SHOWS: COLOMBO, SRI LANKA (SEPTEMBER 12, 2012) (REUTERS-ACCESS ALL) 1. INTERIOR OF NEWS CONFERENCE 2. (SOUNDBITE) (English) IRELAND CRICKET CAPTAIN WILL PORTERFIELD SAYING: "I don't see us as a surprise package. Over the last few years we have had a lot more exposure. The way things are at the moment everybody knows everything about everyone. But I think we have some excitement there." 3. JOURNALISTS AT NEWS CONFERENCE 4. (SOUNDBITE) (English) IRELAND CRICKET CAPTAIN WILL PORTERFIELD SAYING: "Every tournament you play, and every game you play, you gain more experience and take a lot more confidence to the tournaments. So, a majority of the squad has had that exposure over the last few years, we have been pretty consistent with few lads coming in and out. So, I think a lot of the lads have taken confidence from that and you can only really do that if you are improving all the time and playing more and more cricket, then the confidence levels are going to be high" 5. IRELAND CRICKET CAPTAIN WILL PORTERFIELD LEAVING THE NEWS CONFERENCE. STORY: Ireland captain Will Porterfield is backing his team to make a major impact at the World T20 - even if their recent exploits mean no one will take them lightly. Although not yet a test-playing nation, Ireland are the best of the associate sides, and beat England at the 50-over World Cup last year in an astonishing 300 plus run chase. And it is results such as those that have convinced Porterfield his team can advance from a group containing Australia and the West Indies, especially as the Irish are now ranked above the Aussies. "I don't see us as a surprise package," Porterfield told reporters on Wednesday (September 12) in Colombo. "Over the last few years we have had a lot more exposure. The way things are at the moment everybody knows everything about everyone. But I think we have some excitement there." Porterfield also called for more games for the second tier nations in the ICC against test-playing nations, insisting is the only way the associate members can improve. "Every tournament you play, and every game you play, you gain more experience and take a lot more confidence to the tournaments," he said. "So, a majority of the squad has had that exposure over the last few years we have been pretty consistent with few lads coming in and out. So, I think a lot of the lads have taken confidence from that and you can really do that if you are playing all the time and playing more and more cricket then the confidence levels are going to be high." Ireland and Afghanistan qualified from the ICC associate members. Ireland will open their Group B campaign against Australia next Wednesday (September 19).
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