Ireland captain Andy Balbirnie joins Glamorgan for T20 Blast

The Welsh county have signed the 29-year-old initially for the entirety of the group stage

Ireland captain Andy Balbirnie will play for Glamorgan in this year’s T20 Blast.

The Welsh county have signed the 29-year-old initially for the entirety of the group stage.

In England’s ODI series win over Ireland at the Ageas Bowl earlier this summer, Balbirnie made a match-winning century in the final instalment in a successful chase of 328.

He follows international teammate Gareth Delany, who has joined Leicestershire, in signing a Blast deal since the culmination of that series.

Paul Stirling, who left Middlesex at the end of last season to commit his future to Ireland, had already signed for Northamptonshire for this season’s competition ahead of the ODIs.

Glamorgan director of cricket Mark Wallace said: “With injury to David Lloyd and Colin Ingram’s arrival looking unlikely due to travel restrictions, we wanted to add depth to our batting.

The rapid rise of Curtis Campher, already at home in international cricket

“Andrew is a fantastic player with a strong record in the one-day formats and was in great form during the recent series against England.

“He is also very used to playing in our conditions and will add a lot of experience and class at the top of the order.”

Balbirnie added: “I’m very pleased to see the deal go ahead – it’s a fabulous competition, and having spent a few years in Cardiff during my university days, it’s a city I know pretty well. I’m just looking forward to heading across and getting going with Glamorgan.

“It’s a tournament I’ve watched a lot and have many friends who have played in it over the years, so I’m looking forward to the opportunity to play with new people and learn from different coaches, as well as to play in a different tournament in different conditions.

“It’s not been a great season for playing much cricket, so to be able to go over and play a short, sharp tournament of intense cricket will be enjoyable and a good way to end the summer.”

For unrivalled coverage of the county season, subscribe to The Cricketer and receive four issues for £15