Tickets on sale now for Aussie game

Australia will be flying across the Irish Sea in the wake of an Ashes series with England and are likely to include stars of the calibre of David Warner, Aaron Finch, Brad Haddin and Shane Watson in their line-up at Stormont.

Ireland should be ready for the Aussies, though, after competing in the World Cup early in the year Down Under and hosting both England and the ICC World T20 qualifiers (jointly with Scotland) in a busy summer of domestic action.

For coach Simmons it will be a chance to avenge a 39-run defeat by Australia in Dublin four years ago when chasing 232 for victory, Ireland were 80-0 and later 137-3 before collapsing.

“That defeat hurt, because we all knew the game was there for the taking,” Simmons said. “Paul Stirling and William Porterfield got the team off to such a strong start that day, we should have won easily, but lack of big match experience cost us.

“I’m certain we learnt from it though, and it helped us get over the line when we beat England at the World Cup nine months later.

“It’s going to be a busy period for us next year but we’re always asking for more fixtures against the top teams, and they don’t come much bigger than Australia.”

“It’s a real boost to have the Stormont crowd get behind you,” vice-captain Kevin O’Brien said.

“I remember qualifying for the 2009 T20 finals there. We had to defend a really low total against Bermuda in a rain-affected game and the atmosphere was just amazing. The fans played a big part that night.

Tickets for Ireland’s clash against Australia at Stormont on Thursday August 27th are now on sale through www.cricketireland.ie and Ticketmaster outlets nationwide.

Prices for the must see event are £40 for adults, £32 for senior citizens, and £12 for Under 16’s.