Photo Credit: Cricket Ireland
DUBLIN – Cricket Ireland today announced that Curtis Campher will be added to the Ireland Wolves touring squad for the upcoming Namibia series after receiving clearance from Cricket South Africa to be released for a move to Ireland.
South African-born Campher, 20, is a dual-national who holds an Irish passport. He has declared his intention to pursue his cricket career in Ireland, and it was announced in late December 2019 that he had joined YMCA Cricket Club in Dublin. Campher has also been offered an Emerging Contract by Cricket Ireland for 2020, the fourth to be offered to date after Peter Chase, David Delany and Josh Little.
Andrew White, Chair of National Men’s Selectors, said:
“Curtis may be a new name to many Irish cricket fans, but had been identified some time ago as part of our Global Talent Scouting. He has played at Under-19s level for South Africa, but is keen to pursue his cricket career in Ireland.”
“Not only does he come highly recommended, but we have first-hand knowledge of him both through Head Coach Graham Ford and the fact he played against our senior side in a warm-up match before the 2018 World Cup Qualifier tournament.”
“We’re obviously keen to see Curtis in action, and start to integrate him into the Irish system before the start of the home season, so we have selected him to be part of the Wolves squad. He will then relocate to Ireland and play Irish domestic cricket. We welcome Curtis and are delighted that he sees his future playing cricket in Ireland.”
Richard Holdsworth, Performance Director at Cricket Ireland, said:
“Over the last seven years Cricket Ireland has been investing in our national talent pathway – creating the Shapoorji Pallonji Cricket Ireland Academy, and setting up a coaching structure to cover the Provincial Unions. However, at the same time we have kept an eye on the progress of several players abroad who would be qualified to potentially play for Ireland – the intention being to investigate whether we can bring in skill sets that would improve or expand our national talent pool.”
“Curtis has been keen to relocate to Ireland for a little while now, but had to secure an early release from his contract in South Africa in order for him to make the move. This has now been granted and we would like to thank Cricket South Africa for their cooperation in this process.”
“The Ireland Wolves head to South Africa next week to play a series against Namibia, so it’s an ideal opportunity to begin to integrate Curtis into our performance system ahead of what will be a busy home season in Ireland.”
The recently announced tour is to South Africa to play Namibia in an eight-match multi-format series between 18 and 29 February 2020, with 19 players participating in the tour.
Ireland Wolves squads for Namibia series
T20 Squad
Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, Stephen Doheny, Jonathan Garth, Shane Getkate, Tyrone Kane, Josh Little, Nathan McGuire, Jacob Mulder, Neil Rock, Harry Tector, Stuart Thompson, Lorcan Tucker, Craig Young.
50-over Squad
James Cameron-Dow, Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Stephen Doheny, Shane Getkate, Tyrone Kane, Josh Little, James McCollum, Neil Rock, Harry Tector, Jack Tector, Gary Wilson, Craig Young.
The fixtures
• 18 Feb 2020 – 1st T20 v Namibia; 2nd T20 v Namibia
• 21 Feb 2020 – 3rd T20 v Namibia
• 23 Feb 2020 – 4th T20 v Namibia; 5th T20 v Namibia
• 26 Feb 2020 – 1st 50 over match v Namibia
• 27 Feb 2020 – 2nd 50 over match v Namibia
• 29 Feb 2020 – 50 over match v Northern Titans Select XI
Matches will be played across two grounds at SuperSport Park in Gauteng and Irene Villagers Cricket Club Ground in Pretoria.
Name of Author: Cricket Ireland
Cricket Ireland, officially known as The Irish Cricket Union Company Limited by Guarantee, is the governing body for cricket on the island of Ireland. It oversees the national men’s and women’s teams and organizes the Inter-Provincial Series, Super 3s, and All-Ireland club competitions. Ireland achieved Test status for women in 2000 and for men in 2017 when it became a Full Member of the ICC.
