Ireland cricket skipper William Porterfield: 'We have a great mix of talent in World Cup squad'

William Porterfield will lead Ireland at the World Cup

Ireland have confirmed their squad for the World Cup next month in Australia and New Zealand.

There are no changes to the 15 players named last month for the training camp and tri-series in Dubai against Afghanistan and Scotland.

Captain William Porterfield is one of five players who will be participating in their third World Cup, along with the O’Brien brothers, Ed Joyce, and John Mooney.

At the other end of the spectrum, it will be the first time at a World Cup for six of the squad, with Andrew Balbirnie (pictured), Peter Chase, Andrew McBrine, Tim Murtagh, Stuart Thompson, and Craig Young making their tournament debuts.

“It’s fantastic to be leading Ireland in another global tournament,” said 30 year-old Porterfield.

“We’ve produced some wonderful performances over the years in World Cups, and there’s no reason why we can’t claim further successes in Australia and New Zealand.”

Ireland play four ODIs in the UAE, and following a short return to Irish shores, depart for Australia at the end of January for a training camp and fixture against Sydney based club Randwick Petersham.

The Irish stay in Sydney for official warm-up matches against Scotland and Bangladesh, before flying to New Zealand to face West Indies in their opening game in Hamilton on February 16th.

IRELAND (World Cup Squad): William Porterfield (Captain) (Warwickshire), Andrew Balbirnie (Middlesex), Peter Chase (Malahide), Alex Cusack (Clontarf), George Dockrell (Somerset), Ed Joyce (Sussex), Andrew McBrine (Donemana), John Mooney (North County), Tim Murtagh (Middlesex), Kevin O’Brien (Railway Union), Niall O’Brien (Leicestershire), Paul Stirling (Middlesex), Stuart Thompson (Eglinton), Gary Wilson (Surrey), Craig Young (Bready).

WORLD CUP FIXTURES - Feb 10: v Scotland (warm-up), Sydney; Feb 12: v Bangladesh (warm-up) Sydney; Feb 16: v West Indies, Nelson; Feb 25: v UAE, Brisbane; March 3: v South Africa, Canberra; March 7: v Zimbabwe, Hobart; March 10: v India, Hamilton; March 15: v Pakistan, Adelaide.