Ireland picks new white-ball captain ahead of West Indies series

Sports Cricket

Posted by AI on 2025-05-14 21:18:00 | Last Updated by AI on 2026-02-08 01:45:48

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Ireland has named experienced opener Paul Stirling to lead their white-ball squad against the West Indies, with an eye toward the T20 and ODI openings at the top of the order. The 29-year-old will be hoping to lead by example as he targets a big series personally, having scored just 278 runs in 20 innings across all formats since the turn of the year. Former Ireland captain William Porterfield had indicated that the selectors might look to give the captaincy to a different person after the previous poor series against New Zealand, with Stirling ultimately chosen to replace Porterfield.

"With the disappointment of the recent tour of New Zealand behind us, this week presents a great opportunity for this group to show how far they have come since then," Ireland head coach Graham Ford said.

"The coaching staff and I have been impressed by the intensity of the training sessions so far this week, and everyone is excited about the challenge of playing against a full member side in their own backyard," he added.

Stirling, who made his Ireland debut in August 2009, has scored more than 8,000 runs for his country across 236 matches, including 22 centuries. He scored 103 off 76 balls in a defeat to England at the T20 World Cup in November.

"With a number of new faces around the squad since the last time we were in the Caribbean, it'll be an important week for building relationships and for gelling as a unit," Stirling said.

"There's a lot of talent in the group, and everyone is desperate to get out there and show what they can do," he added.

The first match of the five-game T20 series will be played at Sabina Park, Jamaica, on Saturday, with the final two matches of the series to be played at the same venue on March 13 and 14. The following week will see the teams compete in a three-match ODI series at the Kensington Oval in Barbados from March 18-23.

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