Mark Adair shakes off illness as Ireland prepare to meet West Indies

It has only been eight months since Ireland’s Mark Adair made his international debut, but the Belfast paceman has well and truly established himself within the squad across all formats.
Mark AdairMark Adair
Mark Adair

After missing the first warm-up match of the current tour due to illness, he is keen to get the series underway when Ireland meet the West Indies in Barbados on Tuesday and put the last few months of training and preparation into action.

The 23-year-old was first called up for the One-Day International against England at Malahide in May 2019. Since then he has made 27 appearances for the Men in Green, which included an eye-catching Test debut at Lord’s Cricket Ground, and an authoritative bowling display at the ICC T20 World Cup Qualifier during which he claimed 12 wickets at an average of 12.50.

Today’s match will not be Adair’s first ODI against the West Indies, he played in the two matches in Dublin last year, but feels that his game has evolved significantly since that time.

“I may have played my first international only 8 months ago, but it feels like there has been a lot of games between then and now,” he said. “Every time I going out there I am learning from the guys I’m playing against and playing with.

“That last match against the Windies back in May was tough, but I feel that as a cricketer I have changed a lot since then. I definitely feel like I have more control of my bowling and feel as if I know what I want to do - and who I am as a bowler.

“I’m no longer just about running in and trying to hit the top of off stump, there’s much more to it.”

“I had a bumpy start to this trip – I had a bad night and was feeling quite sick and missed that first warm-up game - but I’m through that now and looking forward to the series beginning.”

Tuesday’s opening Test at Kensington Oval will be broacast on Sky Sports Mix (from 5.15pm) and the second Test on Thursday will also be screened on the same platform at the same time.