BRISBANE: Ireland captain Andrew Balbirnie won the toss and elected to field first against Australia in their crucial Group 1, Super 12 match of the ICC T20 World Cup at The Gabba in Brisbane on Monday.
This match is crucial for both sides as it will decide their future in the tournament. Both teams have won one match, lost one, and have lost one match due to rain and have a total of three points. But, on the basis of net run rate, Ireland are in third place while defending champions Australia are in the fourth position.
Ireland skipper Andrew Balbirnie said at the toss, “We will bowl first, it is a big game for us (playing against Australia). Always nice to know what we can do in the second innings. There has been excitement among the guys, we are playing against the world champions today. What an opportunity to play against a team like Australia.”
Australian skipper Aaron Finch said at the toss, “We would have bowled first as well, looks like a pretty good surface. We need to make sure to do the basics right. We have not talked about the net run rate yet. Adam Zampa is back for Agar. We considered all factors, we are pretty confident with the side we got.”
Ireland (Playing XI): Paul Stirling, Andrew Balbirnie (c), Lorcan Tucker (wk), Harry Tector, Curtis Campher, George Dockrell, Gareth Delany, Mark Adair, Barry McCarthy, Fionn Hand, Joshua Little
Australia (Playing XI): David Warner, Aaron Finch (c), Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Tim David, Matthew Wade (wk), Pat Cummins, Adam Zampa, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood. (ANI)