Ireland’s near-empty cricket summer in stark contrast to England’s slate

New stadium hopefully on way but Irish game needs boost after postponed T20 league and run of cancelled seriesFor England this is the end of another unrelenting summer. Three Twenty20 internationals over the coming days will make it eight white-ball matches inside three weeks, excluding a rain-abandoned game against South Africa. Jacob Bethell is captain because Harry Brook merits a lie down in a dark room. For Ireland, their opponents in Malahide, north Dublin, it is a radically different story.“It feels like the start of our winter programme,” says Paul Stirling, the Ireland white-ball captain. “We haven’t played a home international series since the West Indies in June. It feels like we’ve closed the summer.” Those three T20s in Bready three months ago included two washouts, adding to an already shrinking itinerary. Continue reading...

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