Uncapped leg-spin bowler Gavin Hoey has got his maiden call-up in the 15-member Ireland squad for the upcoming one-off Test at home against Zimbabwe, which starts on July 25, in Belfast. He is expected to give more strength to the spin-heavy attack under Andrew Balbirnie’s captaincy, which already has the likes of left-arm spinner Matthew Humphreys and off-spinner Andy McBrine.
The 22-year-old Hoey has picked up eight wickets in his three first-class games at an average of 28.75, besides scoring 92 runs at an average of under 19. It’s going to be only the second home red-ball game for the Ireland side, having played their first Test in 2018 against Pakistan.
It was quite surprising to see the seam bowler Matthew Foster, who was part of the squad that got the better of Afghanistan to register their maiden win in March earlier this year, has not found a place in the Ireland squad to face Zimbabwe.
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Humphreys is too quite new in this format, having made five first-class appearances to pick up 16 wickets at an average of 24 and a strike rate of under 40, with two five-wicket hauls. He had a very tough start into Test cricket, going for 67 runs in ten overs on debut against Sri Lanka in Galle last year.
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‘Humphreys made his Test debut in Sri Lanka and found the going difficult against good players of spin out in the subcontinent.’ Ireland national selector Andrew White expressed this in a statement. ‘He’d admit himself that he went through a period of a loss of form and maybe a loss of confidence, but he’s worked extremely hard to come back into the reckoning and his performances for Ireland Wolves have been exactly what we were looking for.’
White has been pleased with the consistency of the spinner over the last period and believes that the 21-year-old deserved a call-up in the national side.
‘Obviously in the West Indies last year for Emerging Ireland, then in Nepal, and has now backed it up in the recent series for the Emerging Ireland side against West Indies Academy, where he took 10 wickets.’ He continued. ‘But it’s the consistency he has shown over the last period which has been really pleasing and he very much deserves his call-up.’
Along with him, Hoey is expected to be the attacking option for Ireland, as he is someone who could be part of all the three formats for them in the coming year.
‘Hoey is a talented leg-spinner, and his ability to spin the ball both ways gives us a strong wicket-taking option.’ Andrew White noted in the statement. ‘Again, he’s a player that’s been on the radar for a while and can play across all three formats. But this is an opportunity for him to come into the Test squad and get used to the environment.’
Ireland captain Andrew Balbirnie will have the responsibility of his batting, having managed 378 runs in 16 innings of the red-ball format, at an average of 25.20, with four fifties. Craig Young, who has the experience of playing county games, made a good start in this Test debut with five wickets and will look to continue the same form in Belfast.
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Josh Little, the left-arm seamer, who played his last first-class game back in 2019, hasn’t been picked for the Test side. He has mainly been involved in the franchise T20 leagues and is currently playing for the Los Angeles Knight Riders in the Major League Cricket.
‘I love playing for Ireland, but equally franchise opportunities may not come around forever. It’s tough at times. Cricket Ireland have been nothing but accommodating. Sometimes it is a balancing act.’ Little told BBC Sport.
Ireland Test Squad vs Zimbabwe
Andrew Balbirnie (captain), Mark Adair, Curtis Campher, Gavin Hoey, Graham Hume, Matthew Humphreys, Andy McBrine, Barry McCarthy, James McCollum, PJ Moor, Paul Stirling, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Craig Young.