Balbirnie rues 'missed opportunity' against Aussies

Captain Andy Balbirnie rued "a missed opportunity" after Ireland's chances of reaching the last four at the T20 World have likely vanished after their loss to Australia on Monday.

Having qualified for the Super 12 stage from the preliminary first round thanks to a brilliant win against the West Indies, Ireland then shocked England at Melbourne last week.

However they made a woeful start with the bat against the Aussies and Balbirnie, whose wicket was the start of a dramatic collapse, feels they missed a trick.

"It's a bit of a missed opportunity," he said. "There was naturally a lot of pressure on them, the home team. They probably have to win two games by a certain amount.

"The wicket was pretty good and there was two or three dismissals, including myself up top, that could have maybe not happened. We came here to win, and we're disappointed we didn't win.

"It's a results business, so you want to win, but you have to sometimes accept that a team who are world champions can have a decent day out and turn you over."

While Josh Little collected two for 21 and Barry McCarthy three for 29, Lorcan Tucker was the standout with the bat for Ireland. He carted Mitchell Starc for seven of his nine fours while he dispatched Josh Hazlewood for six in an unbeaten 71 off 48 balls.

"It was a brilliant innings," Balbirnie added. "The way Lorcan played when his back was against the wall, he came out throwing punches, and that's the kind of message we've given to the guys.

"Certainly the character and the fight that we showed after that start is a positive to take towards the end of the week (they finish their group campaign against New Zealand on Friday)."

Australia improved their prospects of reaching the semi-finals but the victory came at a