Proud Johnston hails Irish

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Ireland's shock victory over Pakistan in the group stages and Sunday night's 74-run triumph over Bangladesh at the Kensington Oval has confirmed their status as a ranked one-day international team.

Johnston said: "We had to bounce back from the disappointment against Australia and there were a lot of people saying a lot of things about us. But it was the best game of cricket I've been involved with these guys for four years."

He added: "It was the best all-round performance we've had - all three disciplines were outstanding."

Ireland were once again supported by a healthy contingent of the 'Blarney Army', many of whom have travelled to watch their two games in Barbados, and Johnston admitted the team were delighted to repay them after their lacklustre display against the world champions.

He said: "There have been a lot of people who have paid a lot of money to come over and watch us play two games of cricket here in Barbados.

"It was obviously a huge game against Australia and we were nothing short of disappointing two days ago, and we had to turn that around quick-smart.

"We've done that and now I'm just pleased with the effort the guys have put in. It was a first-class effort and it was an effort from a team that deserves to be playing at this level.

"We're a tight bunch of guys and there are no problems among the 15 of us. We'll fight for each other and we'll hang in there. We knew it was a disappointing day for us two days ago and we wanted to turn that around.

"We have a hell of a coach and he's one of the best motivators I've been involved with. We had a good chat and we said this was our big game and we had to go out there and take it and we did that."