Gareth Delany is in line to win his 100th cap for Ireland against England today at Malahide after recovering from an horrific fielding accident that saw him suffer a fractured eye socket and bleed on the brain.

The 28-year-old T20 specialist missed nearly three months of the season after colliding with Leinster club mate Saqib Bahadur during a match at North County in early June, and spending the next 48 hours under observation in Beaumont Hospital.

“It was the bank holiday Monday,” Delany said. “I was at mid-wicket, Saqib was at deep square. Unfortunately neither of us called for the catch, both of us running with eyes on the ball.

“Next thing I remember I was on the ground, in bit of a daze and out of it for a while. It took me a while to come round but North County looked after me very well.

“I had fractured my cheekbone, my eye socket and a bit of my nose and there was also a bang to the jaw as well. I had a very small trace of a bleed to the brain but thankfully nothing too serious. 

“The doctors’ main concern was my vision. I had to go into St James Hospital the following week where I learnt I was going to require surgery on the cheekbone — that was a bit of a surprise but it went pretty well.”

After a carefully monitored recovery program, he returned to action with Leinster only 11 weeks later and then proved his form in the first of Ireland’s in-house Emerald Challenge matches by top scoring with 71 for the Raiders.

After that, Delany’s inclusion in the 14-strong squad for the three-match T20 series against England was a formality, as 78 of his 99 appearances for the Boys in Green have come in the shortest format.

The second two matches of the England series — on Friday and Sunday — are officially sold out, with 4,200 fans expected on each day.