In place of experienced batter Paul Stirling, former Zimbabwean international cricketer Peter Moor has been selected for Ireland’s Test squads for future matches against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
But instead of Andy Balbirnie, who is scheduled to captain his nation in both formats in Bangladesh and the Test in Sri Lanka, Paul Stirling will lead Ireland in the ODIs against Sri Lanka while Balbirnie is rested.
Josh Little, a left-arm seamer for Ireland, will also not be available because he will only compete in the one-day internationals against Bangladesh before leaving for India to play in his debut IPL season for the Gujarat Titans, the defending champions. Shortly before Ireland’s visit to Bangladesh, Josh Little will also play for Multan Sultans in the Pakistan Super League.
Ireland will play in their first Test match since they faced England at Lord’s in July 2019 in Bangladesh. Since achieving Full Member status in 2017, Ireland has only played three Test matches, with the other two coming against Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Although being passed over for the recent tour of Zimbabwe, Peter Moor had qualified to play for Ireland in October. Moor, 32, has played for Zimbabwe in eight Tests, 49 ODIs, and 21 T20 Internationals. His most recent match for Zimbabwe was a T20 International in October 2019.
“Peter Moor played a bit of Test cricket in Bangladesh and gives us some experience in that middle order,”
Ireland coach Heinrich Malan said.
“He has played international cricket before, and it’s nice to have someone with that caliber in and around our environment.”
Ireland, which is currently ranked No. 11 in the rankings, is playing in the ODIs against Bangladesh as part of the Super League in an effort to gain direct qualification for the World Cup in India later this year.
Only the top eight teams from the Super League receive direct entry, with the remaining five teams having to compete in a qualifying tournament.
Ireland will play three ODIs (Sylhet), three T20Is (Chattogram) and one Test (Dhaka) against Bangladesh on March 18-April 8. And One Test (Galle) and two ODIs (Colombo) against Sri Lanka on April 18-28.
ODIs and T20Is squad against Bangladesh: Andy Balbirnie (capt), Mark Adair, Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Graham Hume, Matthew Humphreys, Barry McCarthy, Paul Stirling, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker (wk), Ben White, Stephen Doheny (ODIs only), Josh Little (ODIs only), Andrew McBrine (ODIs only), Ross Adair (T20Is only), Conor Olphert (T20Is only), Craig Young (T20Is only)
One-off Test against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka: Andy Balbirnie (Capt), Curtis Campher, Murray Commins, George Dockrell, Graham Hume, Matthew Humphreys, Andrew McBrine, Barry McCarthy, James McCollum, Peter Moor (wk), Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker (wk), Ben White, Mark Adair (Bangladesh only), Matthew Foster (Sri Lanka only)
ODIs squad against Sri Lanka: Paul Stirling (capt), Curtis Campher, Murray Commins, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Stephen Doheny, Matthew Foster, Graham Hume, Matthew Humphreys, Andrew McBrine, Conor Olphert, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker (wk), Craig Young