Ireland braced for row over Afghan series

Malahide also have a double-header this weekend, with Strabane their Irish Cup visitors tomorrow with the Villagers hoping to better their quarter-final exit last year (Stock image)

Ireland are on a collision course with several English counties after agreeing to host a ground breaking five-match one-day international series against Afghanistan in July, in addition to ODIs this summer against Sri Lanka, Pakistan, South Africa and Australia.

While coach John Bracewell has hailed the fixture list as “getting close to the amount and variety of fixtures we need to continue our international development” counties like Middlesex, Warwickshire and Sussex could take a different view of losing players for important games.