CRICKET IRELAND v NEW ZEALAND:A THREADBARE Ireland side face a task of damage limitation here this morning as they face up to New Zealand in the opening fixture of the Tri-Nations series at Mannonfield (10.45am).
Even the laid-back nature of coach Phil Simmons would have been rattled by a mixture of injuries and pull-outs that has left him with a squad bereft of at least six certain starters. The stark nature is best summed up by the fact that just two players, Kyle McCallan and Andy White, survive from last year's World Cup meeting in Guyana. And New Zealand won that clash by 129 runs!
A point could be made that the Black Caps have named only four survivors from that encounter in their 12-man squad, but when such talented young players as Ross Taylor, Daniel Flynn and 19-year-old bowling sensation Tim Southee come in, there is no drop-off in quality.
Simmons may have been resigned to losing his county-based players, but the injuries to all-rounders Kevin O'Brien and Alex Cusack, the latter breaking a finger in Sunday's victory over Bangladesh A, have been particularly cruel. Any hope the Kiwis would be putting their feet up for the games against Ireland and Scotland following their dramatic 3-1 series victory over England were soon hit for six by skipper Daniel Vettori, who leads a very strong Black Caps side today.
"We want to finish the tour in the right manner, we can't just turn up and expect to tip over two decent sides. We've seen from the World Cup that Ireland are capable of causing upsets and we don't want to be on the receiving end of that," he remarked.
Simmons will make sure his side are competitive, but missing players of the quality of Eoin Morgan, Niall O'Brien, William Porterfield and Boyd Rankin, it will be an uphill battle. Their absence opens the door for a few newcomers, with Paul Stirling, Andrew Poynter and Peter Connell in line to make their ODI debuts.
It would prove particularly memorable for North Down opening bowler Connell, who moved to Ireland two years ago from New Zealand and is friendly with a number of the present side, having acted as 13th man on two occasions. The 26-year-old, whose grandmother left Dublin as a young girl, is hopeful the occasion won't get the better of him if he is handed the new ball this morning. "I've only ever got nervous a couple of times, once when I was about 17 bowling in the nets against the New Zealand boys. I think I will be nervous but it's just one of those things, and I feel I'm bowling well."
IRELAND (from):K McCallan (Waringstown, capt), A Botha (North County), P Connell (North Down), C Dougherty (Bready), P Eaglestone (Strabane), T Fourie (Railway Union), R Haire (North Down), G Kidd (Waringstown), A Poynter (Clontarf), P Stirling (Cliftonville), R Strydom (North County), A White (Instonians), G Wilson (Surrey, wkts).
NEW ZEALAND (from):D Vettori (Capt), G Elliott, D Flynn, M Gillespie, G Hopkins, J Marshall, M Mason, B McCullum, J Oram, J Patel, T Southee, R Taylor.
