Ireland skipper William Porterfield says ‘associate’ tag an insult to his team

Ireland captain William Porterfield said yesterday his side belonged among the world’s elite and said he despised the tag of “associate”, which brands a host of teams as second-class citizens.

They already have six points from three wins and a defeat in pool B, seeing off test sides West Indies and Zimbabwe as well as the amateurs of the United Arab Emirates.

Their only loss so far was a 201-run wake-up call against South Africa.

Victory over either India or Pakistan, in their final group game in Adelaide on Sunday, will put them in the quarter-finals with Pakistan or West Indies heading home.

“I don’t like that tag of associates,” said Porterfield, whose team qualified for the tournament as one of four non-test sides alongside Afghanistan, UAE and Scotland, who edged out Hong Kong.

“I don’t think teams should be associated any differently, and putting those tags on us.

“As far as I’m concerned, there is a ranking system in place and that’s where we’re at,” added Porterfield, whose team are ranked 11th in the world.