CRICKET Ireland has hired former coach Adrian Birrell in a consultancy role.

IRELAND’S hopes of qualifying for next year’s Twenty20 World Cup qualifiers received a huge boost with the news that the squad’s English-based county cricketers will be available for next month’s qualifiers as well as the upcoming European Championships.

IRELAND will discover over the next four days whether the gamble to cede home advantage to the United Arab Emirates in the InterContinental Cup round robin will seriously damage their defence of the title.