Big picture – A rare Test for Afghanistan and Ireland
Six-and-a-half years ago, these two sides were awarded Full Member status, but aside from the financial perks that brings, that promotion for Ireland and Afghanistan has seemed little more than theoretical. Neither side is part of the World Test Championship; none of them have even played a three-match Test series. The two have combined for 15 Tests, nearly all of them stand-alone, one-off games tacked on like afterthoughts to a white-ball series.
Afghanistan LLWLL (last five completed matches, most recent first)
In the spotlight – Gurbaz and Tucker
Afghanistan’s biggest challenge concerns papering over Rashid’s absence. Left arm wristspinner Zahir Khan is back in the squad after missing out against Sri Lanka, and uncapped legspinner Khalil Gurbaz has also been drafted in.
Afghanistan: 1 Ibrahim Zadran 2 Noor Ali Zadran 3 Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk) 4 Rahmat Shah 5 Hashmatullah Shahidi (capt) 6 Ikram Alikhil 7 Nasir Jamal 8 Zia ur Rehman 9 Nijat Masood 10 Naveed Zadram 11 Zahir Khan
Left arm spinner Theo van Woerkom, who switched allegiances from New Zealand to Ireland and made his white-ball debut last year, looks set to play his first Test in a line-up that otherwise looks similar to Ireland’s recent Test starting XIs.
Ireland: 1 James McCollom 2 Peter Moor 3 Andrew Balbirnie (capt) 4 Harry Tector 5 Paul Stirling 6 Curtis Campher 7 Lorcan Tucker (wk) 8 Mark Adair 9 Andy McBrine 10 Theo van Woerkom 11 Craig Young
There was a late change of venue for this Test match. Originally scheduled for the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, the game will now be played at the Tolerance Oval adjacent to the bigger ground. Ireland, who selected their initial squad on the assumption the Sheikh Zayed Stadium doesn’t take too much red-ball turn, only learned of the change after arriving in the UAE. With this being the first Test at the Oval, conditions are a bit of a mystery, though weather is not expected to play spoilsport.
