Ireland unchanged for Pakistan ties
| 14 May 2013 16:04 |
| Phil Simmons has named an unchanged squad for next week’s RSA Insurance ODI series against a star-studded Pakistan side in Dublin. |
| The Ireland coach has kept faith with the players who won both their World Cup qualifying games against the United Arab Emirates in March to stay in pole position to reach the 2015 finals. |
| Simmons, who has been in charge of Ireland for just over six years and 177 games, is hoping for another major scalp in the two matches against Pakistan at Clontarf. |
| “We’ve always got a chance in our conditions,” Simmons said. “We’ve turned in some strong performances in recent years especially against England and Australia and lost matches we should have won. |
| “We’re getting stronger all the time and we’ll be well prepared and try to put them under pressure from the start. |
| “There’s a great atmosphere at Clontarf with the Irish fans behind us, and with a full house expected for both games, I’m hoping they can get us over the line against Pakistan. It’s certain to be a great carnival of cricket over the two days. |
| “We know how important it is to keep the momentum going with Irish cricket and we’ll be looking for headline victories in our marquee games this year.” |
