T20 World Cup: Irishman Barry McCarthy says Australia defeat was a missed opportunity to do 'something special'
The 42-point defeat, Ireland's second in the Super 12 series, effectively ends their hopes of qualify for the semi-finals.
Despite going 25-5 at one point while chasing 179, McCarthy thinks Ireland could have scored a shock victory.
"It was bitterly disappointing, in the end, d 'to be so close,' he said.
"Put it in context, to be 25-5 and then being short 40 runs at the end just shows what we could have done if we had a few wickets in hand.
"We knew it was going to be a challenge to come here and play Australia in their own backyard. It was certainly a challenge for the whole day, but there was a real opportunity here for us to do something special and we are just bitterly disappointed."
He added: "Halfway through the race, we thought we had a really good opportunity to upset one of the favorites and chase the dream we've had this whole tournament. It wasn't supposed to be but who knows what might have been."
Captain Andrew Balbirnie said that Ireland will want to "come out with a bang" in their final game against the Kiwis on Friday, and McCarthy, who won three wickets against the Australians, was taking the same positive approach.
"It wasn't supposed to be [against Australia} but we have a big game on Friday," he continued.
"We'll take some confidence out of this. Obviously there are a lot of things we need to do better but we know we have a big opportunity now on Friday.
"And who knows? We'll go out there and try to play our best game like we always try to. do.
" We have shown throughout this tournament that we have winners in both departments, with bat and ball. Facing this Australian side was always going to be a mountain to climb, but we certainly took a lot of confidence from wins in England and the West Indies, and will enter Friday with exactly the same mentality."
One of the most memorable moments of the game was a sensational piece of groundbreaking McCarthy's edge, including the acrobatic dive, catch and kick somehow managed to prevent a Marcus Stoinis shot from heading towards six.
"It was funny, at first I thought it was in row Z and then as I started to get around I felt it was still inside the rope," he continued.
"It just seemed to swirl in the wind a bit and I continued. In these situations, I try first and foremost to catch the ball and my reaction was just to return the ball.
"It would have been nice if I had held it back, but it wasn't. We we're doing them a lot now these days, so it's nice to see the fruit of that."
Tucker's "incredible" performance comes as no surprise to the Ireland side alt+ story-body__media story-body__media--figure qa-story-body-media" data-reactid=".qaruytd16w.0.0 .0.1.$image-21">
The 42-point defeat, Ireland's second in the Super 12 series, effectively ends their hopes of qualify for the semi-finals.
Despite going 25-5 at one point while chasing 179, McCarthy thinks Ireland could have scored a shock victory.
"It was bitterly disappointing, in the end, d 'to be so close,' he said.
"Put it in context, to be 25-5 and then being short 40 runs at the end just shows what we could have done if we had a few wickets in hand.
"We knew it was going to be a challenge to come here and play Australia in their own backyard. It was certainly a challenge for the whole day, but there was a real opportunity here for us to do something special and we are just bitterly disappointed."
He added: "Halfway through the race, we thought we had a really good opportunity to upset one of the favorites and chase the dream we've had this whole tournament. It wasn't supposed to be but who knows what might have been."
Captain Andrew Balbirnie said that Ireland will want to "come out with a bang" in their final game against the Kiwis on Friday, and McCarthy, who won three wickets against the Australians, was taking the same positive approach.
"It wasn't supposed to be [against Australia} but we have a big game on Friday," he continued.
"We'll take some confidence out of this. Obviously there are a lot of things we need to do better but we know we have a big opportunity now on Friday.
"And who knows? We'll go out there and try to play our best game like we always try to. do.
" We have shown throughout this tournament that we have winners in both departments, with bat and ball. Facing this Australian side was always going to be a mountain to climb, but we certainly took a lot of confidence from wins in England and the West Indies, and will enter Friday with exactly the same mentality."
One of the most memorable moments of the game was a sensational piece of groundbreaking McCarthy's edge, including the acrobatic dive, catch and kick somehow managed to prevent a Marcus Stoinis shot from heading towards six.
"It was funny, at first I thought it was in row Z and then as I started to get around I felt it was still inside the rope," he continued.
"It just seemed to swirl in the wind a bit and I continued. In these situations, I try first and foremost to catch the ball and my reaction was just to return the ball.
"It would have been nice if I had held it back, but it wasn't. We we're doing them a lot now these days, so it's nice to see the fruit of that."
Tucker's "incredible" performance comes as no surprise to the Ireland side alt+ story-body__media story-body__media--figure qa-story-body-media" data-reactid=".qaruytd16w.0.0 .0.1.$image-21">What's Your Reaction?
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