Cricket Ireland selectors have announced a 14-member squad for their maiden men’s test match against Pakistan, starting from 11th May 2018 at Malahide.
William Porterfield will lead the squad made mostly of the long serving Irish players with few youngsters, while George Dockrell is a notable ommision from the squad.
NEWS: Historic first Test Match squad announced – https://t.co/fbyLg1KbKD #BackingGreen pic.twitter.com/rprFfCvfqh
— Cricket Ireland (@cricketireland) May 4, 2018
Boyd Rankin is the only player with previous Test experience in the squad having represented England in the final match of their 5-0 Ashes series loss to Australia in 2013-14. He becomes the 15th player in the history of Test match cricket to have played for two nations and the first since Kepler Wessels, who last played for Australia and South Africa between 1982 and 1994.
Pakistan Cricket Team gears up ahead of first & only test match against Ireland.#ShaanePakistan
📷 PCB pic.twitter.com/NslbdJSuuP— Quetta Gladiators (@TeamQuetta) May 3, 2018
O’Brien bothers, Kevin and Niall warmed up nicely for the contest after hitting centuries in the Hanley Energy Inter-Pro series opener between North West Union Warriors and Leinster Lighting this week.
Sky Sports will broadcast ball-by-ball coverage in the Ireland and UK region for the Test Match from 11th – 15th May 2018 while RTÉ Television will broadcast a 1-hour highlights package of every day’s play for the Test Match.
Did you see these spectacular aerials taken by @Fingalcoco of Malahide Cricket Club Ground? What a view! What a venue!
So, there's only one thing to do now – make sure you have your tickets to join us at the historic first Men's Test Match: https://t.co/XMLgIpWpDu #BackingGreen pic.twitter.com/HuNKiLH8JK
— Cricket Ireland (@cricketireland) May 2, 2018
Pitch International have sold the overseas television broadcast rights in a number of countries including US, Canada, sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, Australia and many others.
Ireland Test Squad:
William Porterfield (Captain), Andrew Balbirnie, Ed Joyce, Tyrone Kane, Andy McBrine, Tim Murtagh, Kevin O’Brien, Niall O’Brien, Boyd Rankin, Nathan Smith, Paul Stirling, James Shannon, Stuart Thompson & Gary Wilson
