Bracewell unworried by Terry’s selection

HEAD coach John Bracewell is backing Sean Terry to fill the sizeable shoes left by Ed Joyce when Ireland take on powerhouses South Africa and Australia.

Joyce, who turned 38 on Thursday, had been suffering with a knee injury and requires minor surgery in order to correct the problem. That means he has been forced to withdraw from Ireland’s one-day internationals against hosts South Africa and Australia in Benoni, with selectors turning to Leinster Lightning and former Hampshire batsman Terry to fill the void.

Terry made his Ireland debut earlier this summer in the one-day series against Afghanistan and struggled on the international stage, scoring just three, nine and four runs in his three innings.

Meanwhile, Joyce made 1,026 runs at an average of 64.12 for Sussex this season, as well as scoring two hundreds against Afghanistan, including 160 not out in Stormont. But Bracewell insists he has no worries about throwing Terry in the deep end next week, with South Africa first up on Sunday.

“It’s obviously a blow to lose someone of Ed’s calibre, but Sean Terry is a batsman of undoubted promise,” said Bracewell.

“Given the likely pitch in Benoni, and the likelihood we will facing two majority pace attacks, the selectors felt that Sean was the logical replacement.”

Tim Murtagh will join up with the Ireland squad late after being involved in Middlesex’s title decider against Yorkshire.

Cricket Ireland performance director Richard Holdsworth said: “We felt this was an exceptional situation and a game which we should allow Tim to play in,” Holdsworth said. “There has been a long and mutually beneficial relationship between Middlesex and Ireland, and we felt it would further strengthen our close ties by showing some flexibility on this occasion.”

Ireland aren’t the only ones with injury woes though with South Africa captain AB de Villiers sitting out Sunday’s clash in order to recover from an elbow injury.

De Villiers missed the recent series with New Zealand due to the problem – the first Test he had missed since 2004 – and with a five-match series against Australia coming after the Ireland clash he is hopeful of having more time to recuperate.