Ireland to face Englandat Lords

The sides will face off for the first time on English soil, with the first meeting scheduled for Bristol on Friday May 5, with the second international two days later at Lord’s on Sunday May 7.

“It’s absolutely massive for us to have the opportunity to play against England in a series,” said Ireland captain William Porterfield.

“What makes it extra special is the fact that one of the games is at Lord’s - where every cricketer dreams of playing.

“Teams travelling to play England are also coming over here now to play series too so hopefully that trend will continue.

“We are getting more and more international fixtures with games against Pakistan, Afghanistan, Australia and South Africa still to come this year, and England, Bangladesh and New Zealand confirmed already for next year.”

Cricket Ireland CEO Warren Deutrom welcomed the series saying: “We would like to extend our sincere thanks to ECB for their support in bringing this series to fruition and, in particular, giving us the opportunity to play a two-match series in England for the first time.

Rounding the series off at Lord’s will, of course, make this truly memorable for everyone involved.

“We have set out our stall to make cricket a mainstream sport in Ireland and perhaps one measure of that is for the Blarney Army, whether living in Ireland or England, to arrive in their thousands to paint the Home of Cricket green in front of a worldwide TV audience.”