Colombo: Ireland skipper William Porterfield wants to prove that his side are better than Australia in Twenty20 cricket.

He exuded great confidence after a practice session at the Premadasa cricket stadium prior to his team’s first match of the Twenty20 against the Australians today (September 19).

“We have got as good a chance as anyone else. We are coming up against a team that has been in a bit of transition themselves but they are a pretty good team. We are not taking them lightly. Australia have got a lot of game-changers in this format of the game and they have got a lot of experience, but the way we have been playing and the way we have prepared for the tournament we are confident about what we can do.”

Porterfield draws his confidence from the past form of his team. “I think Irish cricket has been doing well for the past number of years. Obviously it all started five years ago, when we reached the Super 8s of the ICC World Cup. Since then we have grown. It’s obviously great to get wins like that in the World Cup. You obviously want to do it more regularly. And this tournament is no different,” he said, referring to his team’s splendid showing in the 50-over cricket World Cup in the West Indies in 2007.

Porterfield admitted that the Australians have more experience than his team but he believes that if his side can strike early, then they have a chance. “They are a good team; a lot of their players and a lot of their coaches play and coach in the Indian Premier League. That gives a lot of the Aussies the experience of Twenty20 cricket regardless of the fact that it didn’t work that well for them last season. They have played a lot in this format of the game. Their top-three batsmen Michael Hussey and David Warner and Shane Watson have a lot of experience of the Twenty20 game. I obviously wouldn’t mind seeing the back of those three early, but they also have got a lot of lads who can change the game all the way down. Regardless of who we have been playing against, if we do as well as we have been doing, we are going to push anyone,” he said.