Cricket:Cricket Ireland has announced a four-day contest with Australia A will take place next summer. The game is "pencilled" in for June 14th – 17th and will serve as preparation for Australia ahead of the Ashes series against England.
Ireland were already scheduled to face England in Malahide in September. A venue for the Australia game has yet to be revealed.
Australia’s touring side is “expected to feature many of the Test stars not involved in the ICC Champions Trophy,” according to Cricket Ireland. “Ricky Ponting is a strong candidate to captain the Australians, with players of the calibre of Peter Siddle, Nathan Lyon, Ed Cowan and Usman Khawaja also likely to be involved."
Performance director Richard Holdsworth added: “It’s a tremendous boost for all involved with Irish cricket that we’ve secured such a high profile first-class fixture in Ireland. The fact that the Australian XI will contain a number of high profile test cricketers means it’s sure to attract a large crowd.
“It will be a great test of our cricketers and I’m sure they will acquit themselves well against opponents who will be determined to put in a strong showing ahead of the Ashes campaign.
“We’ve haven’t finalised a venue for the prestigious game yet, but have plenty of options to choose from. This match is one of a number of international games we’ve lined up for 2013 which is shaping up to be one of our busiest and most exciting seasons to date.”
In the only other first-class fixture between the two nations, Ireland lost to Australia by five wickets in Rathmines in 1998.