Captain Andy Balbirnie knows his side will have to play "a lot better" to upset England after putting just 128 runs on the board against Sri Lanka
Andy Balbirnie did not hide his disappointment following Ireland's nine-wicket defeat against Sri Lanka, admitting his side simply didn't get enough runs on the board.
In their first outing in the Super 12s, Ireland were restricted to 128 for 8 after winning the toss and opting to bat, with Sri Lankan spin trio Maheesh Theekshana, Wanindu Hasaranga and Dhananjaya de Silva posting combined figures of 5 for 57 from 10 overs. Harry Tector (45 off 42) and Paul Stirling (34 for 25) were the only players to pass 15 with the bat.
Sri Lanka wrapped up their chase with 30 balls to spare thanks to a half-century from Kusal Mendis.
"Just disappointing," Balbirnie said, summing up the match. "We set out to get a good total, which I don't think we did. A couple of guys played some good knocks but just nothing really around that to get us to any sort of total.
"It's tough on the bowlers when you are defending 128 or whatever it was. You have to bowl out of your skin and field out of your skin, and we didn't do that, particularly in the field. I think we were a bit sloppy. We've got four more games to try and rectify that.
Ireland captain Andrew Balbirnie (left) [David Gray/Getty Images]
"If we got 150, 160, it could have been different, but 128 in this day and age, you're not really in the game."
However, rather than dwelling on his side's performance and any questions about their vulnerability against spin – "I don't want to criticize because we've got quality players in our top seven and I certainly won't be telling them not to play certain shots" – Balbirnie has turned his focus to Ireland's upcoming clash with England.
The two sides have only met once in a T20I, meeting in round one of the 2010 T20 World Cup. The match, from which Ireland's Paul Stirling and George Dockrell are the only survivors, ended in no result when Ireland's chase of 121 was cut short after 3.3 overs.
"I remember watching it – it was surreal seeing Ireland on the telly playing in a World Cup," Balbirnie said. "That generation inspired a new generation and certainly we're very fortunate to be in a position where we are able to play against these high quality teams in such amazing venues. I'm champing at the bit to get at them on Wednesday.
"It's always special when you get to play England. We know how strong a team they are, coming in as one of the tournament favourites. They have threats all over the park in every part of the game.
"We're going to have to be a lot better than we were today to come anywhere near them, but I know the guys will certainly turn it around. We're going to have to be really on it to get near them and create an upset.
"When we play good cricket, we're on par with anyone."