Stephen Doheny and Fionn Hand have been left out of the Ireland squad that will play in the World Cup Qualifiers in Zimbabwe next month. Barry McCarthy, PJ Moor and Ben White are named in the 15.
The Qualifier will see ten teams competing for the two remaining spots in the World Cup – held in Zimbabwe from 18 June – 9 July 2023.
“Unfortunately, hard decisions had to be made, and Stephen Doheny misses out on this trip," said Head of Selectors Andrew White.
"Stephen is a player we admire and want to continue to invest in, but we think the time is right for him, just now, to take a step back and work on a few technical aspects of his game at the domestic level.
"PJ Moor’s experience in Zimbabwean conditions and his versatility batting anywhere from 1 to 7 gives us great cover.
“With a seam attack of Adair, Little, Young, McCarthy, Hume and Campher we feel we’re heading towards our best attack once more,"
Barry McCarthy's return adds experience to the seam bowling ranks, with the six having a combined 442.
Ben White makes the 15 having been left out of the recent ODI's against Bangladesh after a troubled tour of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
“We’re heading into a big few months and it’s looking at what personnel we need from a tactical point of view, who are in form, and a squad composition that suits the conditions we are likely to face. In the latter stages of the tournament, for example, we are likely to be playing on used pitches, so that’s where we see the value of a Ben White coming to the fore," added Andrew White.
Gareth Delany is the other leg-spinner in the squad, with George Dockrell and Andrew McBrine other regular spin options, as well as occasional slow bowling options in Paul Stirling and Harry Tector.
The Ireland squad is:
Andrew Balbirnie (capt) (Pembroke), Mark Adair (CIYMS), Curtis Campher (YMCA), Gareth Delany (Leinster), George Dockrell (Phoenix), Graham Hume (Waringstown), Josh Little (Pembroke), Andy McBrine (Donemana), Barry McCarthy (Pembroke), PJ Moor (Clontarf), Paul Stirling (North Down), Harry Tector (YMCA), Lorcan Tucker (Pembroke), Ben White (Phoenix), Craig Young (Bready).
THE QUALIFIER EVENT
The 10 teams taking part in the qualifier are split into two groups of five teams:
Group A:
Zimbabwe
West Indies
Netherlands
Nepal
United States
Group B:
Sri Lanka
Ireland
Scotland
Oman
United Arab Emirates
Each side will play the other teams in their group once with the top three from each group progressing to the Super Six stage. In the Super Six, they will play the sides they did not meet in the group stage.
All points won in the group stage will be carried over to the Super Six stage apart from those gained against the teams that fail to make it to the Super Six stage. The two top teams after the Super Six stage will contest the final, and will both progress to the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023.
For the first time in this tournament, DRS will be used for all matches from the Super Six stage onwards.
The Qualifier is the culmination of four years of hard-fought competition that brings together the bottom five teams from the ICC Men’s CWC Super League, three automatic qualifiers from the ICC Men’s CWC League 2 and two teams who gained entry from the ICC Men’s CWC Qualifier Play-off.
IRELAND FIXTURES
Warm-up matches:
13 June: Ireland v USA, Bulawayo Athletic Club (start 9am local time)
15 June: Ireland v Netherlands, Queen’s Sports Club (start 9am local time)
Group A matches:
19 June: Ireland v Oman, Bulawayo Athletic Club (start 9am local time)
21 June: Ireland v Scotland, Queen’s Sports Club (start 9am local time)
25 June: Sri Lanka v Ireland, Queen’s Sports Club (start 9am local time)
27 June: Ireland v UAE, Bulawayo Athletic Club (start 9am local time)
Super Six matches begin 29 June.
FULL TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Sunday, 18 June
Zimbabwe v Nepal, Harare Sports Club
West Indies v USA, Takashinga Cricket Club
Monday, 19 June
Sri Lanka v UAE, Queen’s Sports Club
Ireland v Oman, Bulawayo Athletic Club
Tuesday, 20 June
Zimbabwe v Netherlands, Harare Sports Club
Nepal v USA, Takashinga Cricket Club
Wednesday, 21 June
Ireland v Scotland, Queen’s Sports Club
Oman v UAE, Bulawayo Athletic Club
Thursday, 22 June
West Indies v Nepal, Harare Sports Club
Netherlands v USA, Takashinga Cricket Club
Friday, 23 June
Sri Lanka v Oman, Queen’s Sports Club
Scotland v UAE, Bulawayo Athletic Club
Saturday, 24 June
Zimbabwe v West Indies, Harare Sports Club
Netherlands v Nepal, Takashinga Cricket Club
Sunday, 25 June
Sri Lanka v Ireland, Queen’s Sports Club
Scotland v Oman, Bulawayo Athletic Club
Monday, 26 June
Zimbabwe v USA, Harare Sports Club
West Indies v Netherlands, Takashinga Cricket Club
Tuesday, 27 June
Sri Lanka v Scotland, Queen’s Sports Club
Ireland v UAE, Bulawayo Athletic Club
Thursday, 29 June
Super 6: A2 v B2, Queen’s Sports Club
Friday, 30 June
Super 6: A3 v B1, Queen’s Sports Club
Playoff: A5 v B4, Takashinga Cricket Club
Saturday, 1 July
Super 6: A1 v B3, Harare Sports Club
Sunday, 2 July
Super 6: A2 v B1, Queen’s Sports Club
Playoff: A4 v B5, Takashinga Cricket Club
Monday, 3 July
Super 6: A3 v B2, Harare Sports Club
Tuesday, 4 July
Super 6: A2 v B3, Queen’s Sports Club
Playoff: 7th v 8th Takashinga Cricket Club
Wednesday, 5 July
Super Six: A1 v B2, Harare Sports Club
Thursday, 6 July
Super Six: A3 v B3, Queen’s Sports Club
Playoff: 9th v 10th Takashinga Cricket Club
Friday, 07 July
Super Six: A1 v B1, Harare Sports Club
Sunday, 09 July
Final, Harare Sports Clubx