Team news, likely XIs, form guide, players to watch, odds, TV and streaming information, weather forecast, umpire appointments and everything else you need to know
Ireland take on Netherlands in the preliminary round of the T20 World Cup.
The game is scheduled for 2pm local time (11am BST) on Monday, October 18, 2021.
The game will be held at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
Sheikh Zayed Stadium: Ground guide
Ireland's T20 form heading into the T20 World Cup is mixed. In their past 11 T20Is, Andy Balbirnie's side have won four and lost seven, most recently losing a three-match series against the UAE 2-1. However, they won both of their World Cup warm-up matches against Papua New Guinea and Bangladesh and strung together three consecutive victories against Zimbabwe at the back-end of August, suggesting a run of good performances might not be too far away.
Netherlands are also enduring a mixed run of form, winning two and losing two of their five matches in 2021. However, before the Covid-19 pandemic brought international cricket to a halt, Pieter Seelaar's team were on a five-match winning streak, including a 21-run victory over Ireland in Dubai. In their two warm-up matches, Netherlands lost to Scotland by 32 runs before defeating Oman by four runs.
Netherlands have the edge in the head to head, winning seven T20Is to Ireland's four.
Dafabet have installed Ireland as the favourites for this encounter, with odds of 4/6 available for an Irish win. Netherlands are available at 6/5.
While Kevin O'Brien is an icon of Irish cricket, it's Paul Stirling who is their white-ball batting supremo heading into the T20 World Cup. The opener is his side's all-time leading run-scorer in the format, scoring 2,495 runs at an average of 30.80 and has a strike rate of 137.16. The 31-year-old, who, at number 21 is the only Irish player ranked inside the top 100 on the T20 Player Index, heads into the World Cup in strong form with six 20-plus knocks in his past eight innings and a decent cameo stint with Southern Brave in The Hundred under his belt.
And then there's Simi Singh who hit the headlines in January 2021 when he became just the 20th man to hit a half-century and take a five-fer in the same ODI. The Indian-born allrounder is Ireland's first-choice spinner and has 29 wickets and an economy of 7.43 from his T20I career to date.
For Netherlands, there are a host of familiar names, including Leicestershire's Colin Ackermann, Somerset's Roelof van der Merwe, and Kent's Fred Klaassen. However, fast bowler Brandon Glover, who represents Northamptonshire, is arguable the one to watch. The 24-year-old didn't enjoy a great T20 Blast, taking just four wickets in seven innings, but finished 2019's World Cup qualifying event with 16 wickets in eight match.
Also keep an eye on Ryan ten Doeschate, who is enjoying one last dance before retirement.
Both teams are expected to be full strength.
The following umpires and match referees have been named by the ICC to officiate in the T20 World Cup 2021:
Referees: David Boon, Jeff Crowe, Ranjan Madugalle, Javagal Srinath
Umpires: Chris Brown, Aleem Dar, Kumar Dharmasena, Marais Erasmus, Chris Gaffaney, Michael Gough, Adrian Holdstock, Richard Illingworth, Richard Kettleborough, Nitin Menon, Ahsan Raza, Paul Reiffel, Langton Rusere, Rod Tucker, Joel Wilson, Paul Wilson
The following officials have been allocated to this fixture:
On-field umpires: Tucker, Erasmus
TV umpire: Holdstock
Fourth umpire: Reiffel
Referee: Boon
Full T20 World Cup officials appointments: Click here
Wall-to-wall sunshine is forecast for Abu Dhabi, with temperatures expected to peak at 35 degrees Celsius.
Follow the Met Office forecast here.
Yes, though Covid protocols including the wearing of face masks will be in place.
Click here to visit the ICC's ticketing site.
Ireland's form has been quite mixed of late, with a victory over Bangladesh offset by a series defeat against the UAE. And while Netherlands haven't exactly been winning machines, they have had the edge over Ireland in recent years. A minor upset could be on the cards.
T20 WORLD CUP TEAM GUIDES
Sky Sports Cricket (Sky 404, Talk Talk 404, BT TV 423, Virgin 504) will broadcast the series in the United Kingdom, with the content available online via its streaming platform Sky Go.
BBC Radio Five Live Sports Extra will have live ball-by-ball radio commentary of all tournament matches, accessible through the BBC Sport website, BBC Sounds or DAB radio.
The Star Sports network is showing the tournament in India. Matches can be streamed via Disney+ Hotstar
Other broadcasters by territory:
Australia - Fox Sports, Channel 9, Kayo Sports
New Zealand – Sky Sport New Zealand
Pakistan - PTV Sports, Ten Sports
Bangladesh - Ghazi Tv (GTV)
Sri Lanka – SLRC (Channel Eye)
South Africa – SuperSport
Caribbean – ESPN
Middle East and North Africa – eLife TV, StarzPlay, Switch TV
USA – ESPN+
Singapore - Star Cricket, Star Hub and Singtel
Malaysia - Fox International Channels
Hong Kong - Star Cricket
Ireland: Andrew Balbirnie, Mark Adair, Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Shane Getkate, Graham Kennedy, Josh Little, Andrew McBrine, Barry McCarthy, Kevin O’Brien, Neil Rock, Simi Singh, Paul Stirling, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Ben White, Craig Young
Netherlands: Pieter Seelaar (c), Colin Ackermann, Philippe Boissevain, Bas de Leede, Paul van Meekeren, Ben Cooper, Max O'Dowd, Scott Edwards, Ryan ten Doeschate, Timm van der Gugten, Roelof van der Merwe, Brandon Glover, Fred Klaassen, Logan van Beek, Stephan Myburgh
Ireland: Paul Stirling, Kevin O’Brien, Andy Balbirnie, Gareth Delany, Curtis Campher, Harry Tector, Neil Rock, Simi Singh, Mark Adair, Josh Little, Craig Young
Netherlands: Max O’Dowd, Ben Cooper, Colin Ackermann, Ryan ten Doeschate, Scott Edwards, Pieter Seelaar, Roelof van der Merwe, Fred Klaassen, Timm van der Gugten, Brandon Glover, Paul van Meekeren
T20 World Cup Hub: News, features, stats, live scores
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