Paul Stirling pulled no punches this week, admitting his Ireland side are “underprepared” for the three-match T20 series against England that begins in Malahide on Wednesday. A wet July and August, coupled with cancellations, mean the men in green have played only three home internationals all summer.
Ireland lost three matches to the rain when West Indies toured in May and June. Afghanistan’s proposed visit never materialised – Cricket Ireland said the sums just did not add up – while the much-trailed European T20 Premier League was shelved again. The result is a squad that has hardly been on the park since early June.
“We’ve probably been under-prepared, would be the honest answer,” Stirling said during a breezy media call. “It’s nice to get together as a squad for the first time in about four months. We got a little bit of work done yesterday at the HPC [High-Performance Centre], not much done on Sunday, and a good session in today. That’s about all we’ve had.”
Malahide is sold out for Wednesday but the forecast for Friday and Sunday is grim. England, juggling an overflowing calendar, have left several senior players at home, yet they still arrive with more recent cricket under the belt than their hosts. Ireland’s only completed home outing since early June was a low-key ODI against the West Indies; the rest were washed away.
Stirling is realistic about what that means. “We’re looking forward to giving it a good go against England. We’ll need things to go our way probably. It’s just nice to get together. It feels like the beginning of our winter programme, rather than the end of our summer programme. That’s the stage we’re at. Certainly, it feels like the start of something, rather than the end.”
The series itself was not even meant to be T20 cricket. Under the ICC’s Future Tours Programme it originally appeared as three ODIs in June, but both boards agreed a switch to the shorter format – World Cup preparation trumping everything – and shuffled the dates to mid-September.
Cricket Ireland tried to plug the gaps with a “best v best” 50-over trial earlier this month. Only one of three games beat the weather. “We were supposed to have three or four weeks of highly competitive franchise cricket here, if things went well,” Stirling said. “In theory, it would’ve been fine, but in practice, it isn’t.”
Money remains the crunch point. Temporary stands, broadcast cabling, hospitality tents – the bill for turning small club grounds into international venues climbs into seven figures. A permanent facility at Abbotstown, pencilled in ahead of the 2030 Men’s T20 World Cup, should ease the burden, but for now the governing body must pick its battles.
Players feel the squeeze. Stirling conceded the dressing room is “obviously disappointed” at the scant action. “We can’t hide that fact,” he said. “We want to play as much cricket as we can. We’re going to be judged on our performances on the pitch and to not have consistent cricket, which allow—” His point trailed off, the frustration doing the talking.
A busier winter awaits: a tour of Bangladesh, then matches in the Middle East before next year’s T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka. For now, though, Ireland head into a headline series desperately short of game time and praying the skies clear long enough for a fair contest.
England might rotate, but even their second-string attack offers pace, variation and plenty more overs in the legs than Ireland’s batters have faced recently. A few early boundaries, a bit of Dublin sunshine, and Stirling’s men could ride a wave of home support. Yet if the rain returns, the numbers will simply not stack up – a familiar tale from a stop-start summer.
