BEFOR Aussie cricket fans can get excited for the upcoming Commonwealth Games, there is more cricket for them to enjoy in the form of a tri-series between Australia, Pakistan and Ireland.

Tomorrow morning starts the six-match T20 series, hosted in Northern Ireland, which will be a good warm up ahead of the Games for both Pakistan and Australia (Ireland of course not a member of the Commonwealth).

There will not be too many familiar faces on either opposition side for Australian viewers, with Australia having not come up against the Irish for about four years and the Pakistanis are not a regular opponent for the Australians outside World Cups.

Victorian Premier Cricket fans may recognise the names Leah Paul and Rebecca Stokell in the Irish line-up though, because yes that’s the same pair that came out to Australia to play for Ringwood a couple of years ago.

The Irish do have a nice mix of youth and experience in their squad for this series, with skipper Laura Delany returning after missing their most recent series against South Africa, and has been a mainstay in this squad for over 10 years.

Then at the other end of the experience and age spectrum is teenagers Amy Hunter and Ava Canning, who had to miss that same series against South Africa because of school commitments, but return to the side for this series.

There is a similar mix of youth and experience in the Pakistani squad too.

The squad is led by skipper Bismah Maroof, who at 30 years-old and having made her T20 international debut back in 2009 (against Ireland funnily enough), has more experience at international level then even many of Australia’s best. Then there is the likes of Tuba Hussan and Ayesha Naseem, who at 21 and 17 respectively are young stars to watch out for in not only this series but the future.

Then there is of course the Australians, who have taken the same squad over that won the One Day International World Cup earlier this year. The only question mark surrounding the Aussies will be the game time of Ellyse Perry, who is still coming off injury issues and may get limited game time.

For those in Australia wanting to watch the series, you are going to have to be night owls unfortunately, as all games start at 1am Australian Eastern Time. But, for those of you who are going to stay up, the Aussie matches against both opponents will be available to watch on Kayo, while the matches between Pakistan and Ireland can be livestreamed here. For those of you not watching the Aussie games live, full replays will be available on Kayo.

Squads

Australia’s squad: Meg Lanning (c), Rachael Haynes (vc), Darcie Brown, Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Heather Graham, Grace Harris, Alyssa Healy, Jess Jonassen, Alana King, Tahlia McGrath, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Amanda-Jade Wellington

Ireland squad: Laura Delany (c), Ava Canning, Rachel Delaney, Georgina Dempsey, Amy Hunter, Arlene Kelly, Gaby Lewis, Sophie MacMahon, Jane Maguire, Cara Murray, Leah Paul, Orla Prendergast, Rebecca Stokell, Mary Waldron

Pakistan squad: Bismah Maroof (c), Aimen Anwar, Aliya Riaz, Anam Amin, Ayesha Naseem, Diana Baig, Fatima Sana, Gul Feroza, Iram Javed, Kainat Imtiaz, Muneeba Ali Siddiqui, Nida Dar, Omaima Sohail, Sadia Iqbal, Tuba Hassan

Schedule (All dates and times AEST)

July 17 at 1am: Australia v Pakistan
July 18 at 1am: Australia v Ireland
July 20 at 1am: Ireland v Pakistan
July 22 at 1am: Australia v Ireland
July 24 at 1am: Australia v Pakistan
July 25 at 1am: Ireland v Pakistan