Paul Stirling returns from injury to captain Ireland against an Afghanistan side chasing its seventh straight ODI win over these opponents, as the five-match series opens at Bready Cricket Club on Wednesday, August 5, at 10:45 AM local (3:15 PM IST).
Afghanistan have won the last six meetings between these sides, with Ireland’s most recent win dating back to May 2019, and arrive under new full-time captain Rahmat Shah.
Ireland, missing six frontline seamers to injury, hand ODI debuts to Jai Moondra, Ben Calitz and Byron McDonough.
IRE vs AFG Match Details
| Details | Information |
|---|---|
| Match | Ireland vs Afghanistan, 1st ODI |
| Series | Afghanistan tour of Ireland 2026, five-match ODI series. Ireland’s return to ODI cricket after a 15-month gap, and the first series under new head coach Gary Wilson. |
| Date | Wednesday, 5 August 2026 |
| Time | 10:45 AM local / 3:15 PM IST |
| Venue | Bready Cricket Club, Bready, Northern Ireland |
| Format | One Day International, 50 overs per side |
| Captains | Paul Stirling (Ireland), Rahmat Shah (Afghanistan) |
| Form | IRE: Recent form reads LWLWL. Paul Stirling returns from a T20 World Cup injury to lead a squad missing six frontline seamers, including Josh Little, Craig Young and Barry McCarthy, opening the door for debutants Jai Moondra, Ben Calitz and Byron McDonough. AFG: Recent form reads LLLWW. Rahmat Shah takes over as full-time ODI and Test captain from Hashmatullah Shahidi, with Rahmanullah Gurbaz as his deputy. Gurbaz arrives in outstanding touch, having scored 87, 107* and 102 in the Shpageeza Cricket League before consistent runs in the Global Super League. |
| H2H | Afghanistan have won the last six ODIs between these sides, and Ireland’s only win in that stretch dates back to May 2019. Overall, Afghanistan lead the head-to-head. |
Dream11 Team for IRE vs AFG, 1st ODI
Top Picks for IRE vs AFG, 1st ODI
| Player | Team | Role | Key Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rahmanullah Gurbaz | AFG | Captain / WK | Captain pick. In career-best form, three centuries in recent domestic and franchise cricket. At 2x. |
| Rashid Khan | AFG | VC / Bowler | Vice-Captain pick. World-class leg-spin, Afghanistan’s most important bowling weapon. At 1.5x. |
| Rahmat Shah | AFG | Captain / Batter | Afghanistan’s new full-time captain, dependable top-order presence. |
| Paul Stirling | IRE | Captain / Batter | Ireland’s captain, returning from injury to lead the side. |
| George Dockrell | IRE | All-Rounder | Needs just 3 wickets to become Ireland’s all-time leading ODI wicket-taker. |
Pitch Report
| Details | Information |
|---|---|
| Venue | Bready Cricket Club, Bready, Northern Ireland. Has hosted just one men’s ODI before this series, back in 2019. |
| Pitch Type | The ground has generally offered a high-scoring surface, with the three women’s ODIs played here last month producing totals in excess of 240 in successful chases. In the only men’s ODI played here, Ireland chased down 255 against Zimbabwe. |
| Scoring | Recent history at this ground points to a good batting surface once the new ball is seen off, with totals well past 240 likely to be competitive rather than match-winning on their own. |
| Pace vs Spin | New-ball seamers should find some early assistance, with Afghanistan’s varied pace and spin options, including Fazalhaq Farooqi and Rashid Khan, likely to pose the biggest threat through the middle overs. |
| Toss Factor | Given the ground’s recent history of high-scoring chases, expect the toss winner to consider bowling first and chasing, weather permitting. |
Weather Report
| Details | Information |
|---|---|
| Temperature | Cool for early August, with a high of around 13°C (56°F). |
| Sky | Mostly cloudy through the day. |
| Rain Chance | Moderate, around 35 percent. Worth keeping an eye on, though not high enough to expect a complete wash-out. |
| Humidity | Moderate, typical of a Northern Irish summer morning. |
| Overall | Cool and overcast conditions with a real but not overwhelming chance of interruption. New-ball bowlers could find some helpful conditions under cloud cover. |
IRE vs AFG Toss Prediction
With this ground’s recent history favouring successful chases and a moderate rain risk in the mix, expect the toss winner to lean toward bowling first.
**If Paul Stirling (Ireland) wins, **expect him to bowl first, trusting Ireland’s varied but inexperienced pace attack, including debutant Jai Moondra, to make early inroads before backing his own top order, including Andrew Balbirnie and Harry Tector, to chase down a target.
**If Rahmat Shah (Afghanistan) wins, **expect Afghanistan to also bowl first, using Fazalhaq Farooqi and the pace attack to apply early pressure before trusting Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran to chase down a target with the same fluency Gurbaz has shown in recent weeks.
Injury and Team News
Ireland:
Ireland return to ODI cricket after a 15-month gap with captain Paul Stirling back from the injury he sustained at the 2026 T20 World Cup. The squad is significantly weakened by injuries to six frontline seamers, including Josh Little, Craig Young and Barry McCarthy, opening the door for maiden ODI call-ups to Jai Moondra, Ben Calitz and Byron McDonough. Moondra in particular arrives with real promise after a Player-of-the-Series showing in the recent T20Is against India. No further injury concerns have been reported for the squad ahead of this fixture.
**Key players: **Paul Stirling (c, captain, returning from injury), George Dockrell (closing in on Ireland’s all-time ODI wicket-taking record), Andrew Balbirnie (experienced top-order anchor), Harry Tector (classy middle-order batter), Lorcan Tucker (dependable wicketkeeper-batter), Jai Moondra (highly rated debutant seamer).
**Predicted Ireland XI: **Paul Stirling (c), Andrew Balbirnie, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker (wk), Curtis Campher, George Dockrell, Andrew McBrine, Mark Adair, Jai Moondra, Ben Calitz, Byron McDonough.
Afghanistan:
Afghanistan begin a new era under full-time captain Rahmat Shah, who takes over from Hashmatullah Shahidi with Rahmanullah Gurbaz as his deputy. Gurbaz arrives in the form of his career, and the squad blends that firepower with the experience of Ibrahim Zadran and the bowling threat of Rashid Khan and Azmatullah Omarzai. No injury concerns have been reported for the squad ahead of this fixture.
**Key players: **Rahmat Shah (c, new full-time captain), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (captain pick, vice-captain, career-best form), Ibrahim Zadran (experienced top-order batter), Rashid Khan (vice-captain pick, world-class leg-spin), Azmatullah Omarzai (genuine all-round threat), Allah Ghazanfar (young off-spin option), Fazalhaq Farooqi (frontline new-ball bowler).
**Predicted Afghanistan XI: **Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah (c), Hashmatullah Shahidi, Darwish Rasooli, Azmatullah Omarzai, Sediqullah Atal, Rashid Khan, Allah Ghazanfar, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Zia ur Rahman Sharifi.
