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With the ICC Cricket World Cup countdown now well underway, cricketireland.ie caught up with Stuart Thompson as the Ireland squad train in Dublin ahead of their next training camp in the United Arab Emirates.
Ireland have been using the indoor facilities at North County Cricket Club and the training facilities at DCU in Dublin as they continue preparations for the ICC World Cup in February and March. Having recently returned from an acclimatisation tour of Australia and New Zealand there is a real focus to the sessions.

Thompson revealed what the boys have been up to since returning from the acclimatisation tour.

“We’ve basically taken it back to the foundations, back to the basics, especially with the bowling, doing a lot of drills and keeping our channels going.”

With batting though, there is a little more freedom for the squad.

“With the batting it is mainly up to the batters, what they want to do and what they feel they need to work on, especially after being in Australia and New Zealand for a month we know what we need to do and we’re working on that here with the bowling machine, slingers and throw downs.”

Having that experience of playing in Australia and New Zealand has not just helped inform the players and coaches about the technical aspects of playing the game; it has had a much wider effect on the squad.

“It’s a massive benefit for everyone, because we now know what grounds we’re going to play at and the conditions at each ground. Like it’s massively different playing in the Gabba to the Manuka Oval in Canberra, so it was good to get out there and see what conditions are like and be one step ahead when we play there in March.”

With the World Cup coming in February, the only chance to prepare outdoors comes from travelling abroad, and next week the squad will go away for a second preparation tour of the winter, this time in the United Arab Emirates.

Whilst there, Ireland will play two games against New Zealand A, and although they are a good opportunity for match practice, with the World Cup just three months away the main focus is slightly longer term.

“We have two big games against what will be a strong New Zealand A team, so we’re looking forward to that, but again, I think everyone will be geared towards the World Cup and basically going on from what we did last month in Australia and New Zealand and what we’re doing here in the nets, taking that to Dubai and continuing working and improving.”

Ireland leave for the UAE on 19th November, with the games against New Zealand A taking place in Dubai on November 29th and December 1st. To follow the boys on tour and keep up to date with all the latest news and interviews from Cricket Ireland by following us on Twitter and Facebook.

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