Cricket Ireland named a 16-man squad for the ODI series against Afghanistan and UAE in January. The series against Afghanistan will be a part of the World Cup Super League. Players and support staff who are not part of the squad, will have to stay back home in covid-19 safety conditions if there is a […]
Cricket Ireland named a 16-man squad for the ODI series against Afghanistan and UAE in January. The series against Afghanistan will be a part of the World Cup Super League.
Players and support staff who are not part of the squad, will have to stay back home in covid-19 safety conditions if there is a need for them to fly out as a substitute.
Ireland will be without the services of Gary Wilson for both the series as he has been granted a paternity leave for the birth of his second child. In his place, Neil Rock has been included as a wicket keeper.
The 16 man squad did not include the likes of William Porterfield, Boyd Rankin and George Dockrell who were all part of the England tour in August.
Ireland Squad: Andrew Balbirnie (C), Mark Adair, Curtis Campher, David Delany, Gareth Delany, Josh Little, Andrew McBrine, Barry McCarthy, James McCollum, Kevin O’Brien, Neil Rock, Simi Singh, Paul Stirling, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Craig Young.
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Ireland will be heading into the two series with great confidence after having pulled a massive run chase against England with centuries from Paul Stirling and Andrew Balbirnie. Head coach, Graham Ford believes that his team should be pleased with their success in the recent times.
“It goes without saying that 2020 has been a difficult year, but the lads have acquitted themselves well and can be proud of what they have managed to achieve,” Ford said.
“We’ve beaten the T20 World Champions, the West Indies, in a T20I in the Caribbean, beaten Afghanistan for the first time in a T20I in the subcontinent, and beaten the current World Cup champions England in their own backyard – those wins have helped build self-belief within the players and have demonstrated the progress we are making as a squad.”
“We have two challenging series ahead of us, but we’re looking to create a sense of momentum going into a big year – a year that will feature multiple tours, a full home season and a T20 WC at the back end.”
