The final Super League series between Ireland and Bangladesh is set for May, and Ireland is planning to host the game at a venue in England. The decision was made to maximize their chances of World Cup 2023 qualification
In addition to their match against Bangladesh, Ireland’s chances at the qualification rely on South Africa and Sri Lanka’s results against the Netherlands and New Zealand respectively. Ireland’s best-case scenario is for Sri Lanka to win 3-0 in New Zealand in March and a 3-0 victory over Bangladesh. Otherwise, they will have to play the qualifier in Zimbabwe in June-July.
Ireland’s Plans
Currently, Ireland is in talks with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to play the series at a venue in the county in the second week of May. So far, Chemsfore is the most likely venue for the game.
While there is no guarantee of no rain in the venue, Cricket Ireland believes that there is a greater chance of three full games being played with a result in England than in Dublin or Belfast.
The reason that Ireland is hosting in England is that they do not have a permanent home venue. Every year, the team spends hundreds of thousands of euros on temporary infrastructure to play at Malahide, just outside Dublin.
Ireland’s Hosting History
The last time Ireland hosted a match was for two T20Is against South Africa in Bristol last year. Aside from this, Ireland had previously hosted a game against Bangladesh in England in 2020. It was for a four-match T20I series in England in May. During that time, they had lost Clontarf as a home venue and had just 12 pitches available across the three remaining international grounds that needed to cater for 15 matches.
At this time, Ireland will continue to explore the possibility of hosting some fixtures in England until their plans to build a permanent stadium at the Sport Ireland campus in Abbotstown come to fruition.
Current Super League Status
Currently, Ireland is anticipating a 2-0 victory for South Africa against the Netherlands. If this happens and Ireland beats Bangladesh 3-0, the teams will finish level on points and be separated by net run rate. As it stands, Ireland’s net run rate (- 0.382) is marginally better than South Africa’s (- 0.410).
The upcoming series will be between New Zealand and Sri Lanka starting on March 25. So far, New Zealand is number one in the standings with a net run rate of +0.697. Sri Lanka, on the other hand, is 10th with a net run rate of -0.094.
Outside of the upcoming matches, Ireland and Bangladesh will have players involved in the upcoming IPL (Indian Premier League). For Ireland, Josh Little will join the IPL, while Bangladesh has Shakib Al Hasan, Litton Das, and Mustafizur Rahman confirmed for the IPL. All four will still play in the Super League series in May.
Before their match series against Ireland, Bangladesh will be having an ODI series against England starting March 1. Meanwhile, Ireland will have an ODI series against Bangladesh on March 18.