Irish eyes in Sri Lanka | Sunday Observer

Irish eyes in Sri Lanka

6 January, 2019
Ireland A captain Harry Tector (left) and his Sri Lankan counterpart Ashan Priyanjan hold the trophy they will play for
Ireland A captain Harry Tector (left) and his Sri Lankan counterpart Ashan Priyanjan hold the trophy they will play for

Ireland’s second string cricketers, or future Test and World Cup players, arrived in Sri Lanka for a series of matches which got underway at the SSC ground in Colombo yesterday where they take on the Sri Lanka A team in a first of two four-day matches.

They will play the second four-day game at the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Stadium in Hambantota before moving on to feature in a five-match one-day series.

“We’re very much looking forward to starting off a competitive series against Sri Lanka A. We’re getting used to conditions by now and looking towards a good competitive game against Sri Lanka A in the four-dayer. Hopefully we’ll also get to see a bit of what Sri Lanka has to offer as it seems a beautiful country,” said Ireland A captain Harry Tector at a media launch of the series in Colombo.

Pete Johnston the team’s head coach said the team has a blend of experienced players as well as several who have shown promise to make it to the senior Ireland team.

“We’ve had one practice session, then a two-day practice game -so we’ve had to acclimatise quickly and land on our feet.

“Experience-wise, we’ve got a few guys - Craig Young, Barry McCarthy and James Shannon - that have senior international experience. Then we have some young guys as well, including a couple of 18-year olds.

“We’ve got a good mixture in the squad, but for a lot of guys it will be the first experience in sub continent conditions, so we’ll be looking to learn as much as we can, as quick as we can. We hope to go on an upward curve and by the end of this tour finish in a strong position”, said Johnson.

The tour party has three spinners in JJ Garth, a leg-spinner, Harry Tector, an off-spinner and James Cameron-Dow, a left-arm spinner along with four fast bowlers and a couple of all-rounders.

The Ireland A team who call themselves the Wolves was created in 2017 to bridge the gap between domestic first class and international cricket.

Ireland A squad for four-day matches:

James Cameron-Dow, Stephen Doheny, JJ Garth, Aaron Gillespie,Tyrone Kane, Josh Little, Barry McCarthy, James McCollum, Neil Rock, James Shannon,Harry Tector (captain), Jack Tector, Lorcan Tucker and Craig Young

Ireland A squad for one-day series:

James Cameron-Dow, Gareth Delany, JJ Garth, Shane Getkate, Tyrone Kane, Josh Little, Barry McCarthy, James McCollum, Neil Rock, James Shannon, Harry Tector (captain), Jack Tector, Stuart Thompson, Lorcan Tucker and Craig Young

Match schedule

January 5 to 8 Ireland A vs Sri Lanka A at the SSC ground

January 13 to 16 Ireland A vs Sri Lanka A in Hambantota

January 19 First one-dayer in Hambantota

January 21 Second one-dayer in Hambantota

January 24 Third one-dayer at the SSC

January 26 Fourth one-dayer at the SSC

January 29 Fifth one-dayer at the Premadasa stadium in Colombo 


Ireland  cricketers check in at their hotel in Colombo where they play their first four day match against Sri Lanka A

Comments