Expectations chase new-look Ireland

With success and standing comes expectation. Ireland are now used to that, but it does not mean the pressure is any less each time a world event comes. They are the top-ranked nation in the qualifying section of the World T20, sitting above their Full Member counterparts of Zimbabwe and Bangladesh. It certainly will not have gone unnoticed that the team above them in eighth position in the current rankings is England.

And that could yet be a match-up that occurs at the World T20: if Ireland progress from Group B they will be alongside England in the second phase of the tournament. First, though, there is the cut and thrust of the next week to get through. William Porterfield, the captain, gave an interesting perspective of the competition to join the top eight teams, saying that the sides that progress could well be at advantage given the competitive cricket they will have played.

While Ireland are rightly lauded for the progress being made, conversely it also has to be said that failure to qualify will have to be viewed as a significant setback.

There is a more youthful look about Ireland's squad compared to the previous global event, the 2012 World T20 in Sri Lanka. Gone are Boyd Rankin (now with England) and Trent Johnston (retired) so the bowling, in particular, includes some inexperienced names. Seam bowlers Stuart Thompson and Craig Young, along with spinners Andy McBrine and James Shannon are those tasked with filling the large shoes.

It means the onus will be on Ireland's batting. That is where the bulk of the professional experience sits, from the captain Porterfield and his opening partner Paul Stirling, to Ed Joyce, the O'Brien brothers and Gary Wilson.

Paul Stirling gives the ball a hefty thump and, as Porterfield picked out earlier this week, offers a valuable option with his offspin in conditions that should favour the slow bowlers. While there remains a place for deftness in T20, sheer power is what intimidates oppositions and Stirling, if he can hold himself together, can dominate a bowling attack.

Given the aforementioned absence of some senior figures from the bowling attack, George Dockrell's four overs could well shape an innings for Ireland. Still just 21, he is now one of the more experienced campaigners with the ball.

Twenty-year-old Andy McBrine is uncapped at international level but made his first-class debut against Scotland last year. In Ireland's warm-up match against Nepal he took 2 for 22 from his four overs and could yet be a partner for Dockrell.

After Tim Murtagh and Max Sorensen, the pace bowling is a little thin with the changing of the guard, so if Ireland's slower bowlers do not prove to be as effective as hoped they could struggle for a Plan B.

Their best result came in the 2009 tournament stages in England when they beat Bangladesh to move into the second stage. They came close to a repeat in 2010 when rain denied them a winnable chase against England in Guyana, but last time in 2012 they did not really get out of the starting blocks following an opening defeat against Australia before rain forced an abandonment at the half-way stage against West Indies.

Their results in the build-up to the World T20 have been mixed. They lost two of their three matches in the Nagico Super 50 tournament in Trinidad, shared the T20 series against West Indies 1-1 on turgid Sabina Park pitches, lost the following ODI, then were beaten by Hong Kong in Sharjah before, perhaps more significantly, beating Nepal in Fatullah once they had reached Bangladesh before losing to the hosts.