Adair hasn’t played for five weeks since injuring himself trying to stop a boundary in Lisburn’s T20 Cup Semi-Final against his former club CIYMS at Belmont. But fears of a long-term hamstring problem proved unfounded, and it is believed he could even have played in the Emerald Challenge match at Malahide a couple of weeks prior to this showdown, but no risks were taken.
The next action was always going to be this historic Test and the Holywood man will get the chance to showcase his skills at his home venue, and it’s a huge boost for skipper Andrew Balbirnie.
“Mark has been our leading bowler for the last two years, particularly in ODIs (one-day internationals) and T20s, but he was also Man of the Match in their last Test match against Afghanistan,” said Balbirnie at yesterday’s eve-of-game press conference.
“His five-wicket haul in the first innings set us up for our first Test win.
“I love having him in my team because he can produce that bit of magic with bat and ball, and I believe, in the next couple of years, his batting will go from strength to strength, and that is going to be a huge benefit for us.”
The captain also believes Ireland are better prepared for the Stormont battle than they were going into their last five-day game, in Abu Dhabi at the end of February.
He said: “Ideally, we would have had five or six games of first-class cricket as a build-up, but at least we had the Emerald Challenge this month, and although two days were lost to rain, there was some very good cricket and all the lads were involved.
“I would love seven first-class games, but it is what it is. The guys proved against Afghanistan that they are skilful enough to adapt to what’s in front of them.”
Balbirnie, the only man to have played in all of Ireland’s Tests so far, does not have fond personal memories of their first Test in 2018 – he was out without scoring in both innings – but he is determined to enjoy this one.
“I don’t know if it was the emotion of the occasion that overwhelmed me at Malahide, but this time is slightly different,” he explained.
“Yes, it’s going to be very special to be part of the first Test at Stormont, but I think I will be able to enjoy it a bit more with eight Tests under my belt, and to captain my country in a home Test is also pretty special.
“There will be a lot of pride and certainly more enjoyment, especially if we get another win.”
His opposite number may be a Zimbabwean, but Craig Ervine is familiar with Northern Ireland conditions from his two years as a professional with Lisburn from 2013 to 2014 when he also played for Northern Knights in the three-day inter-provincial Championship; he averaged 61 in his five games.
“I expect there to be a nice atmosphere around Stormont and I’m excited to see how it goes. I remember playing in the three-day set-up here, and I thought it wouldn’t be long before Test cricket came to Belfast, so, privileged to be involved in such a historic match,” he said.
Around 1,000 spectators are expected on Thursday, and they hopefully will feel the same after an entertaining day’s play.