Toss Ireland opt to bowl vs Afghanistan
Ireland captain Paul Stirling won the toss and opted to bowl in the second ODI against Afghanistan in Bready. The toss was delayed by one-and-a-half hours due to a wet outfield, with the match reduced to 47 overs a side.
Ireland played three debutants in the match: batter Ben Calitz, and pace bowlers Jai Moondra and Byron McDonough. Calitz, who is also a wicketkeeper, will play as a pure batter against Afghanistan, and has already represented Ireland in 11 T20Is.
Left-arm quick Moondra, meanwhile, made a name for himself during the T20I series against India in June, while right-arm pacer McDonough steps up to international cricket after bagging eight wickets at an average of 31.25 at the Inter-Provincial Limited Over Cup, Ireland's domestic 50-over competition.
Afghanistan will be led by new captain Rahmat Shah, who took over the job after Hashmatullah Shahidi stepped down.
The five-match series is locked at 0-0 after the first ODI, also in Bready, was abandoned on Wednesday. As a result of that washout, Ireland will have to play the Qualifier tournament to make it to the 2027 World Cup to be held in Africa.
Ireland: 1 Paul Stirling (capt), 2 Andy Balbirnie, 3 Cade Carmichael, 4 Harry Tector, 5 Curtis Campher, 6 Lorcan Tucker (wk), 7 Ben Calitz, 8 Mark Adair, 9 Gavin Hoey, 10 Jai Moondra, 11 Brydon McDonough
Afghanistan: 1 Ibrahim Zadran, 2 Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), 3 Sediqullah Atal, 4 Hashmatullah Shahidi, 5 Rahmat Shah (capt), 6 Darwish Rasooli, 7 Azmatullah Omarzai, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 AM Ghazanfar, 10 Mohammad Saleem, 11 Fazalhaq Farooqi
