WI win not a foregone conclusion

The laid-back vibe of Nelson, nestled on the north coast of South Island - ocean to the north, hills and mountains to the south - does not instil a feeling of pressure. But make no mistake, that will be a key ingredient come Monday.

Day three of a World Cup is early to make this call, but the match between Ireland and West Indies at Saxton Oval has the potential to be a defining contest of the tournament. There is much criticism, most of it valid, about the structure of the event as the group stage could become a long, drawn-out, affair with the expected eight teams making the quarter-finals.

An early upset (or two) would do wonders at keeping at least one group alive. In 2011, England's fluctuating form - coupled with Ireland's monumental chase in Bangalore - made that half of the draw compelling viewing. Even though England were ultimately among the quarter-finalists with the seven other leading nations, it was never a foregone conclusion.

Ireland's first World Cup was 2007 in the Caribbean, when they stunned by beating Pakistan and progressing to the Super Eights. That meant in 2011 expectations were higher and now they have grown again; the team is better resourced, has had a longer preparation period than ever before and has a new position in the ODI rankings which has grouped them and Afghanistan above other Associates.

Warren Deutrom, the Cricket Ireland chief executive, has said that it would be a failure if Ireland did not reach the quarter-finals. That is a significant change in mindset - and in a very short period of times, eight years since their World Cup debut - and it suggests there will be consequences if it does not happen.

William Porterfield, Ireland's captain, has been there from the start of Ireland's World Cup history and though he acknowledges the changing emphasis with each tournament, he believes the players can cope with the pressure.

"We've played a lot of cricket, a lot of county cricket. There is a lot of experience," Porterfield said. "When youngsters come into the side, there is a lot more knowledge of cricket. When we grew up in Ireland we didn't have that. We played a lot of club cricket but didn't travel around the world. Eight years ago, players were glad to make the squad to gain experience but now they come into it with that instead."

Conversely, expectations for West Indies have rarely been lower. Even while their Test fortunes have slumped, the limited-overs game has been seen as a source of solace. Now increasingly it is looking like success is limited to only the T20 arena, which leaves the new captain Jason Holder battling against the perception of a team in endless crisis.

The last six months have included walking out on a tour of India, being heavily beaten in South Africa (although that is no disgrace) and the ongoing controversy over the omissions of Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard from this tournament.

"Everything is done and dusted, we've moved on from it. It's beyond on our control and are ready to go," Holder said. "It's not that hard. You go through tough times and it's important you move on and take what you can. We are starting a new campaign."

Porterfield, meanwhile, had little interest in being drawn into debating West Indies' problems. "There are a few lads who have missed out," he said. "Whatever happens with their squad I don't really care, I'm happy with how we've gone about our stuff."

He may be happy with Ireland's preparation, but it has not been entirely convincing. The victory against Bangladesh was a strong full stop on the warm-ups having been previously lost to Sydney club side Randwick Petersham and then to Scotland. Porterfield did acknowledge one issue, the number of wides his bowlers are conceding, but was less willing to admit any worries over the top order: Ireland's last ODI hundred was Porterfield himself against England at Malahide in 2013.

"We've laid some platforms and then lost wickets in clusters which isn't great, but it's not a major concern for me," he said.

Still, Ireland are one-up on West Indies in that they have a victory under their belt since arriving for the tournament. If it had not been for Andre Russell's penultimate over against Scotland, West Indies would have added another defeat after being rolled over by England. Holder, though, insisted it had not led to any drastic rethinking.

"I wouldn't say they haven't gone to plan," Holder said. "We've set plans within our team and wanted to see players in different roles."

Both captains were playing it cool, but there will be some contrasting emotions tomorrow evening.