DUBLIN, Ireland, CMC – Ireland coach Graham Ford has underscored the importance of a quick acclimatisation after selectors yesterday announced 14-man squads for the limited overs tour of the Caribbean next month.
Both the one-day and Twenty20 International squads – described by Ford as “a blend of experience and youth” – will be led for the first time by stroke-maker Andrew Balbirnie who last month replaced the long-serving William Porterfield as Test and one-day skipper, and has now taken over from Gary Wilson as T20 captain.
With only one warm-up match before the six-match series against West Indies, Ford said his side needed to hit the ground running.
“The Caribbean tour will be the start of a quite intensive year for the senior men’s team,” Forde said.
“We have tours before the start of the home season, hosting several full members in the summer, commence our participation in the ICC World Cup ODI Super League, including playing an ODI series against England, and then head to [the] T20 World Cup in October.
“These matches will be the first under Andrew Balbirnie’s leadership, so [it] will be a great first-up challenge for him and one which I know he is looking forward to.”
He continued: “We’ve played the West Indies a few times over the last couple of years, and the two sides have built up a decent rivalry on the field – but the Windies are an altogether different proposition in their own backyard.
“We have one formal warm-up game on [January 4], then it’s straight into the ODI series. Our lads will need to adapt quickly to local conditions and be ready from the outset in order to build some momentum, which is an important aspect of any series.”
Ireland clash with West Indies in an ODI doubleheader at Kensington Oval in Barbados on January 7 and again two days later, before playing the finale in Grenada on January 12.
Grenada’s National Stadium will also host the opening T20 International on January 15 before the series concludes at Warner Park in St Kitts with a weekend doubleheader on January 18 and 19.
In their only previous meeting in a bilateral ODI series, Ireland went down by four wickets to the Windies in a one-off match in Jamaica five years ago.
Overall, Ireland have beaten West Indies only once in 10 one-day meetings, losing seven.
On the 2014 tour, Ireland split the two-match T20 series.
SQUAD:
ODI – Andrew Balbirnie (captain), Mark Adair, Gareth Delany, Andrew McBrine, Barry McCarthy, James McCollum, Kevin O’Brien, William Porterfield, Boyd Rankin, Simi Singh, Paul Stirling, Lorcan Tucker, Gary Wilson, Craig Young.
T20I – Andrew Balbirnie (captain), Mark Adair, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Josh Little, Barry McCarthy, Kevin O’Brien, Boyd Rankin, Simi Singh, Paul Stirling, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Gary Wilson, Craig Young.
