Paul Stirling has expressed his pleasure on the information that considered one of Eire’s warm-up video games forward of the T20 World Cup might be held on the world-famous Melbourne Cricket Floor.
The ICC introduced the total programme of official warm-ups for all 16 groups yesterday and Eire will face Namibia beneath the MCG lights on Tuesday, October 11 adopted by a sport in opposition to Sri Lanka on the Junction Oval, additionally in Melbourne, two days later.
The Namibia sport would be the first by an Eire crew on the second largest floor on this planet — which has hosted greater than 90,000 folks at Ashes Take a look at matches — and Stirling, for one, can’t wait.
“I normally don’t take an excessive amount of discover of warm-up video games however the one on the MCG I’m fairly excited by,” mentioned the Eire vice-captain. “It could possibly be my final probability to play there.
“I don’t usually maintain warm-up video games in first rate regard however you probably have the possibility to play a sport there, even when it's a warm-up sport, it will likely be good.”
Eire skipper Andrew Balbirnie additionally echoed his ideas, describing the venue as “iconic”.
He mentioned: “It will likely be an incredible probability for us to play at one of the iconic grounds in world cricket. It’s all the time good to play in Australia and we're very a lot wanting ahead to getting on the market.”
With the warm-up video games not involving groups in the identical first spherical group — Eire play Zimbabwe, Scotland and West Indies — the one sides they may face have been West Indies, Netherlands, Sri Lanka and Namibia.
They have been their opponents finally 12 months’s T20 World Cup within the UAE and the fixture schedule has paired Eire with the 2 groups they misplaced to in that match.
Sri Lanka bowled out Eire for 101, for a 70 runs victory and Namibia then knocked out Balbirnie’s aspect with an eight wickets win of their last sport, condemning them to a spot within the first stage of this 12 months’s occasion.
Nonetheless, Balbirnie insists there might be no considered revenge when Eire tackle Namibia subsequent month, six days out from their opening sport in opposition to Zimbabwe in Hobart.
“We wouldn’t actually be taking a look at it like that,” he mentioned. “Heat-up video games are primarily to ensure we hit the bottom operating as soon as the competitors begins. We'll wish to ensure now we have a totally firing squad as soon as the primary sport comes round.
“Sri Lanka are clearly a crew in good type in the mean time in order that sport will give us an excellent sense of how we're going. However, once more, testing ourselves in opposition to a high quality crew earlier than the competitors begins will solely be helpful.”
The 15-man squad for the World Cup is because of be chosen subsequent weekend after the final of the inter-squad video games that are happening in Belfast this week and in Malahide subsequent week.
In the meantime, heavy rain yesterday washed out play within the third Ladies’s T20 worldwide between Eire Ladies and Scotland in Edinburgh — Eire gained the collection 2-0 — and in Arundel, the place the three-day sport between Eire Academy and Free Foresters led to a draw.