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Ireland begin the defence of the the ICC InternContinental Cup, and take the first step on the pathway to Test cricket, at Malahide when they take on the UAE in the first match of the new cycle beginning on Tuesday (June 2nd)
Tuesday’s encounter will also mark John Bracewell’s first competitive match in charge of the Ireland side. Looking ahead to the match, the former New Zealand Test off-spinner said: “It’s a hugely important game for us as we take the first step on our ambition to become a Test playing nation. That opportunity was one of the primary reasons I took on the job of Ireland Head Coach. It’s incredibly exciting for the team and the country as we look to write new chapters in our cricketing history.

“The team has a fantastic record in the competition having won it four times and we’d like nothing better than to make it five wins. We’ve selected a very strong squad for the game and are at full strength. We’ve got a lot of experienced players in our ranks who’ve played a lot of multi-day cricket.

“It’s nice that my first game in charge will be at home and hopefully the crowd at Malahide will come out and support us this week. It’s obviously a huge boost for us to be playing UAE in home conditions and hopefully we’ll get our campaign off to a winning start against a dangerous UAE side.”

This is reigning champion Ireland’s seventh appearance in the competition, which also features former winner Afghanistan, Hong Kong, Namibia, Netherlands, Papua New Guinea (PNG), 2004 champion Scotland and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Ireland has participated in all six ICC Intercontinental Cup since its inception in 2004, winning it four times – 2005, 2006-7, 2007-8 and 2011-13. In all, it has played 32 matches; winning 20, losing just two and drawing 10. In contrast, Tuesday’s game will be the UAE’s sixth appearance in the competition which it has yet to win. To date, it has played 27 matches, winning seven, losing ten and drawing 10.

In the week’s other match, Scotland will welcome Afghanistan to Stirling. All four Associate nations, which recently impressed at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, will be in action from Tuesday in their opening round matches of the four-day first-class Intercontinental Cup 2015-17, which is a pathway for Test cricket.

The side that wins the eight-team round-robin competition will play the 10th-ranked side on the Reliance ICC Test Team Rankings (as at 31 December 2017) in the four-match ICC Test Challenge during 2018. If the Associate Member wins the series, to be played on a home and away basis, then it will become the 11th Test nation.

This is reigning champion Ireland’s seventh appearance in the competition, which also features former winner Afghanistan, Hong Kong, Namibia, Netherlands, Papua New Guinea (PNG), 2004 champion Scotland and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Ireland has participated in all six ICC Intercontinental Cup since its inception in 2004, winning it four times – 2005, 2006-7, 2007-8 and 2011-13. In all, it has played 32 matches; winning 20, losing just two and drawing 10. In contrast, Tuesday’s game will be the UAE’s sixth appearance in the competition which it has yet to win. To date, it has played 27 matches, winning seven, losing ten and drawing 10.

Play gets underway at Malahide at 11am each day, and entry is free.

Squads:

IRELAND (from): William Porterfield (captain), John Anderson, Andrew Balbirnie, George Dockrell, Ed Joyce, John Mooney, Tim Murtagh, Andrew McBrine, Kevin O’Brien, Niall O’Brien, Paul Stirling, Stuart Thompson, Gary Wilson, Craig Young

UAE (from): Mohamed Tauqir (captain), Fayyaz Ahmed, Amjad Ali, Saqib Ali, Shaiman Anwar, Manjula Guruge, Asif Iqbal, Amjad Javed, Khurram Khan, Muhammad Naveed, Swapnil Patil, Ahmed Raza, Chirag Suri, Muhammad Shahzad

Match Referee: Dev Govindjee (South Africa)

Umpires: Chettithody Shamshuddin and Mark Hawthorne

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