Gary Wilson says Ireland’s performances in the Desert T20 Challenge were pleasing and on an upward curve with the young crop of players showing promise.
Wilson scored 155 runs at an average of 52, with a strike rate of 156, during the competition that took place in the United Arab Emirates in January.
He’s now back at The 3aaa County Ground as pre-season training continues, before he returns to international duty with Ireland in March with matches against the UAE and Afghanistan.
Wilson, speaking to Belfast Live, said: “I think the way we performed throughout the tournament was on an upward curve. Obviously, we reached the final, and in Twenty20 that can happen, especially the way we played in the tournament.
“As batsmen, we set our stall out. We knew we had to get higher scores than we had been recently in the last 12 months. Whenever you do that you always run the risk of getting bowled out for a lower score, especially in Twenty20s. As a whole, I think it was pleasing the way we went about the tournament.
Ireland have got two ODIs against England in May, and Wilson is looking forward to the challenge.
He added: “I think it’s great we are playing a bi-lateral series in another country, and the fact it’s England, close to home, where a lot of people live, that’ll be big.
“I think it’ll show there’s a real hunger for the sport, and it doesn’t really matter what sport it is, Irish people always get behind their own, so we are hoping for a sell-out at Lords and Bristol, and we really want to give the Irish fans something to shout about.
“We have a decent record against England. We’ve played them in close matches so we will be looking to turn them over if we can and put on a good performance. I think those are the sort of games that really ignite the hunger for cricket.”
The 30-year-old, who joined on a three-year deal from Surrey in September, is now back in Derby preparing for the 2017 campaign with his new teammates, and he’s already looking forward to the new season.
Wilson added: “We’ve made some really good signings over the winter, Hardus Viljoen, Imran Tahir, Jeevan Mendis and Luis Reece, so we have signed some experienced players and that will go together with the youth, and hopefully we can challenge on three fronts in domestic cricket.
“I’m looking forward to the challenge this summer and I can’t wait to get started.”
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