IRELAND cricket head coach Heinrich Malan has called on ex-pats in the USA to help them in a testing ICC T20 Men’s World Cup draw.
India and Pakistan will book-end the four-match group for the Irish, along with Canada and tournament co-hosts USA.
While the tournament will be co-hosted by the West Indies and USA, all of Ireland’s first-round matches will be played in the US – two matches in New York and two matches in Florida.
Malan commented: “It may be a cliché to say that no match at a World Cup is easy, but the group we have been drawn in absolutely exemplifies that saying.
“One secret weapon we may have up our sleeve, however, is an enormous Irish ex-pat population in the US, and we absolutely call on the members of the Irish diaspora in the US to put on their green and come out to support our lads.
“It’s always an exciting time for players and fans alike when a World Cup draw is revealed and the planning begins in earnest.
“To be drawn in a group that includes India and Pakistan is a tantalising prospect and should attract big crowds, while also to face one of the co-hosts on their home soil adds some spice, and Canada have a proven pedigree in this format so will be a challenging encounter as well.”
The first Group Stage fixtures for Ireland are:
- June 5: India Men v Ireland Men (New York)
- June 7: Ireland Men v Canada Men (New York)
- June 14: USA Men v Ireland Men (Florida)
- June 16: Ireland Men v Pakistan Men (Florida).
The tournament features four groups of five teams in the first round, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the second round group stage. The top two teams from the second round group stage will then progress to the semi-finals, with the Final to be played in Barbados on June 29.
Ireland can show their quality, believes Malan: “As we demonstrated on the recently concluded tour of Zimbabwe, we are building an exciting, resilient and fearless brand of cricket in the shortest format and we hope to evolve this further over the coming months.”
