Saad Bin Zafar: Would've bowled first as well. If we can put decent runs on the board, will not be easy to change. It's always good to see an associate country to beat a full member country. Hopefully what USA did to Pakistan, we can do to Ireland. If you play your A game on the day, you can beat anyone. One change - Nikhil Dutta goes out, Junaid Siddiqui comes in.
Ireland have won the toss and have opted to field
Stirling: We're going to bowl first today.
Ireland have won the toss and have opted to field
Pitch report: “Lot of rain overnight so the outfield will be slow. 63m and 72m square boundaries. Lot of talk about this pitch and it definitely has changed a lot. They’ve taken out the grass and rolled it a lot. It looks a lot lighter. Still expect to see some bounce and movement off the seam. Overhead conditions mean there might also be some movement in the air. Will be important for batters to take the ball on if it’s in their areas. Still think the captain winning the toss will want to bowl first. 120 could still be a tough target” say Shaun Pollock and Dale Steyn.
ICC released a statement yesterday saying that "the pitches used so far at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium have not played as consistently as we would have all wanted. The world-class grounds team have been working hard since the conclusion of yesterday’s game to remedy the situation and deliver the best possible surfaces for the remaining matches."
9.30am local: Hello and welcome to our coverage of Match 13 between Canada and Ireland from Group A - the same group that has thrown into chaos after USA's stunning win over Pakistan yesterday.
Preview
There will be significant attention on Ireland's T20 World Cup clash against Canada that will have little to do with these sides locked 2-2 in T20I Head-to-Head. At this point in the World Cup, the result of this particular game at Nassau County would seem more academic for the ICC in the context of what is to come this weekend.
Of course, Pakistan's defeat to the USA has opened up several possibilities of qualification in Group A and Ireland will believe they are right in the mix if they can take down Canada. But to do that, they'll have to get a measure of the pitch in New York or at least do so better than their opponents on the day. It's been a nightmarish start for the venue with no team having gone past 100 in four innings. Uneven bounce, prodigious lateral movement and a slow, sandy outfield have given headaches to both batters as well as the governing body of the game, which has waded in hoping to remedy the situation somewhat before the India-Pakistan game on June 9.
Ireland rocked up and got a first taste of the venue and its challenges only on match day against India. They will, however, have 28.2 overs of a headstart over Canada, who experienced much better batting conditions in their defeat to co-hosts USA in the tournament opener in Dallas. A second defeat for either side will not prove terminal just yet but it will be too steep a climb thereafter to make the Super 8s.
When: Canada vs Ireland, June 7, 02:30 PM GMT, 10.30 AM Local, 08:00 PM IST
Where: Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, New York
What to expect: Low scores and help for the bowlers, in the air and off the surface. The ICC has taken cognisance of the pitch concerns and is actively looking to temper the pitch and it remains to be seen if it is successful in this endeavour. Players will experience pleasant temperatures of about 26 degrees Celsius and captains will look to bowl first.
Head to head: Canada 2 - 2 Ireland. Canada won the most recent clash between these sides, in 2019.
Team Watch:
Ireland
Batting coach Gary Wilson suggested Harry Tector was fine despite copping a bruising blow from a Jasprit Bumrah bouncer. Ross Adair is a potential replacement if Tector doesn't pull up well. If Ireland expect the pitch to play similar to how it did against India, they might want to drop leg spinner Ben White for an additional seamer in Craig Young.
Probable XI: Paul Stirling (c), Andy Balbirnie, Lorcan Tucker, Harry Tector, Curtis Campher, George Dockrell, Gareth Delany, Mark Adair, Barry McCarthy, Josh Little, Ben White
Canada
Canada could bring in left-arm fast bowler Rishiv Joshi for offspinner Nikhil Dutta, who conceded 41 in 2.2 overs against USA.
Probable XI: Aaron Johnson, Navneet Dhaliwal, Pargat Singh, Nicholas Kirton, Shreyas Movva (wk), Dilpreet Bajwa, Saad Bin Zafar (c), Dilon Heyliger, Rishiv Joshi, Kaleem Sana, Jeremy Gordon
Did you know?
- Ireland have won eight of their last nine men's T20Is against associate nations, with the sole loss during that period coming against Scotland by a margin of eight runs in July 2023
- Canada have lost each of their last three men's T20Is when batting first but both their wins against Ireland have come while batting first
- Saad Bin Safar has taken at least 1 wicket in 10 of his last 11 T20I bowling innings. The only innings he failed to do so was Canada's tournament opener against USA this week
What they said:
"It's tough to adjust when you don't know what you have to adjust to." - Heinrich Malan, Ireland Coach, on the uncertainty offered by the pitch at the Nassau County Cricket Ground.
"This wicket is a bit, kind of, what you can say, a tricky one. So you cannot play some of the T20 shots. So you have to play conventional cricket. And what I see, it's playing on the up, it's a little bit more difficult than Dallas." - Navneet Dhaliwal, Canada batter, on his take on the pitch.
Ireland Squad: Andrew Balbirnie, Paul Stirling(c), Lorcan Tucker(w), Harry Tector, Curtis Campher, George Dockrell, Gareth Delany, Mark Adair, Barry McCarthy, Joshua Little, Benjamin White, Graham Hume, Craig Young, Neil Rock, Ross Adair
Canada
Ireland
