O'Brien proud of Ireland efforts

Niall O'Brien and Ireland made a lot of people proud during their ICC World Cup campaign. The Leicestershire batsman signs off his World Cup blog with a thank you to supporters.

I write this article sitting on the plane on the way home from Adelaide. There is a little sadness that I won't be playing against Australia at the Adelaide Oval on Friday night but in general a real feeling of joy at what our team has gone out and achieved.

The Australian and New Zealand public could not have been more hospitable and friendly as we travelled from city to city and stadium to stadium. We won so many fans over with our spirited display on the pitch and friendly atmosphere away from it.

Three wins and three losses is a good return, yes, but we were hopeful of four and a quarter-final berth but it wasn't to be. Losing to Pakistan, South Africa and India is no disgrace and the fact we know we could have run them closer is testament to where we have come from as a team over the years.

Three wonderful wins over the West Indies, UAE and Zimbabwe gave our supporters lots to shout about and I am extremely grateful to all who got behind our team in our journey down under.

The camaraderie that is within our team is unreal; not once was there an argument in camp and on a eight-week tour that is nearly unheard of. I must say a huge thank you to all the management for their support on tour.

So next up is my third year with the Foxes and one I am extremely excited about. I want this team and club to be successful and I know there is a huge shift in attitude and focus as the team get things moving for the season.

The club will have a solid base of players to choose from with good experience and that will help the younger players make the strides we know they are capable of.

Clint McKay is a great signing and he along with Charlie Shreck will add steel to our talented quicks like Ollie Freckingham and ‘the boss’, Atif Sheikh, and there could be a hostility about the attack that we haven't seen for a while.

I am looking forward to seeing the boys when I return and greeting our wonderful supporters with my silly Irish banter as the season gets under way in mid-April.

Until then I thank you for supporting Cricket Ireland. See you soon.

Niall