Ireland’s men’s national cricket team have announced a historic 15-player squad for their inaugural Test tour of Bangladesh. This tour will be their first red-ball matches since they played Zimbabwe in February. The players that make up the squad juxtapose a healthy combination of experience and youth, with five players expected to earn their first Test cap during the series.
The first Test is set to begin in Sylhet from November 11 to 15, before they move on to Dhaka for the second Test from November 19 to 23. In addition to the Tests, the two countries will face off in three T20 internationals on November 27th, 29th, and December 2nd.
Seven players from the current squad were on Ireland’s last tour of Bangladesh two years ago, their experience hotly valued. Despite stiff competition, Andrew Balbirnie captains the current squad. He’s not alone, as he is joined by significant threats such as Paul Stirling, Andy McBrine and Harry Tector. The complete Test squad is as follows:
- Andrew Balbirnie (capt)
- Curtis Campher
- Cade Carmichael
- Stephen Doheny
- Gavin Hoey
- Graham Hume
- Matthew Humphreys
- Andy McBrine
- Barry McCarthy
- Liam McCarthy
- Paul Stirling
- Jordan Neil
- Harry Tector
- Lorcan Tucker (wk)
- Craig Young
Cade Carmichael, Liam McCarthy, Jordan Neil, and Stephen Doheny have been included in a red-ball side for the first time. Their musical choice speaks to Ireland’s investment in nurturing new artists as they gear up to tackle what lies in store.
Josh Little and Mark Adair come right back into the squad. Both players missed the recent Test series against England through injury, but are now available to add to the white-ball leg of the tour. The experience they have both brings invaluable depth to a team that has youth and talent in spades across T20 based format.
Wilson delightfully anticipates getting new blood into the Irish fold. He’s anticipating the return of three talented redshirt seniors to shore up their starting five. Third, he noted just how much of a difference Little and Adair might make to the squad’s competitiveness.
“Whenever you add the firepower of those two guys and the experience that they’ve got in T20 cricket, I think it’ll bolster any attack.” – Gary Wilson
Wilson acknowledged that Ireland’s bowling attack was somewhat under-strength during the England series and expressed relief at having key players back for the Bangladesh tour.
“Our attack was a little bit under-strength against England and it’ll be pleasing to get those guys back in.” – Gary Wilson
Further down the road, Wilson flagged a wish for greater first-class and Test cricket exposure for Ireland’s players.
“In an ideal world we would have a little bit more first-class cricket and actually a little bit more Test cricket as well, I suppose, but to see how those guys will fare will be brilliant.” – Gary Wilson
Ireland is preparing for what promises to be a historic home tour. Fans and analysts are eager to learn how the team bounces back against Bangladesh in their first Test and T20 collections. The mix of returning stars and new artists bodes well for what should be a hotly-contested Subway Series.
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