Matches of ifs & buts

Ireland captain William Porterfield is confident his side has prepared well for Sunday's must-win World Cup match against Pakistan at the Adelaide Oval, but insisted it was just another game.

The final Pool B match in the month-long group stage will lift the winners into the quarterfinals and leave the losers facing a tricky run-rate countback against the West Indies.

Both teams go into the winner-take-all game at par with three wins from five matches, but Porterfield said it did not help to take it as a special day out in the field.

"It's just another game of the group in terms of preparation," he told reporters on Saturday.

"Obviously result-wise it's a key match, but you are still going to prepare like you do for each match.

"The opposition is what's in front of you, and you have to prepare to beat them. I don't think you can think about the outcome and put pressure on yourself.

"Some lads may think about it more than others and that may be an extra motivation factor for them. But as long as we prepare how we have done for each individual game, then we'll be fine."

The West Indies must beat the amateurs of the United Arab Emirates to make the last eight, but it will be an early flight home if they lose, or if approaching Cyclone Pam forces the game to be abandoned.

The West Indies go into the match two points behind Pakistan and Ireland with all three sides in contention for the remaining two quarter-final spots from Pool B behind India and South Africa.

A win to the West Indies should put them into the play offs with a superior run rate over the loser of the Pakistan-Ireland match to be played later Sunday in Adelaide.

Debutants Ireland scored a memorable three-wicket win over Pakistan when the teams last met in the World Cup in 2007, but Porterfield said another victory this time will not be considered a surprise.