LONDON: England will host Ireland for the first time for a pair of One-day Internationals next year.

The first match will take place in Bristol on May 5, with the second one-day international two days later at Lord’s on May 7. The matches will help prepare England for the Champions Trophy in June.

Ireland first hosted England 10 years ago, and have played in the last three World Cups, including a win over England in the 2011 event.

“It’s absolutely massive for us to have the opportunity to play against England in a series,” Ireland captain William Porterfield said in a statement. “What makes it extra special is the fact that one of the games is at Lord’s, where every cricketer dreams of playing.”

Ireland are pushing for Test recognition and opening batsman Porterfield said: “Teams travelling to play England are also coming over here now to play series too so hopefully that trend will continue.

“We are getting more and more international fixtures with games against Pakistan, Afghanistan, Australia and South Africa still to come this year, and England, Bangladesh and New Zealand confirmed already for next year.”

Cricket Ireland chief executive Warren Deutrom added: “We have set out our stall to make cricket a mainstream sport in Ireland and perhaps one measure of that is for the Blarney Army, whether living in Ireland or England, to arrive in their thousands to paint the Home of Cricket [Lord’s] green in front of a worldwide TV audience.

“It’s a real chance for Irish cricket to prove itself a worthy addition to the sport’s economy as well as its competitive elite.”

England and Ireland have met in seven One-day Internationals, with England winning five.

But Ireland achieved a notable victory over England at the 2011 World Cup in Bangalore.

England and Wales Cricket Board director Andrew Strauss was England’s captain when they lost by three wickets to Ireland in India in 2011, having led them in their inaugural series against the Irish in 2006.

Ireland also knocked Pakistan out of the 2007 World Cup and defeated the West Indies at last year’s World Cup in New Zealand.

“We’ve been hugely impressed by the major strides Irish cricket has made in the last decade and all their players will be savouring the opportunity to play a full One-day International at the Home of Cricket for the first time, as well as taking on England at Bristol,” said Strauss in an ECB statement.

Published in Dawn, June 24th, 2016