Simmons Happy With Ireland's Preparation For Huge South African Clash

Irish Coach Phil Simmons is happy with the way preparations have gone for Ireland's huge World Cup encounter with South Africa.

Ireland will have to face the World's hottest player at the moment AB de Villiers. But Simmons says they will prepare for that in the same way they prepare for any batsman, make your plans, and if you bowl to your plans and he still hits it out of the park, well that's just the game of Cricket.

Barry Chambers: Phil a huge match against South Africa, how have the preparations gone here in Canberra?

Phil Simmons: Everything has been good, it's been nice. We had one shower yesterday that put us inside. But other than that I really think it's been good. I'd say as good as leading up to the West Indies game.

Barry Chambers: And everyone fit and raring to go?

Phil Simmons: Yeah everybody is fit. We're still picking from 15. So that's a good thing always. And everyone is on their toes as to what we're going with this match, because every match we're taking it differently.

Barry Chambers: And just looking at the conditions here, it's a pretty big ground. But the square boundaries are short?

Phil Simmons: We just have to work out how we play on this ground. It's bigger than the two grounds we've played on. And South Africa are going to be a strong team, as in you know, the same thing as us, running and thing like that. So we've got to make sure that we are up to everything that we have to do on this big ground.

Barry Chambers: And how are you preparing for AB de Villiers who has been in scintillating form in the build up to this game. Does that give you big problems as a Coach?

Phil Simmons: No, we just work out how we want to bowl at him, as we work out how we want to bowl to the other seven or eight batters, and that's the way we've been taking it. We did the same thing with Chris Gayle who is a menace too.

So we just take it like that, and we work it out how we want to bowl to them. And if we bowl to them and we bowl well and they score a hundred, well that's just the game. But we work out how we, our pace, our movement, our abilities, how we can use that against them.

Barry Chambers: And it's funny, the world of Cricket, how it throws up coincidences. We're going to be coming up against Adi Birrell the Assistant Coach at South Africa?

Phil Simmons: Yeah yeah, it's great to see Adi, it's been great to see him and Russell and Alan Donald, and everyone like that, because I've been good friends with all of them for a long time. And I'm sure he's going to have a few twinkles going into this game. So it will be nice, and it is always great to catch up with him.