Phil Simmons says the competition will be ideal preparation

Ireland are to play in a quadrangular Twenty20 competition in Sri Lanka following the conclusion of their Intercontinental Cup with Afghanistan.

The tournament will run from 31 January to 4 February, and features Ireland, Sri Lanka A, Afghanistan and Canada.

Ireland coach Phil Simmons sees the tournament as ideal preparation for the ICC World Twenty20 qualifiers in the United Arab Emirates.

"This will help get us into the mindset of the shorter game," said Simmons.

"It will give the squad a good workout ahead of the UAE leg of the tour.

"We still haven't played a lot of 20 over cricket, although the experience of playing in the finals in England last year will help us.

"There are only two places up for grabs for the finals in the West Indies, so it will be difficult for all the teams.

"There will be a lot of pressure games with so much at stake, but we have a lot of experience in our camp, which is so vital as we showed last year when we won the World Cup Qualifiers in South Africa.

"I and the players want to make it four in a row in terms of qualifying for the major tournaments - when you get a taste of the big time, you want more.

"The players are still hungry for more success, and for me there would be the added bonus of coaching Ireland in the West Indies," added Simmons.

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