Rare chance for Ireland to face big guns

BENONI, South Africa: South Africa will look to use the one-off One-day International (ODI) against Ireland at Willowmoore Park here on Sunday (today) as preparation for their five-match series against Australia beginning later this month.

South Africa have won all four matches against Ireland thus far, including the last meeting at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 which they clinched by 201 runs. South Africa, ranked No 4 in the International Cricket Council (ICC) ODI rankings, will again fancy their chances against Ireland — ranked No 12.

Faf du Plessis, who captained the Test side against New Zealand in August, will continue to lead after AB De Villiers was ruled out because of an elbow injury. South Africa will also be missing Chris Morris, Hashim Amla, Morne Morkel and Dale Steyn. While Amla and Steyn have been rested, Morris has been sidelined with a left knee injury and Morkel will miss out due to a shoulder injury. Rilee Rossouw, the left-hand batsman, has been called as cover for de Villiers while Dwaine Pretorius will fill in for Morris.

Even in the absence of quite a few top players, the home side still has enough firepower. South Africa have included Andile Phehlukwayo, the right-arm fast bowler, as one of three uncapped players in the squad, apart from Temba Bavuma, a regular feature in the Test squad in recent times, and Pretorius, the allrounder.

Also making his return to the squad is David Miller following impressive performances on the ‘A’ tour of Australia. The last time Miller, a hard-hitting left-hand batsman, played an ODI was in October 2015, against India.

It has been a while since South Africa hosted an ODI at home. Their last home showdown was a five-match series against England in February which they won 3-2. South Africa’s most recent ODI outing was not a memorable one as they failed to qualify for the finals of a tri-nation tournament also involving Australia and West Indies in the Caribbean in June.

Even though South Africa have the upper hand, they are wary of the threat Ireland poses. “They’ve had a few recent losses but I wouldn’t read too much into that, they are a team you can never take lightly,” said Adrian Birrell, South Africa’s assistant coach who used to be in charge of Ireland between 2002 and 2007. “Every now and again, they create a huge upset so we will not be taking them lightly, we will be preparing for this ODI like we do against any other team.”

“It’s an ODI, so it’s a big match for us,” added Birrell. “There are no easy games in international cricket, we have found that out in the past. It (winning) will be a good start to what is going to be a long season. We are excited to be back together and are practising hard, we are looking forward to the match on Sunday.”

Ireland will be hoping to pull off an upset ahead of another one-off ODI against Australia at the same venue on Tuesday, but they too have injuries to deal with. Ed Joyce, the left-hand batsman, is out with a knee injury and Boyd Rankin, the fast bowler, has been sidelined after breaking his leg last month.

Ireland are coming off an iffy run of results, beaten twice by Sri Lanka, held 2-2 by Afghanistan and then outplayed by Pakistan, all in their own backyard.

The two matches against two top sides will give Ireland an invaluable opportunity to rake in greater experience.

“They are starved of these opportunities,” Birrell said of Ireland. “To play South Africa and Australia within a space of a week is fantastic for them. This is a massive match for them, they come hoping to create an upset, hoping to get a good start in the matches.”

Teams (from):

South Africa: Faf du Plessis (captain), Temba Bavuma, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock, JP Duminy, David Miller, Chris Morris, Wayne Parnell, Aaron Phangiso, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Rilee Rossouw.

Ireland: William Porterfield (captain), John Anderson, Peter Chase, George Dockrell, Andy McBrine, Barry McCarthy, Tim Murtagh, Kevin O’Brien, Niall O’Brien, Stuart Poynter (wk), Paul Stirling, Sean Terry, Gary Wilson, Craig Young.