Balbirnie received treatment on the field and left it during his innings in the seven-wicket defeat to the UAE on Sunday.

Ireland lost the third game of the T20I series against the host nation, succumbing to a 3-0 series defeat.

They will play Papua New Guinea twice in a warmup series before taking part in the T20 World Cup, which starts on Sunday, October 17.

Mark Rausa, Head of Physiotherapy and Medical Services for Cricket Ireland, said: “Andrew left the field of play during his innings today after being struck on the foot by the ball – specifically a direct blow to the 3rd, 4th and 5th toes.

“Initially, he could not bear weight and reported high levels of pain. The decision was made for him to retire hurt for immediate assessment and treatment.

“He has undergone an X-ray this evening in Abu Dhabi and we are currently awaiting the radiologist report to rule out a fracture to the toes, and will shortly confirm once we receive the report.

“I would like to thank the ICC and BCCI for their help in facilitating Andrew’s transport and assessment swiftly and safely during this period of heightened restrictions and biosecurity measures in the lead up to the T20 World Cup.”

Ireland begin their T20 World Cup campaign on Monday, October 18 when they face the Netherlands.

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The series was played in preparation for the upcoming T20I World Cup – Ireland’s campaign begins on Monday, October 18 when they face the Netherlands.

The visitors batted first and started strongly but were reeled in by Rohan Mustafa, who encountered a purple patch.

The UAE did not look back after this and powered through to win by seven wickets with 23 balls remaining, with Muhammad Waseem registering a century for the side.

Ireland had started 76-0 before Mustafa brought his side back into it with the reliable duo of Paul Stirling and Kevin O’Brien.

The bowler started his tenure on the field by catching Stirling’s hit to send the Irishman walking after just three balls against Mustafa.

The stand ended in the 13th over at 85, the 12th partnership above 50 in T20Is between O’Brien and Stirling.

In men’s cricket, New Zealand’s Kane Williamson and Martin Guptill and Scotland’s George Munsey and Kyle Coetzer are the only pairs with as many, and no duo has more.

Mustafa bowled out Gareth Delany in the next over, setting the tone for a strong UAE comeback.

O’Brien brought up his half-century in the 15th over but he was the next to fall as Mustafa beat his attempted loft.

Curtis Campher began his at-bat inventively, playing a reverse lap sweep for four off his first ball.

However, that shot was Ireland’s sole boundary in the last 10 overs of their innings as their impressive start could not be sustained.

Waseem led his side to victory with an unbeaten 107 to seal a 3-0 series win for the hosts in Dubai.

Graham Ford’s side end the series without a win and will now face Papua New Guinea in a two-game warmup series before taking part in the T20I World Cup.

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The fixtures were officially announced by the Emirates Cricket Board this morning as part of the ‘DafaNews Summer T20 Blast’ – a series of fixtures between 5-10 October also involving UAE, Scotland, Namibia and Papua New Guinea.

Warm-up matches against Papua New Guinea and Bangladesh are also set to be played on October 12 and October 14 respectively.

The side’s T20I World Cup campaign is set to begin on October 18 against the Netherlands.

They most recently played a three-game One Day International series with Zimbabwe earlier this month.

Graham Ford and his squad will leave for the UAE tomorrow and will undertake a mandatory six-day hotel quarantine before being able to begin training.

A preliminary 18-player squad was recently announced – this will be reduced to 15 for the T20 World Cup tournament.

However, the three other players will still travel to the UAE as reserves.

Squad

Andrew Balbirnie (c), Mark Adair, Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Shane Getkate, Graham Kennedy, Josh Little, Andrew McBrine, Barry McCarthy, Kevin O’Brien, Neil Rock, Simi Singh, Paul Stirling, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Ben White, Craig Young.

Fixtures

Pre-T20 World Cup – preparation period

• 5 October 2021: Ireland v Scotland – warm-up match (ICC Academy Oval 2; start 9am local time)
• 7 October 2021: Ireland v UAE – 1st T20I (ICC Academy Oval 1; start 9am local time)
• 8 October 2021: Ireland v UAE – 2nd T20I (ICC Academy Oval 1; start 9am local time)
• 10 October 2021: Ireland v UAE – 3rd T20I (ICC Academy Oval 1; start 9am local time)

Official T20 World Cup warm-up matches

• 12 October 2021: Ireland v Papua New Guinea – warm-up T20I (Abu Dhabi; start 2pm local time)
• 14 October 2021: Ireland v Bangladesh – warm-up T20I (Abu Dhabi; start 6pm local time)

T20 World Cup – Round 1

• 18 October 2021: Ireland v Netherlands (Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi; starts 10am GMT)
• 20 October 2021: Ireland v Sri Lanka (Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi; starts 2pm GMT)
• 22 October 2021: Ireland v Namibia (Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah; starts 10am GMT)

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Ireland’s men cricket team will return for to play in January 2021. Cricket has been on hold since Ireland’s heroic win over World Cup winners England in August of this year. First up for Ireland head coach Graham Ford and his men will be a four game series against UAE starting on the 8th and ending on the 14th of January.

The three matches against Afghanistan that follow carry a higher degree of significance for the Irish as they will be part of the World Cup Super League. This league will make up part of the qualifying phase for the Cricket World Cup in 2023. Ireland currently have 10 points and sit in 5th position in the Super League having beaten England 2-1.

Of the 13 teams in the league, hosts India along with the top seven will automatically qualify. In addition, the bottom five sides will enter another qualifying event against five Associated sides. Two successful team from this event will make it to the 2023 World Cup.

Confidence is high heading into next month’s fixtures, with Ford emphasizing that the important win over England, as well as the victories over the T20 World Champions, the West Indies “have helped build self-belief within the players and have demonstrated the progress we are making as a squad.”

Ireland Squad and Abu Dabhi Series Dates

Ireland Squad:

Andrew Balbirnie (C), Mark Adair, Curtis Campher, David Delany, Gareth Delany, Josh Little, Andrew McBrine, Barry McCarthy, James McCollum, Kevin O’Brien, Neil Rock, Simi Singh, Paul Stirling, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Craig Young.

International Dates:

UAE vs Ireland: January 8th, 10th, 12th & 14th.

Afghanistan vs Ireland: January 18th, 21st & 23rd.

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