The incessant rain and grey skies over Malahide made the prospect of play in the third match of the Walton Tri-Series between Ireland and Bangladesh highly unlikely from early on Thursday, and so it proved.
Throughout the day standing umpires, Mark Hawthorne and Aleem Dar, made trips towards the edge of the covered square to confirm it was indeed still raining. After lunch seven of the Irish squad, all four Pembroke players, Mark Adair, Boyd Rankin and Tim Murtagh, engaged in a vigorous fitness session but the only thing the players would catch on Thursday was pneumonia.
The rain deprived James McCollum of a highly likely second ODI cap. The Waringstown and Northern Knights opener scored a century for the Ireland Wolves against Bangladesh last Sunday and was unfortunate to be dropped from the team immediately after making his debut against Afghanistan earlier this year.
McCollum would most likely have come in for Lorcan Tucker, who having scored plenty of runs for the Wolves himself over the winter, and having continued his good form for the Leinster Lightning in La Manga recently, struggled in his two innings against England and West Indies last weekend, making just seven runs across both innings.
It may have been harsh on Tucker, but this Ireland set-up has players within the Wolves squad that defeated Bangladesh by 88 runs, more than ready to step into the senior eleven.
Indeed, the Ireland selection committee convened in Malahide on Thursday to select the squad for the rest of the Tri-Series having initially only chosen a squad to take Ireland through until this match against Bangladesh.
While McCollum was already in the senior squad, despite playing for the Wolves, it will be interesting to see if players like Simi Singh, Tyrone Kane and Craig Young can also push for promotion to the new squad announced on Friday.
Ahead of the England match, captain William Porterfield welcomed the challenge these young, talented and fearless cricketers present to the stalwarts of the Irish game for the past number of years.
The likes of Porterfield, Gary Wilson and Boyd Rankin, replaced for the West Indies match after his performance against England, will want to shepherd the new generation and oversee their transition into the first team.
It is highly unlikely wholesale changes will be made ahead of the Test match against England at Lord’s in July, but rained off matches allow for the debate and discussions to take place.
