IRE vs NZ | 1st ODI | Shane Jurgensen confirms the debuts of Finn Allen and Glenn Philips

The New Zealand head coach Shane Jurgensen has confirmed that Glenn Phillips and Finn Allen will make their ODI debuts in the first ODI against Ireland on Sunday. 

Jurgensen, who will coach the Kiwis in the absence of Gary Stead in this series, broke the news in a video released by the New Zealand Cricket (NZC) board. 

He has also informed that Allen will open the batting while Phillips will be slotted in the middle order. 

"Excited to announce there's going to be two guys representing New Zealand for the first time in one-day internationals: Finn Allen, who'll be opening the batting, and Glenn Phillips in the middle order," Jurgensen said. 

Jurgensen reasoned that both Philips and Allen were rewarded for their incredible consistency in T20s. 

The stand-in coach also admitted to being excited to see how both these batters would perform in the first match of the series. 

"Both players have done extremely well in the T20 arena, and it's a fantastic opportunity to represent New Zealand tomorrow," Jurgensen said. "Really excited to see how they come out in the first game of the series," the 46-year-old concluded. 

New Zealand will be missing Kane Williamson, Trent Boult, Tim Southee, and Devon Conway in the three-match ODI series starting on Sunday as they have been rested as a part of their workload management. However, the quartet will feature in the Blackcaps' white-ball tour to the West Indies next month. 

Tom Latham will lead the team in the series in the absence of Williamson. 

With Williamson and Conway not being there, Allen and Phillips will come in their places. 

Allen is likely to open the innings with incumbent opener Martin Guptill. On the other hand, Phillips will continue to play as the middle-order batter. Henry Nicholls is likely to bat at number three as Allen has already been confirmed as Guptill's partner. 

The three-match ODI series between Ireland and New Zealand will count for the ICC Super League points. All matches are scheduled at Malahide on July 10, 12, and 15.