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Cricket Ireland on Tuesday named Test, ODI and T20I squads for a multi-format series against Afghanistan starting in late February in the UAE.
The tour will see the two sides face off in their second Test match - the first Test in 2019 saw Afghanistan come away with a seven-wicket victory. Andrew Balbirnie will captain the Test side, while Paul Stirling will captain the white-ball teams. Stirling, the most recent of only 25 cricketers in history to have scored a century in all three formats, will also be available to play in the Test side. In addition, there are four members of the Test squad in line to make their Test debuts if selected - Matthew Foster, Barry McCarthy, Theo van Woerkom and Craig Young. The two sides will start a multi-format series with Only Test on February 28 in Abu Dhabi and the ODIs will take place from March 7 while the T20I series will be held at Sharjah from March 15. In the white ball squads, only Matthew Foster is uncapped. "We have played a lot of cricket over the last decade in this part of the world, so the conditions should be somewhat familiar to the players - albeit, predominantly in the white ball formats," Andrew White, the Ireland men's team selector said in an official statement. "While there has been a 12-week gap, the squad should carry some confidence and momentum into this series from the successful tour of Zimbabwe in December. Preparations have been going well, the squad had a solid training camp in Spain last week and we will be sending the players to the UAE five days ahead of the upcoming series to acclimatise and train in Middle Eastern conditions," he added. "I think it's fair to say that our squad has gone through an enormous transformation since these two teams last met in a three-format series in 2019. Take the Test Match - only five of the starting XI in 2019 are in this squad, and while we have a younger age profile today than the 2019 side, it is fair to say that the XI going into this Test will likely be far more experienced and familiar with the rhythms and flows of multi-day cricket," White stated. Test squad: Mark Adair, Andrew Balbirnie (c), Curtis Campher, George Dockrell, Matthew Foster, Graham Hume, Andy McBrine, Barry McCarthy, James McCollum, PJ Moor, Paul Stirling, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Theo van Woerkom and Craig Young. ODI squad: Mark Adair, Andrew Balbirnie, Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Matthew Foster, Graham Hume, Andy McBrine, Barry McCarthy, Neil Rock, Paul Stirling (c), Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Theo van Woerkom and Craig Young. T20I squad: Mark Adair, Ross Adair, Andrew Balbirnie, Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Graham Hume, Josh Little, Barry McCarthy, Neil Rock, Paul Stirling (c), Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Ben White and Craig Young. (ANI)
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