of players.
Speaking to ESPN Cricinfo, McDermott said Ireland had plenty of match-winners.
“It’ll be a good game, Ireland have got a well balanced side,” he said. “If they play to their ability, which they have in the past in T20s and qualified, they’ll give Australia and the West Indies a good run for their money.
The former opening bowler for Australia enjoyed a hugely successful career in the Baggy Green of Australia taking 291 Test Match wickets and 203 One Day International Wickets. Now he will be helping to plot a win over his own country for the Boys in Green, “They’re here to win and my job is to help them win, along with the other coaches. We’ll just see who comes out on top on the 19th (September) - we’ll be working hard as a coaching staff and a playing staff to produce a cracker of a match.
“To work with all the bowling line-up here is going to be a challenge for me I suppose, I’ve got to try to do the best I can to produce the best they can over the next two to three weeks. We’re looking forward to some proper training leading into some practice matches.”
After leaving former employers and soon to be opponents Cricket Australia post for personal reason, McDermott said he was again ready for full-time coaching.
“The time on the road is part of the job, so I’m not saying I want to be a consultant or that I don’t want to be with a team,” McDermott said.
“It’s where I see my best fit with an organisation to be able to develop their bowlers or their players. I just want to be a better coach, I want to experience other staff, even with the Irish team, different guys to work with from a strength and conditioning point of view, a physio point of view, Phil Simmons as a head coach.
“Everybody here thinks differently about how to mould a team, how to keep a team on the park, all those things are part of an ongoing learning process as a coach.
“One of the best things I’ve done as a coach over the last four or five years is coaching at junior level, away from the elite game. Coaching young kids whether they be 12, 13, 14, 15, has actually helped my coaching at a higher level more than anyone will ever know.”
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