World Cup in focus as Ireland take on steeled Afghans

IRELAND captain Andy Balbirnie hopes his team can lift the national mood by beating Afghanistan in the ODI series, which forms part of the World Cup Super League, starting in Abu Dhabi tomorrow. Their tour of UAE has been badly-affected by Covid-19, with two of their warm-up ODIs against the hosts called off. However, they cleared some ring-rust by beating UAE by 112 runs on Monday, setting them up for these allimportant matches. ‘We are seeing people online at 5am at home, watching us and that is why we know, at this time, it is important to win for the people back home,’ Balbirnie said. ‘You can’t miss what is going on back home, we are all aware of it and how tough it is for everyone. Hopefully, we can bring a small bit of joy to their day.’ Paul Stirling remains Ireland’s most important batsman but Balbirnie was also pleased by Simi Singh’s all-round performance in the win over UAE, especially with the bat while Lorcan Tucker and Curtis Campher both played well in the middle order. Ireland will need to bat well against the explosive Afghan attack. ‘This is a big step-up from the UAE,’ Balbirnie admitted. ‘They beat us in 2018 for that spot in 2019 World Cup, but it’s a whole new ballgame now and it has been encouraging to see the younger guys bat the way they have.’ Ireland’s first of three ODIs against Afghanistan will take place at Zayed Cricket Stadium at 5am Irish time tomorrow morning. All three ODIs are essentially qualifiers for the 2023 World Cup with the winners tomorrow getting 10 points in the World Cup Super League.