Cricket Ireland, on Wednesday, announced the men’s squad for the upcoming one-off Test against England, scheduled to take place between June 1-4 at Lord’s in London.
Pacer Conor Olphert has been ruled out of the exciting contest due to an injury and will be replaced by fast bowler Matthew Foster in the squad. Olphert had been making positive progress during the winter and pre-season, despite an ongoing knee problem.
Unfortunately, he suffered a relapse of symptoms in recent weeks, and despite the best efforts of both Olphert and the medical team, he was unable to regain fitness in time for the Test Match. As a result, Olphert will undergo further investigations and undergo a rehabilitation period to address the issue.
Foster, on the other hand, was earlier called up in the Ireland squad for their tour of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. However, he had to withdraw from the squad as he was unable to fully recover from a previous injury during the rehabilitation process.
It is noteworthy that Foster, who represents CSNI in Belfast in club cricket and the Northern Knights in Inter-Provincial cricket, showcased his skills by taking impressive figures of 3/26 for the Knights against Leinster Lightning in his first List A match of the season. Foster will join the squad on Thursday and accompany the rest of the Irish players as they are supposed to depart tomorrow evening.
Andrew Balbirnie will continue to captain Ireland, leading a team that boasts several noteworthy players, including Mark Adair, Curtis Campher, Paul Stirling, Harry Tector, and Craig Young.
Ireland squad for the one-off Test against England:
Andrew Balbirnie (c), Mark Adair, Curtis Campher, George Dockrell, Matthew Foster, Fionn Hand, Graham Hume, Tom Mayes, Andrew McBrine, James McCollum, PJ Moor, Paul Stirling, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Craig Young.
