Sri Lanka v Ireland: 'Excited' tourists target maiden Test victory in two-match series

Adair says he enjoys the rigours which Test cricket brings

Mark Adair says there is an excitement in the Ireland squad about "potentially being the first Irish team to win a Test" as they prepare to face Sri Lanka in a two-match series in Galle.

The first Test starts on 16 April, with the second on 24 April.

Having not played a Test for four years, Ireland lost to Bangladesh by seven wickets in the red-ball form of the game this month.

"There are only so many times you can be a plucky loser," said Adair.

"Everyone has bought into the squad culture and we feel like we can be competitive every game. Everyone is excited about getting going again.

"They [Sri Lanka] are a very good team and they've got a great record in Galle. That's something the players and coaching staff have looked at and will continue to look at in the next two Tests."

Ireland were granted Test status in June 2017, but have played only four Tests since then, their defeat by Bangladesh their first contest in the red-ball format since facing England at Lord's in July 2019.

Sri Lanka lost their most recent Test series 2-0 to New Zealand in March, having drawn 1-1 against Pakistan and Australia last summer.

The Irish team found themselves on the back foot in their one-off Test against Bangladesh, scoring 214 in their first innings, then improving to 292 in their second innings with the help of a century from Lorcan Tucker.

Bangladesh made 369 in their initial reply and reached their target of 138 to win the game with seven wickets and a full day to spare.

"We were disappointed with how both innings went against Bangladesh," said Adair. "We showed a lot of fight and grit, but didn't really cash in on a good batting track in the first few days.

"If we have a better performance on day one how does that impact the game moving forward? It's just trying to bring that mindset and consistency into these next couple of Tests.

"I love red-ball cricket and I always want responsibility - I feel when I'm out there it brings out the best in me, whatever form of cricket I'm playing.

"Test cricket is hard, hard on the body and hard mentally because you have to keep going and going, but that's the enjoyment of it.

"I'm absolutely delighted to be playing Test cricket again."

Ireland squad: Andrew Balbirnie (capt), Mark Adair, Curtis Campher, Murray Commins, George Dockrell, Fionn Hand, Graham Hume, Matthew Humphrys, Tom Mayes, Andrew McBrine, James McCollum, Paul Stirling (available for second Test only), PJ Moor, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Ben White.

Sri Lanka squad: Dimuth Karunaratne (capt), Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Dhananjaya De Silva, Kamindu Mendis, Nishan Madushka (wk), Sadeera Samarawickrama, Ramesh Mendis, Prabath Jayasuriya, Dushan Hemantha, Lasith Embuldeniya, Asitha Fernando, Vishwa Fernando, Milan Rathnayake.