Dropped and back: Sorensen comes a full circle

One man's World Cup heartbreak is another man's World Cup joy. And occasionally, places are swapped very quickly. Max Sorensen openly admits to shedding a few tears when he was left out of Ireland's original 15-man squad, but a few weeks later he was parachuted in to replace Tim Murtagh and is now set to play in the team's opening match against West Indies.

It was during the pre-World Cup trip to UAE where Murtagh injured his foot and flew home to find out he required surgery; his dream shattered. During the tour Sorensen and Murtagh had been room-mates, with Sorensen still trying to digest the shock at being omitted from the World Cup.

However, by the time he reached Dubai as a back-up bowler - a mentally tough experience to be around a squad he was not official part of - Sorensen had already started putting his plan in place about regaining his spot. He would never have wished injury upon a team-mate, but he had a feeling that he was not meant to miss the World Cup after making a considerable impression during his early ODI career, which began with the 2013 match against England in Malahide.

After nine matches he has 12 wickets at 22.58 - his T20 figures are also tidy - but it was not enough for the final cut as Craig Young and Peter Chase were preferred.

"There were a few days of real disappointment and tears," Sorensen told ESPNcricinfo. "Then I decided to pick myself up. I believed in myself that I wasn't going to be left out eventually. I felt I deserved to be there. I played well last year and that spurred me on. I wanted to prove people wrong.

"I was rooming with Murts [Tim Murtagh] in Dubai when he got injured. It has been a roller-coaster of emotions, starting with disappointment and then trying to work hard to get my place back. When I got told I was called up, Tim was one of the first to congratulate me. I was sorry for him, but we also agreed that it's the way sport goes. We said that if you aren't doing it then I will."

Now, after taking seven wickets in Ireland's three warm-up matches in Australia, including 3 for 31 in the victory over Bangladesh, he is likely to be thrown the new ball against West Indies. He is determined not be overcome by the occasion.

"I just can't wait, I've been building up to this for a long time," he said. "I've done the hard work, done the hard yards. I'm just going to grab it with both hands and enjoy it. I haven't played in many big atmospheres so I'm going to savour it. I've not got special plans. We'll see what happens. It would be nice to get a couple of early wickets like in the warm-ups."

"I've felt really good since we got out here. I think I've been hitting the right length in Australia and I think it will be fairly similar out here. I'll back myself to have some success. You just have to take the emotion out of the equation and remember what has got you here."