History will be in the making for Irish cricket when the men’s team line-up against Pakistan for their first-ever Test match at Malahide in Dublin on Friday.
It was a victory against the same opponents in the ICC World Cup 2007 that announced the arrival of Ireland in cricket’s big league.
It has taken them more than a decade since then to achieve full ICC membership but all that hard work will come to fruition on Friday when Irish skipper William Porterfield lines up alongside his opposite counterpart Sarfraz Ahmed for the toss.
JOYCE IN LINE TO BECOME OLDEST DEBUTANT SINCE 1992
The Irish squad for the one-off Test includes many veterans who were present during the 2007 World Cup heroics. Among them is Ed Joyce, the leading run-scorer in Irish cricket. The left-hander actually featured for England in that World Cup despite having had helped Ireland qualify for the very same tournament.
Joyce moved to England in 2005 in the hope of playing Test cricket but returned to Ireland after six years without having achieved that honour. It is only fitting that the 39-year-old gets his Test cap in Irish whites in what will be his 151st appearance for the country. He is set to become the oldest Test debutant since South Africa’s Omar Henry in 1992 (age 40).
Joyce is finally set to get his long cherished Test cap.
YOUNG LOOK TO PAKISTAN
Pakistan have named five uncapped players in their squad for the Test in the form of Faheem Ashraf, Imam-ul-Haq, Saad Ali, Fakhar Zaman and Usman Salahuddin. It only includes young leg-spinner Shadab Khan who has played just one Test match so far in his career. The 19-year-old impressed in Pakistan’s warm-up games alongside Imam-ul-Haq, who is set to make his Test debut on Friday.
On a pitch expected to aid seamers, Pakistan skipper Sarfraz will be hoping Mohammad Amir can bounce back into form after the pacer struggled to pick up wickets in the warm-up matches.
Imam-ul-Haq is set to make his first Pakistan Test appearance.
WEATHER COULD PLAY SPOILSPORT
The forecast for Dublin is not looking good for the duration of the Test. Rain is predicted on the majority of days and could scupper the chances of getting in a decent amount of play. The Irish will definitely be hoping the rain gods can smile upon them in what is set to be a momentous occasion.
SQUADS
Ireland: William Porterfield (C), Andrew Balbirnie, Ed Joyce, Tyrone Kane, Andrew McBrine, Tim Murtagh, Kevin O’Brien, Niall O’Brien (wk), Boyd Rankin, James Shannon, Craig Young, Paul Stirling, Stuart Thompson, Gary Wilson (wk),
Pakistan: Sarfraz Ahmed (c, wk), Azhar Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Sami Aslam, Haris Sohail, Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Saad Ali, Asad Shafiq, Usman Salahuddin, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Abbas, Hasan Ali, Rahat Ali, Faheem Ashraf.
