Ireland hero Paul Stirling all set to make his debut for North Down

The 29-year-old scored 142 from 128 deliveries as Ireland sealed a famous seven-wicket victory at the Ageas Bowl, chasing down a target of 329 with one ball to spare.

Stirling, who has a reputation for being one of the best Twenty20 batsmen in the world, signed for North Down in June but hasn’t been able to represent his new club due to international commitments.

Now those are over, he will turn out on Sunday alongside Ireland team-mate Craig Young, who is also available for today’s Robinson Services Cup clash with Woodvale at Ballygomartin Road.

Young was the star with the ball for Ireland during the recent series in Southampton, picking up six wickets in total across the three games.

Having the ability to bowl close to 90mph, Young’s extra pace adds another dimension to North Down’s side and captain Alistair Shields is understandably delighted to have both men in his team.

“If you’d have given me a choice to have him for one game this weekend then it would have been Sunday given that it’s a cup semi-final and that’s the only place we have lost so far,” he said of Stirling.

“It’s a big boost for us. We have Youngy available both days. We are looking forward to having a bit of extra pace in the attack.

“He’s a step up from what club cricketers are used to and I know in a couple of games he bowled last year that you could see the pace does funny things to a batter’s head.

“It makes you make different decisions than you normally would so it’s great to have him.

“He’s mad keen to get going and was straight away keen to know when our fixtures were and when he could play. We are looking forward to having them both back this weekend.”

Stirling departed Middlesex in September of last year after spending almost a decade in England and his arrival at North Down was one of the most high-profile signings in recent times in the local game.

It is unknown how many games he will get to play due to his involvement in the rearranged Twenty20 Blast in England with Northamptonshire, but Shields believes the benefit of having him in the changing room is immense.

“It’ll be great if we can get a couple of home games for the guys to perform in,” he added.

“I think we have a run of away games now. We are absolutely looking forward to having someone of his calibre and Youngy too pulling on the North Down shirt.”

“For our lads to learn from them is great and we will be looking to take their knowledge as well as their ability on the pitch.

“It’s something for the team to look forward to but also the whole club and I’m sure we will get a couple of good crowds when the guys are involved.”