West Indies will play three ODIs and a T20I against Ireland in Jamaica from January 8 to 16, the CWI has announced it Yesterday (07).
“We are looking forward to welcoming Ireland back to the West Indies in January. They last visited the Caribbean in 2020 and we had some exciting encounters, so we can anticipate a competitive series to start the new year,” said Johnny Grave, CEO of CWI.
The tour of Ireland is limited to three ODIs and one Twenty20 match. All matches will be played at the Sabina Park Stadium in Jamaica. The squad has not been named yet.
West Indies vs Ireland fixtures,
January 8 – 1st ODI
January 11 – 2nd ODI
January 14 – 3rd ODI
January 16 – Only T20I (D/N)
The possibility that the standalone T20I will be used as a farewell match for Chris Gayle. Gayle confirmed after West Indies’ exit in the T20 World Cup that he had played his last game in a major tournament but revealed his hope that CWI would “give me one game in Jamaica to go in front of my home crowd… then I can say ‘hey guys, thank you so much.'”
While Gayle will not be part of the ODI squad, with the series counting towards 2023 World Cup qualification through the Super League, the one-off fixture at Sabina Park could be used as his farewell game.
“It’s whether collectively we all feel that it’s appropriate for him to have one last game at home to say farewell in a one-off game,” Johnny Grave, CWI’s chief executive, told the Mason and Guest radio show in Barbados last month. “That Ireland series would represent that opportunity.
“It would certainly be appropriate, as far as I can see it, to treat our players and give them the opportunity to bow out – especially players like Chris who have had unbelievable careers and won trophies for the West Indies.” said Johnny Grave