THE FUSE

First T20, Dubai International Stadium

Ireland 178-6 (20 overs): R Adair 39, Tucker 38; H Ali 2-31

Italy 121 (19.5 overs): Waseem 40; Humphreys 3-26, Delany 3-26

Ireland won by 57 runs

Ireland began their three-match Twenty20 international series against the United Arab Emirates with a 57-run win over the hosts in Dubai.

It was a return to winning ways for Ireland, who lost the final match of a 2-1 series win against Italy on Monday as they continue their preparations for their opening T20 World Cup match against Sri Lanka in Colombo on 8 February.

Winning the toss, Ireland opted to bat first and immediately went on the offensive but lost captain Paul Stirling for eight in the first over after he had hit two fours.

His opening partner Ross Adair fared better with 39 before being bowled by Muhammad Arfan and while Harry Tector was out for four, Adair's partnership with Lorcan Tucker proved fruitful with the wicketkeeper making 38 - which included two sixes - before being removed by Haider Ali.

Ireland remained steady with Ben Calitz (26 not out) and Curtis Campher (25) continuing to grow their tally, and while Gareth Delany managed just eight when falling to Junaid Siddique, 22 not out from George Dockrell helped Ireland to 178-6 at the end of their 20 overs.

The hosts began their chase brightly with captain Muhammad Waseem and Aryansh Sharma building a solid partnership before Delany made the first breakthrough when removing wicketkeeper Sharma for 23.

Sohaib Khan was next to go, while the fall of Waseem for 40 prompted the hosts' challenge to begin to fall apart.

Delany and Matthew Humphreys took three wickets apiece and Barry McCarthy two, removing Arfan with the hosts all out for 121.

The teams will meet in the second and final match of the series at the same venue on Saturday (14:00 GMT).

Meanwhile, Richard Holdsworth has announced he is to step down as director of cricket with Cricket Ireland.

Holdsworth first arrived at Cricket Ireland in 2011, spending 13 years as high performance director before taking up the director of cricket role two years ago.

During his tenure, Holdsworth played a key role in building and professionalising Ireland's elite cricket systems, including overseeing the development and implementation of central player contracts across men's and women's programmes.

He was also central in the transition from associate member to a full member of the International Cricket Council in 2017 with Ireland's men achieving Test status in the same year, while supporting the reintroduction of the domestic men's inter-provincial series and women's super series.

"I'm incredibly proud of what we have achieved together working with a team of outstanding staff," Holdsworth said.

"From our collective efforts to professionalise structures and support players at the highest level, to seeing Ireland compete with distinction on the global stage — it has been a privilege to be part of this journey.

"Cricket Ireland will soon welcome a new chief executive officer, further marking a transition to the next phase of the organisation's strategic growth and ambition, and I wish Sarah [Keane, incoming CEO] and the team continued growth and success."