Limited overs Down Under for Ireland as rain stops play

Ireland's World Cup preparations have, once again, been hampered by the inclement weather in Australia, in what is being reported as the wettest year in Sydney since the 1850s.

Currently based in the New South Wales state capital ahead of the 17 October start of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup, an Ireland selection defeated Randwick Petersham XI - a club with strong Irish connections - in a warm-up game on Tuesday.

However, subsequent games against an SCG XI on Wednesday and a NSW XI on Friday were both abandoned due to the local conditions - the squad did get to train on grass at the Coogee Oval, however.

Ireland will next travel to Melbourne to play two official T20 World Cup warm-up matches against Namibia and Sri Lanka, before moving to Hobart for the first round of the tournament proper, where they will meet Zimbabwe (17 October), Scotland (19 Oct) and the West Indies (21 Oct).

"It's been a bit disappointing not to get as much cricket in as we would have liked," said Ireland bowler Barry McCarthy

"Credit to the groundsmen, although the weather hasn't played ball, it was great to get some overs in and get a hit on the grass, which has been really valuable.

McCarthy said that he will have to adjust his bowling technique a touch to adapt to the pitches Down Under, compared to home, with more bounce expected, while he feels that the greener wickets of Tasmania could prove a slight advantage when facing teams like the West Indies.

"It will probably be more familair conditions compared to the West Indies and Zimbabwe, however, it will still be about who can execute the best and whose skillsets are the best on the day.

"We've done a lot of hard work, and we'll continue that in Melbourne and we'll be ready to go in Hobart."