Ireland squad fully focused on ODI series against the UAE, says captain Andrew Balbirnie

Ireland are in Abu Dhabi ahead of a four-match ODI series against the UAE, scheduled to start on January 8, followed by a three-match World Cup Super League series against Afghanistan.

Ireland captain Andrew Balbirnie insists his squad are completely focused on their upcoming ODI series against UAE despite their subsequent matches against Afghanistan being rearranged.  

Ireland’s 16-strong squad arrived in Abu Dhabi earlier in January ahead of a busy schedule which will see them play a four-match series against the UAE, scheduled to start on Friday (January 8), followed by a three-match series against Afghanistan over the course of 19 days.  

The Afghanistan series, which was due to run from January 18-23, has been pushed back with matches now scheduled to take place on January 21, 24 and 26.  

However, despite the changes to his side’s timetable, Balbirnie has his mind set on the forthcoming UAE campaign.  

Remarking on the possible rearrangement before it was confirmed, the 30-year-old said: "I wouldn’t mind it that much because the four games come thick and fast with just one day in between so maybe an extra couple of days of rest might be good.  

"There’s a lot of stuff happening on Twitter recently about when we’re going to play, where we’re going to play and it’s important for us to just focus on the four games we know we’re going to play against the UAE.  

^{Harry Tector and Kevin O'Brien celebrate victory over England in August 2020}

"We’ll let the powers that be organise that and we’ll just pop our pads on and pop down to wherever we’re playing."

Ireland enter the new year on a high following several high-profile scalps in 2020. The men in green defeated West Indies – the defending T20 World Champions – in the Caribbean and Afghanistan on the sub-continent before recording a memorable ODI victory over England in August.  

But, despite their recent form against full member sides and the 30 World Cup Super League points on offer against Afghanistan, Balbirnie insisted that he will not underestimate the threat posed by the UAE.  

"All ODIs are important for us," the skipper said. "We don’t take any game for granted.  Naturally the three games against Afghanistan have points towards to the 2023 World Cup so there’s a lot riding on them but there’s a lot riding on the UAE games as well.  

"We’ve come out here to win seven games of cricket and we’ve got to hit the ground running. The UAE are a good and dangerous team. They beat us last year in the T20 qualifiers in the same stadium, so we certainly want to put things right."

The UAE, too, are relishing the prospect of a series against a full member side, with captain Ahmed Raza confident his youthful squad will emerge victorious.  

"It is our first bilateral series against Ireland since they got full member status so we’re definitely looking forward to it and I’m sure we will enjoy some really good cricket," he said.  

"It will be competitive, and I hope we can finish on top. It is our home series and I’m hoping for a really exciting four games. 

"We’ll just pop our pads on and pop down to wherever we’re playing"

"You want to win every game you play and this series is no different. We’re playing in our backyard and have a good mix of youth and experience with one eye on 2023."

Ireland are also likely to field a youthful XI after several key squad members, including former captain William Porterfield, Boyd Rankin and wicketkeeper Gary Wilson, were left at home. Seven members of the travelling party have fewer than 10 ODI caps to their name while Neil Rock could make his ODI debut in Abu Dhabi. David Delany has been forced out of the tour with a knee problem, while Josh Little is set to join the squad following a mandatory self-isolation period after a positive Covid-19 test.

Commenting on his youthful line-up, Balbirnie said: "We’ve got a lot of young guys who’ve not played a lot of ODI cricket so the opportunity to play seven games is only going to benefit [them].

"They’ve got the opportunity in the next month to really stake a claim to that place. They’re really great in the nets, they train really hard and they’ve got all these ideas and shots. We want to see them express themselves on the park.  

"It’s easier said than done. The conditions here aren’t what they’re used to back home but to have that competitiveness with the guys back home, who can still offer something to the squad, is great."

After playing just 12 matches in all formats last year, Ireland’s busy start to the year is appreciated by the entire squad while the raft of young players coming through is breeding quiet optimism ahead of the 2023 World Cup in India. However, there is one area which Balbirnie believes is missing.  

"There’s no hiding from it. We’re a full member Test nation but we don’t play a lot of Test cricket," he said. "I think we’ve maybe got one scheduled at the end of this year against Sri Lanka but a lot of our focus has to be on white-ball cricket. 

"We have this World Cup Super League to look forward to and the T20 World Cup in India in October but Test cricket is the pinnacle of the game in my opinion. I’m fortunate to have had the opportunity to play [it] but it’s not there for us at the moment which is a shame. 

"We can just focus on the white-ball game and progress as much as we can."