Ireland Summer 2026 Home Fixtures Zimbabwe West Indies Window

Ireland's home summer 2026 has finally been published in full and it is the most ambitious one Cricket Ireland has scheduled in its full-member era. Zimbabwe arrive in early July, West Indies follow in mid-August, and between the two tours sit thirteen days of international cricket spread across Malahide, Stormont and Bready. This is the calendar that was supposed to land in 2024, missed funding, and has now been funded through the new Cricket Ireland investment cycle.

Summer calendar at a glance

The summer opens with a Zimbabwe tour built around three ODIs and three T20Is — no Test, which is a deliberate call given Zimbabwe's own World Test Championship cycle and the cost of a Test on Irish soil. The West Indies leg is the heavier one: one Test at Stormont, three ODIs, three T20Is. Total fixtures, thirteen. The pinch point is the eight-day turnaround between the two tours, which Cricket Ireland is using to schedule a domestic Inter-Provincial T20 round to keep the players match-fit.

Zimbabwe leg fixtures

The three ODIs run Malahide, Stormont, Malahide on July 4, 7, 10. The three T20Is shift to Bready and run July 13, 14, 16. The deliberate clustering at the back end is to fit the broadcast window around Sky Sports' Hundred coverage and to give Zimbabwe a tight turnaround to get back to Harare for their own home Test prep. Ticket prices start at EUR 25 for adults at Malahide ODIs, with under-16 free entry on family stands — a Cricket Ireland growth lever that has worked for them at the South Africa series in 2024.

West Indies leg fixtures

The Test is the headline. Stormont, August 13-17, five-day match, Cricket Ireland's third home Test ever. The toss-up was between Stormont and Malahide; Stormont won because the drainage upgrade post-2023 has made it the more reliable five-day venue. The ODIs follow at Malahide on August 21, 24, 27, and the T20Is close at Bready on August 30, 31, September 1. Tickets for the Test go on sale eight weeks out via Cricket Ireland's direct portal, with a five-day pass at EUR 90 in the main pavilion and EUR 60 on the grass banks.

Cricket Ireland investment context

The summer is being funded under the new ICC full-member investment cycle and a separate Northern Ireland Executive grant that paid for the Stormont drainage and the new media tower. The CEO transition row that dominated the early-2026 news cycle has not, in the end, dented the operational delivery; the new chief is in place, the calendar is signed, and the broadcast deal with Premier Sports has been renewed for three years. The financial story behind the summer is the recurring one: associate-nation cricket at this level costs roughly EUR 4.5 million per home international, and Cricket Ireland is now hitting that number consistently.

Squad and selection notes

Andy Balbirnie's captaincy across formats is settled after his end-of-season statement clarified his commitment through the next 50-over World Cup cycle. Paul Stirling is fit and back to full ODI duty; Curtis Campher is the all-format pivot, batting six and bowling first-change seam. The interesting selection question is around Mark Adair's Test workload: he turns 31 in 2026 and the management is signalling a managed-load Test summer. The leg-spinner Ben White gets a clear run on the Stormont surface, which has gripped for left-arm finger spin historically and may suit his variations.

Broadcast info

Premier Sports holds the Ireland linear rights through 2028; the company is also streaming via its app for the first time, opening up a digital window for diaspora viewers in the US, Canada and Australia. RTE Radio carries every Ireland match live in the Republic. In the West Indies, ESPN Caribbean takes the Test live with the ODIs split between ESPN and Flow Sports. In Zimbabwe, Supersport carries the Zim leg.

What to watch

Two storylines define the summer. First, Ireland's push to qualify for the 2027 ODI World Cup — every ODI in this window is a Super League points opportunity, and the path-to-qualification numbers are tight. Second, the Stormont Test as a proof-of-concept: if Cricket Ireland can fill the ground for five days against West Indies, the case for a regular home Test summer becomes funder-ready, and the Test calendar opens up.

For deeper reading on the off-field story shaping the summer, see our piece on the Cricket Ireland CEO appointment row 2026 named decoded, the Andy Balbirnie captaincy future Ireland 2026 statement decoded, and the cross-tour preview on Bangladesh vs Ireland 2026 series preview squads schedule.

Closing thought

Ireland's home summer 2026 is the calendar that was supposed to land two years ago. It now has the funding, the venues are upgraded, the broadcaster is locked, and the squad is settled. The Stormont Test in August is the audit moment: if the gates fill and the cricket is competitive, Cricket Ireland will have built the financial case for a permanent place in the global Test calendar. The summer is the answer to the question Ireland has been asking since 2018.