Irish cricket team against Afghanistan in the UAE in 2017–18
# Irish cricket team against Afghanistan in the UAE in 2017–18

The Ireland cricket team toured the United Arab Emirates in December 2017 to play three One Day Internationals (ODIs) against the Afghanistan cricket team. The matches were used as a warm-up for the 2018 Cricket World Cup Qualifier, which took place in Zimbabwe in March 2018. Ireland won the series 2–1.

## Squads

| Afghanistan | Ireland |
| - | - |
| Asghar Stanikzai (c) Javed Ahmadi Amir Hamza Ihsanullah Nasir Jamal Rashid Khan Zahir Khan Mohammad Nabi Gulbadin Naib Shafiqullah Rahmat Shah Dawlat Zadran Mujeeb Zadran Najibullah Zadran Noor Ali Zadran Shapoor Zadran | William Porterfield (c) John Anderson Andrew Balbirnie Peter Chase George Dockrell Ed Joyce Barry McCarthy Jacob Mulder Tim Murtagh Kevin O'Brien Niall O'Brien Stuart Poynter Boyd Rankin Simi Singh Paul Stirling Gary Wilson |

Ahead of the series, Ed Joyce was ruled out of Ireland's squad with a knee injury, with John Anderson replacing him. Niall O'Brien initially returned home to Ireland for personal reasons and was replaced by Stuart Poynter, but he re-joined the squad prior to the series.

## ODI series

### 1st ODI

* 5 December 2017 14:30 (D/N) Scorecard

| Afghanistan 238/9 (50 overs) | v | Ireland 100 (31.4 overs) |
| - | - | - |
| Nasir Jamal 53 (63) Boyd Rankin 4/44 (10 overs) | | William Porterfield 35 (63) Mujeeb Ur Rahman 4/24 (10 overs) |

* Afghanistan won by 138 runs Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah Umpires: Ahmed Shah Pakteen (Afg) and Ruchira Palliyaguruge (SL) Player of the match: Mujeeb Ur Rahman (Afg)
* Ireland won the toss and elected to field.
* Mujeeb Ur Rahman (Afg) made his ODI debut and became the first male to play international cricket who was born in the 21st century.
* Kevin O'Brien became the first player for Ireland to take 100 wickets in ODIs.
* Mujeeb Ur Rahman took the joint-best figures for an Afghan bowler on debut in ODIs.

### 2nd ODI

* 7 December 2017 14:30 (D/N) Scorecard

| Ireland 271/9 (50 overs) | v | Afghanistan 220 (45.2 overs) |
| - | - | - |
| Paul Stirling 82 (96) Rashid Khan 2/40 (10 overs) | | Javed Ahmadi 48 (67) Barry McCarthy 5/46 (9 overs) |

* Ireland won by 51 runs Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah Umpires: Ruchira Palliyaguruge (SL) and Izatullah Safi (Afg) Player of the match: Barry McCarthy (Ire)
* Ireland won the toss and elected to bat.
* Barry McCarthy (Ire) took his first five-wicket haul in ODIs.

### 3rd ODI

* 10 December 2017 14:30 (D/N) Scorecard

| Afghanistan 177 (48.2 overs) | v | Ireland 180/5 (38 overs) |
| - | - | - |
| Rashid Khan 44 (55) George Dockrell 4/28 (9 overs) | | Paul Stirling 101 (97) Rashid Khan 2/17 (9 overs) |

* Ireland won by 5 wickets Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah Umpires: Ahmed Shah Pakteen (Afg) and Ruchira Palliyaguruge (SL) Player of the match: Paul Stirling (Ire)
* Afghanistan won the toss and elected to bat.
