There are three uncapped players in the Ireland squad for next week’s one-day internationals against West Indies at Clontarf and, while it is unlikely any will play in the opening game, it is encouraging to see the selectors finally recognizing emerging talent.

In-form opening batter Cade Carmichael and his Northern Knights team-mate Tom Mayes are joined by Liam McCarthy in a 14-man squad, although only McCarthy is retained for the T20 series which follows in Bready, three weeks later.

Cade Carmichael

Carmichael scored a century in the four-day game which opened last month’s Wolves tour in Abu Dhabi and confirmed the selectors’ decision with another one for the Knights against Leinster Lightning at Oak Hill on Tuesday.

Mayes has been in exceptional form for Waringstown this year, following a remarkable innings of 137, from No 8, with a six-wicket haul the following week and his 40 not out, from 26 balls, took Knights to victory in their opening 50-over game against North West Warriors at Stormont. Just for good measure, he took three of the five wickets which Warriors lost! He followed up with three wickets with the new ball against Lightning on Tuesday, including skipper Lorcan Tucker, as the champions collapsed to 12 for four.

Tom Mayes

Liam McCarthy took seven wickets in the Wolves’ one-day games in the UAE and it is his extra pace which head coach Heinrich Malan highlighted when he spoke about the new caps on Wednesday morning.

“(He) has been in and around our thinking for a while. He has been a consistent performer in domestic cricket and brings something different, with a little bit more pace and shapes the ball in and away from the left handers, which is again complementing our attack.

Liam McCarthy

“Cade Carmichael has been on our radar as a top order player, has been very consistent over the last while and Tom Mayes has also been very consistent as a batter and bowler. He has had impacts in both skill sets over the last 12-18 months and fits as cover for Mark Adair, who misses out in the ODI squad.”

Adair, who has yet to play a game this season, is being aimed for the T20Is next month, with Malan confirming he is “back bowling and building it up” and will play a “couple of club games” as his match practice for that three-match series.

T20 ‘specialists’ Ross Adair, Gareth Delany and Ben White are the three selected only for the T20Is, with Andrew Balbirnie, Andy McBrine and Carmichael and Mayes dropping out.

Interestingly, there is no reserve wicket-keeper selected – and no-one in the squads who has even worn the gloves before – with Malan ‘hoping’ that Loran Tucker, the vice-captain to Stirling, emerges unscathed through all six games, while adding “a replacement is only a car ride away, so it’s a different balance than we have on tour. We’ll have the right players in the right place”.

Compared to the squads selected for Ireland’s last action back in February, in Zimbabwe, Graham Hume is missing from both squads because of injury, Gavin Hoey, Morgan Topping and Jordan Neill, a late-call up, are left out of this ODI squad and Neil Rock from the T20 squad along with the two injury replacements last time, Tim Tector and Fionn Hand.

For the first time, Ireland take on top class opposition on a three-match winning run, after winning the last two games of the ODI series in Jamaica in January 2022 – there are still seven survivors from the Ireland team that clinched the series – and they beat West Indies at the T20 World Cup in Hobart, nine months later by nine wickets. And there are eight players from that team who could be involved again in Bready.

Malan, though, was predictably cautious when comparing the past and forthcoming series.

“Spin played a huge part in their conditions, it will be totally different in Clontarf and again in Bready, but hopefully we can take confidence knowing we have turned them over, but their team has also evolved and they have different personnel,” he said.

The coach has probably been told that the last time West Indies played in Ireland, in 2019, they put on a world record opening partnership of 365 in the first match in Malahide and chased down Ireland’s 327 in the second by five wickets with 13 balls to spare.

The teams have never played a T20I in Ireland, although we all know what happened the last time West Indies played in the North West!

The ODIs at Castle Avenue are on May 21, 23 and 25 with the T20Is in Magheramason on June 12, 14 and 15.

Ireland ODI squad: P Stirling (capt), A Balbirnie, C Campher, C Carmichael, G Dockrell, M Humphreys, J Little, T Mayes, A McBrine, B McCarthy, L McCarthy, H Tector, L Tucker, C Young.

T20I squad: P Stirling (capt), M Adair, R Adair, C Campher, G Delany, G Dockrell, M Humphreys, J Little, B  McCarthy, L McCarthy, H Tector, L Tucker, B White, C Young.