Australia vs Ireland in Benoni for a kind-of-random one-day international – a bit strange, yes, but the Aussies will look to this match as a chance to get attuned to the conditions and bring back their A-game before the South Africa ODI series comes calling.
After a sometimes-bad, sometimes-good tour of Sri Lanka, Australia will play five one-dayers against South Africa in the African continent, but before that there is the only ODI against the Irish, who, after a scathing defeat to the Proteas will be desperate to put on a good show.
Regardless of the conditions, Australia showed how good a one-day team they are in that tour of Sri Lanka, dominating the home side in the limited-overs series after being spanked in the Test matches. With the South African pitches expected to feel a lot more familiar, Australia will be expected to impress even more, starting with this ODI against Ireland.
Seeing this match as a chance to bed-in rookies, Australia will give pacer Daniel Worrall an ODI debut, even if the rest of the team is a pretty strong one. The Aussies are without James Faulkner and Aaron Finch, though, through injury.
"He (Worrall) has worked very hard and he's improved a lot over the last couple of years," Australia captain Steve Smith, who was given a rest during the Sri Lanka tour, said. "I think he's got a lot stronger and he's bowling with good pace and good shape.
"This series will be a good challenge for him, with Ireland tomorrow and then South Africa in this series in their conditions. "I look forward to seeing how he, along with all the other quicks, will go."
South Africa were too strong for Ireland, who will be without Niall O'Brien, owing to a concussion, when the two teams met on Sunday on the same ground, with the Proteas running-out victors by 206 runs. While that would have dented Ireland's confidence, Smith is expecting a difficult challenge.
"We've had a little look at them," Smith added. "Their top-order is the most dangerous in their batting. "(Paul) Stirling and the captain (William) Porterfield, they like to get them off to a good start so they're going to be the big scalps for us.
"Hopefully we can play the way we play and put on a good show."
Where to Watch Live
Australia vs Ireland ODI match is scheduled for a 10am local time (1.30pm IST, 9am BST) start. The match will be shown live in Australia on the Cricket Australia website. Viewers in Ireland and the UK can watch the ODI on Sky Sports 2, with the online live streaming option on Sky Go and Watch Sky Sports. SuperSport 2 and Supe SuperSport Live Video are the places to be to watch the match in South Africa and Sub Saharan Africa.
