Redemption on the line for Ireland, South Africa in Abu Dhabi

This time last week, South Africa's first loss in six men's white-ball games against Afghanistan the day before might have seemed an aberration. The next day, it happened again. And even more emphatically.

To borrow from Oscar Wilde, to lose one game to opponents you should beat may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose two looks like carelessness. So the South Africans will feel the importance of the earnestness with which they need to win the two T20Is and three ODIs they will play against Ireland in Abu Dhabi from Friday to October 7.

There is mitigation in the fact that the side who were beaten by six wickets and 177 runs in Sharjah last week were significantly under-strength. That's the reality of the T20 age - in fragile cricket economies like South Africa's, even contracted players cannot be compelled to prioritise the national team over franchises who pay better. Try to do so and at least some of those players are likely to retire from the international scene.

The squads for the two rubbers against the Irish are similarly lacking in resources. Only three of the XI who played in the T20 World Cup final in Barbados in June are in the 15 for these T20Is. The ODI squad is also weakened. But that won't take the edge off the backlash the South Africans will feel should they drop any of the five games. Certainly, it didn't spare them harsh criticism for the Afghan results.

That Ireland have beaten South Africa once in a dozen completed white-ball meetings - by 43 runs in an ODI at Malahide in July 2021 - will only add to the pressure. And that despite the presence that day of David Miller, Keshav Maharaj and Anrich Nortje - who are currently playing in the CPL - and Kagiso Rabada, who is being rested.

It might help Aiden Markram's team that the Irish will also feel their feet being held to the fire. After doing well enough to win five of their first nine T20Is this year - which included victories over Pakistan, Afghanistan and the Netherlands - they lost all three of their completed games at the T20 World Cup to crash out in the first round. Being beaten by India and Pakistan, as they were, would have been expected. But not by Canada, who successfully defended a total of 137.

So redemption will be sought by both sides in Abu Dhabi. It will be granted only one of them. Or neither - the South Africans will know they can't afford a single loss.

When: September 27 and 29, 2024; 7.30pm Local Time (5.30pm SAST, 9pm IST)

Where: Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi

What to expect: Intense heat, even at night. This is where Ireland made 225/7 against Afghanistan in November 2013, and where South Africa dismissed Bangladesh for 84 in November 2021. So, go figure.

Team news:

Ireland:

Andrew Balbirnie has been dropped in the wake of scoring 22 runs in three innings in Ireland's disappointing T20 World Cup campaign. Lorcan Tucker is set to open the batting for the first time in any format at international level. Gareth Delany has been ruled out by an injury suffered in an as yet undisclosed freak accident and replaced by Gavin Hoey.

Possible XI: Paul Stirling (capt), Lorcan Tucker, Harry Tector, Curtis Campher, Neil Rock, Gavin Hoey, George Dockrell, Mark Adair, Ben White, Graham Hume, Craig Young

South Africa:

Of the 15 who took South Africa to the T20 World Cup final, only Aiden Markram, Reeza Hendricks, Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs, Ottniel Baartman and Bjorn Fortuin are in the squad.

Possible XI: Matthew Breetzke, Ryan Rickelton, Aiden Markram (capt), Tristan Stubbs, Jason Smith, Wiaan Mulder, Bjorn Fortuin, Ottniel Baartman, Lizaad Williams, Nandre Burger, Lungi Ngidi

What they said:

"We've had a number of sessions in the sauna and steam room to try and adjust to it before we came out here, but nothing is quite like getting here in person. You do naturally get used to it. It's about the breathing, getting that normal cardio back into the system before you play an international game." - Paul Stirling on how the Irish plan to cope with Abu Dhabi's heat.

"What matters to us most as a squad is understanding where we are, and making sure that we fast-track our learnings through experiences so we can become a better team and a squad with better depth. We're definitely here with the mindset to win, but also to keep the slightly bigger picture in mind." - Aiden Markram on the challenge of beating Ireland in light of losing to Afghanistan.