Teetotal Ireland out to do Simmons proud
Coach Phil Simmons has implemented an alcohol ban on his Ireland players as they prepare for their one-day international with Bangladesh in Mirpur tomorrow.
Ireland – ranked 10th in the International Cricket Council ratings, thanks largely to their exploits at last year’s World Cup – have the opportunity to inflict a second successive defeat on Bangladesh.
Their last meeting with Bangladesh was at that tournament – and they famously won their Super Eights match in Bridgetown, by 74 runs. Bangladesh have not won in 12 ODIs since the World Cup.
“It was a case that I’d come in after the World Cup when everything was on a high. The guys had played a lot of cricket from January, and there were things that I had to ease in,” said Simmons.
“One of these is fitness, and the other is the consumption of alcohol. It’s been proven that these do have an affect – look at the alcohol ban in place at clubs in English football.
“This is the direction I want to move the squad in.”
