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Ireland is
considering delaying their inaugural men’s bilateral series against Australia
because of logistical and financial constraints.
Australia’s itinerary for the Future Tours Programme includes a three-ODI and
one T20I tour of Ireland in August and September, followed by a trip to England
for another white-ball series.
However, the stress of Ireland’s upcoming busy home summer has prompted a
reevaluation of the Australia fixtures and their viability. Prior to its tours
to England, Australia has played one-off ODIs in Ireland.
In addition to
hosting a T20 tri-series alongside the Netherlands and Scotland, Ireland will
also host a white-ball series involving Pakistan and South Africa. Zimbabwe
will play Ireland in a one-off Test and white-ball cricket match. Ireland
recently emerged victorious in their first-ever Test match against Afghanistan.
Since making their Test debut against Pakistan in 2018, Ireland has not hosted
a match.
In women’s cricket, England, Sri Lanka, and the Netherlands are also scheduled
to visit Ireland. Within the next two weeks, Ireland’s home schedule is
anticipated to be revealed.
“What we had in
the FTP as a whole… it’s a real challenge to deliver all of it. We’ve got
almost too much cricket for the amount of venues that we’ve got,” Cricket
Ireland high performance director Richard Holdsworth told ESPNcricinfo.
“Costs of putting on games in Ireland have gone up considerably since
Covid. Hotel prices, putting up temporary infrastructure for grounds have gone
up astronomically.”
Holdsworth said the Australia white-ball series would not be shifted to
England, where Ireland have previously hosted matches in Chelmsford and
Bristol. After this year, Australia are not set to tour the UK until the 2027
Ashes.
“England have a really heavy schedule around that time, and we certainly
wouldn’t be considering playing the likes of Australia at a very small county
ground,” he said. “We’re still looking at all options in terms of
whether or not we can host [Australia] this summer or whether we move [them]
into a different part of the FTP.”