The selectors have named Roger Whelan of Railway Union to replace John Mooney, who is unavailable due to work commitments.
They have also signed a second overseas player, 22 year old New Zealand batsman Jesse Ryder, who is playing club cricket for New Brighton in the Liverpool league in England. The left hander plays for Wellington, and has represented New Zealand A. He has scored 2344 runs in 36 First Class games at an average of 44.88. He also bowls brisk medium pace, and is seen as a natural replacement for Andre Botha, who sustained a finger injury in the defeat to Somerset.
Ireland coach Phil Simmons said of the signing, "Jesse is a quality player, and one that I've heard glowing reports about. He is a fine striker of the ball, and will bat at number three in our line up. He's an exciting talent, who just missed out on selection for the New Zealand World Cup squad."
Ireland are still without their trio of county based players, Boyd Rankin, Eoin Morgan, and Niall O' Brien.
Stephen Kirkpatrick, Head of Retail Banking, Bank of Ireland NI, said, "This has been a fantastic few months for Irish cricket, and as official team sponsor, Bank of Ireland is proud to be associated with the team. We wish the team every success in the Friends Provident Trophy against Gloucestershire and Essex."
The squad in full is as follows:
- Trent Johnston - (Railway Union) Captain
- Jeremy Bray (Eglinton)
- Kenny Carroll (Railway Union)
- Peter Gillespie (Strabane)
- Nantie Hayward (Overseas)
- David Langford-Smith (Phoenix)
- Kyle Mc Callan (Waringstown)
- Kevin O' Brien (Railway Union)
- William Porterfield (Donemana)
- Jesse Ryder (Overseas)
- Andrew White (Instonians)
- Roger Whelan (Railway Union)
- Gary Wilson (Surrey)
Both games start at 10:45am at Clontarf Cricket Club in Dublin.
