Ireland opening batter Tim Tector says being at the crease with his older brother Harry is “an unbelievable privilege” as the siblings prepare to try and help Heinrich Malan’s side make history in their deciding T20 international against Bangladesh in Chattogram on Tuesday.
A win for Ireland would see them become the first Ireland men’s team to win a series against a Full Member of the ICC in Asia and build some momentum as they build towards the 2026 T20 World Cup in February.
Harry Tector was part of the squad which lost both Test matches against the Bangladeshis in November, with his younger brother joining up with the group for the subsequent three T20I encounters.
Ireland won the first of those matches by 39 runs, with Harry, third in the batting order, ending unbeaten on 69 and Tim contributing 39.
Tim scored 38 and Harry 11 as Bangladesh won the second match between the teams by four wickets on Saturday.
“It’s obviously very cool batting with Harry out there. We’ve done it for quite a while now in our club stuff, and in our domestic stuff at home, so it didn’t feel that different batting with him,” said Tim
“Obviously, a slightly bigger occasion out here, but I do recognise that playing together on the same international side is an unbelievable privilege.”
Cricket is very much a family affair for the Tectors, with other members having also played the sport.
“It’s a real family thing. Our eldest brother Jack was captain of the Under-19s at a World Cup – actually, I think it was out here in Bangladesh.
“Our dad played a little bit and then Harry did the same, I did the same. We also have a little sister, Alice, who’s broken into the women’s team.
“We’ve all played in the same club pretty much throughout our journey, and we all love it. Maybe it’s rare that every family member loves playing the same sport, but it’s great that we all get along with it, and we all love playing it.”