The return of Eoin Morgan, currently on tour with England ‘A’ in New Zealand, at the expense of Strabane bowler Phil Eaglestone is the only change from the squad which won the Intercontinental Cup in South Africa last November.
It’s very much a case of opting for the tried and trusted forIreland coach Phil Simmons, with no fewer then ten of the squad having played for Ireland at the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies. In total, the selected players have played for Ireland no fewer than 897 times, an average of nearly 60 games each.
Simmons makes no apologies for going with experience, “The players have all worked hard and they all know what it means to play on the World stage. They’ve had a taste of it, and they want to embrace it again. It’s also good to have a few newer faces like Regan West and Peter Connell coming in to keep it fresh and add something new.”
“With so much at stake in terms of qualification, and the associated financial rewards, there’s bound to be a lot of pressure games, and I think the squad that’s been selected is better placed than most to handle it. They’ve been in a lot of tough games over the years and acquitted themselves superbly. There’s a good balance to the squad, and having so many quality all-rounders gives us lots of options.”
Philip Smith, Chief Executive of RSA Insurance, the official sponsors ofIreland's National cricket teams, said; "The selection of the RSA Senior team ahead of the World Cup Qualifiers will see Ireland represented on the cricket world stage by our best and finest players. We know that this exciting group of players will meet the challenges ahead of them and are looking forward to following their progress with great anticipation."
Irelandskipper William Porterfield is clearly relishing the opportunity for Ireland to qualify for the biggest tournament in world cricket once again:
“It’s going to be a massive competition for all the countries concerned with just four places available. The 2007 World Cup was such a fantastic occasion for all concerned with Irish cricket, and we want to sample that again. I’m happy we’ve got a full strength squad, and it’s a great boost to have Eoin Morgan back with us. We now have five players involved with English counties playing full time cricket, and that’s a great benefit.”
“We’ve pretty much covered all bases in terms of the players selected, and I think we’ll do well in the South African conditions. There’s a bit of extra pace and bounce usually in the wickets, and with Peter Connell and Boyd Rankin both bowling pretty quick, we have a good spearhead. Kyle McCallan and Regan West are both quality spinners, and we have a host of all rounders who are all slightly different in their own way.”
“I think we’ve been drawn in slightly the tougher group, but with the competition format, if we want to progress, we have to play well against all the top sides. I’d be confident we can progress and keep Irish cricket very much on the map.”
The squad in full is as follows:
William Porterfield (Gloucestershire, 60 caps)
Andre Botha ( North County , 100 caps)
Peter Connell (North Down, 19 caps)
Alex Cusack (Clontarf, 35 caps)
Trent Johnston (Railway Union, 76 caps)
Kyle McCallan (Waringstown, 205 caps)
John Mooney ( North County , 37 caps)
Eoin Morgan (Middlesex, 52 caps)
Kevin O’Brien (Railway Union, 61 caps)
Niall O’Brien (Northants, 62caps)
Andrew Poynter (Clontarf, 9 caps)
Boyd Rankin (Warwickshire, 21 caps)
Regan West (CSNI, 5 caps)
Andrew White (Instonians, 120 caps)
Gary Wilson ( Surrey , 35 caps)
Reserves
Phil Eaglestone (Strabane, 6 caps)
Paul Stirling (Cliftonville, 18 caps)
Reinhardt Strydom ( North County , 26 caps)
Ireland have been drawn in Group A, along with Scotland , Canada , Namibia , Oman and Uganda . The fixtures are as follows:
Ireland v Scotland - April 1
Ireland v Oman - April 2
Ireland v Uganda - April 4
Ireland v Canada - April 6
Ireland v Namibia - April 8
Super 8 Phase - April 11-17
Final and placings games - April 19
