Birrell proud of legacy as Ireland joins cricket’s elite

IRELAND cricket coach Adrian Birrell is proud of his legacy after guiding his team from associate also-rans to a fully-fledged one-day team.

Sunday’s crushing 74-run victory over Bangladesh at Kensington Oval secured a place on the International Cricket Council’s one-day international official rankings table.

They are effectively now the 12th best team in the world, five places below England, but will not receive an official rating until they have played at least eight matches against other major nations.