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Cricket Ireland on Wednesday announced the limited-overs squad for next month’s home fixtures against South Africa. Ireland and South Africa will lock horns in three ODIs and three T20Is, beginning July 11.

The three-match ODI series forms part of the ICC World Cup Super League and will be played at Malahide. The T20I series will be split between Malahide and Stormont. The three ODIs will be played on July 11, 13, and 16, while the T20I series will be played with the 1^st match on July 19, then July 22, and the last match on July 24.

Ireland Cricket Team (Image Credit: Getty)

Cricket Ireland Recalled All Rounder Curtis Campher For The ODI Series

Cricket Ireland recalled all-rounder Curtis Campher for the ODI series against South Africa after getting fit from his ankle surgery. Also getting their maiden T20I call-ups are middle-order batter William McClintock, Ben White, and keeper Neil Rock for the T20I series that follows.

Curtis Campher replaces Kevin O’Brien in the Ireland ODI side after the veteran all-rounder announced his retirement from the 50-over format, but he’ll feature in the T20I series.

Andrew White, Chair of National Men’s Selectors, in an official release, said: “The World Cup Super League series against South Africa represents our first such fixtures on home soil, and while a tough challenge awaits, we are confident the squad we have selected provides Graham Ford and Andrew Balbirnie with plenty of options. The sustained improvement of George Dockrell’s batting has provided us solidity and experience in the middle order, while it has been great to see our bowling strike force performing well in recent IP50 matches and at the two recent T20 Festivals.”

Cricket Ireland will welcome back Curtis Campher into their squad for next month’s World Cup Super League series against South Africa following the ankle surgery he suffered. Cricket Ireland has handed a maiden international call-up to middle-order batsman William McClintock for the T20I series that follows.

Cricket Ireland has opted to stick with the majority of the squad that slipped to a 2-1 series defeat in the Netherlands last month, a result which has further damaged their prospects to qualify for the 2023 World Cup, but the return of Curtis Campher following an injury sustained while playing for Ireland Wolves earlier in the summer gives them an added advantage.

21-year-old left-arm spinner Graham Kennedy was preferred to the legspinner Ben White in the only other change from the group that toured the Netherlands. Gareth Delany, the leg-spinning allrounder, remains injured.

Cricket Ireland Retains William Porterfield In The Squad Despite Poor Outing Against Netherlands

William Porterfield, the senior top-order batter, is also retained in the squad despite managing only five runs in two innings in the Netherlands.

“With the recent ODI retirement of Kevin O’Brien, the value of having the experience of William Porterfield in the set-up is as crucial as ever, and his recent form at inter-provincial level has demonstrated that he is still hungry to succeed,” he added.

William Porterfield’s T20I and Test average are poor by standards but his ODI average is slightly better at 30.34. In November 2019, an era in Ireland came to an end when William Porterfield announced that he was stepping aside from the roles of ODI and Test captaincy too after leading them in over 253 International games.

ODI squad: Andrew Balbirnie (captain), Mark Adair, Curtis Campher, George Dockrell, Graham Kennedy, Josh Little, Andrew McBrine, Graeme McCarter, Barry McCarthy, William Porterfield, Simi Singh, Paul Stirling, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Craig Young.

T20I squad: Andrew Balbirnie (captain), Mark Adair, George Dockrell, Shane Getkate, Josh Little, Barry McCarthy, William McClintock, Kevin O’Brien, Neil Rock, Simi Singh, Paul Stirling, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Ben White, Craig Young.

World Cup Super League ODI series