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After wrapping up their World Cup campaign on an impressive note, Ireland captain William Porterfield on Friday said that inconsistent performances with the bat stood in between his team and a quarterfinal berth.
Ireland was the most impressive team among the minnows, notching up two 300 plus run chases in the World Cup -- one of which came against England.
Ireland, chasing 307, drew curtains to their World Cup campaign with a six wicket victory over the Netherlands at the Eden Gardens on Friday to return home with two wins from their six matches in Group B.
"We have turned up for every game. We were consistent with the ball and on the field stands but haven't backed it up with the bat consistently what we did today," Porterfield said.
"But when you put yourselves into winning positions you will win more than you lose. It was great to chase 300 for the second time in the tournament.
"But we should not have been chasing that. We let ourselves down in the first half. But we have bowled and fielded well throughout the tournament and it was nice to see the batters coming to the party today," he added.
The ongoing World Cup might be minnows' last outing in the tournament after the ICC has decided to reduce the number of teams to 10 in the next edition of the event, but Porterfield said Ireland has plenty to offer to international cricket.
"A couple of young lads are coming through the system. Craig Young has been picked up by Sussex, then you have young Shane Getkate (at Warwickshire). So there is plenty of potential coming through. They are good quick bowlers," he said.
Young Irish left-arm spinner George Dockrell, who dislocated his shoulder on Friday, also impressed in the tournament with seven wickets, including that of Sachin Tendulkar and India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
Porterfield said the wicket of Dutch star batsman Ryan ten Doeschate, who scored his second century in the tournament today, with 10 overs remaining in the Netherlands innings was the turning point of the match for Ireland.
"It (Ten Doeschate) was a big wicket. We have seen how destructive he can be. He is a quality player so that was a big wicket at that time and we clawed it back well in the last 10 overs," he said.
Porterfield was full off praise for his opening partner Paul Stirling, who starred in Ireland's run chase with a 72-ball 101-run innings.
"It took a lot of pressure of me. I was happy to play the second fiddle and watch someone smash it around and get a century off 70 balls.
"Anytime we got behind the run rate we just picked up. We played good cricket in the second half of the game. So I am very pleased," he said.
The Irish skipper also said that he was also satisfied with his captaincy in the tournament.
"I'm pretty happy with the decisions I took throughout the tournament. There has been a couple of tough calls on selection but we've gone with what we felt right on the day.
"It's tough on Nigel Jones and Albert van der Merwe who didn't play a game. But they're great tourists. They worked and trained hard. It can't be easy for them to keep going every day but all credit to them for the way they have gone about their business," Porterfield said.
Porterfield rued the fact that he did not convert his 68 into a century on Friday.
"I would love to have got a century in a World Cup game, just like anyone. But it doesn't really bother me that much because we chased over 300 and won the game.
"Personal milestones don't really matter as long as we get across the finishing line," he said.
Photograph: Reuters