Ireland name full-strength Twenty20 squad
Ireland have named a full-strength squad for the World Twenty20 in West Indies with Boyd Rankin, the tall pace bowler, fit again after a foot injury to take his place in the 15-man party led by William Porterfield
Cricinfo staff
22-Mar-2010
Ireland have named a full-strength squad for the World Twenty20 in West Indies with Boyd Rankin, the tall pace bowler, fit again after a foot injury to take his place in the 15-man party led by William Porterfield.
Ireland are grouped with England and West Indies during the first phase of the tournament and will be aiming to repeat their success from the 2009 event when they reached the Super Eights. With England having an indifferent Twenty20 record and the hosts in the midst of rebuilding Ireland shouldn't be underestimated.
Alongside Rankin and Porterfield, Ireland can call on the county experience of the O'Brien brothers - Niall and Kevin - Gary Wilson, the Surrey reserve wicketkeeper, and Paul Stirling who has signed a contract with Middlesex.
Meanwhile, Ireland cricket has been boosted by an extra €100,000 of investment from team sponsor RSA insurance which will cover Ireland's pre World Twenty20 warm-up tour of Jamaica and the one-day international against Australia in June.
"RSA's major sponsorship of our headline cricket teams, in addition to their continuing support for our marquee events, is to be applauded," said Warren Deutrom, the Cricket Ireland CEO. "The upcoming World Twenty20 and the RSA Challenge match against Australia in June are superb platforms to demonstrate Ireland's pedigree at the top level and we are confident that we will again showcase our proven abilities on the world stage".
Squad William Porterfield (capt), Peter Connell, Alex Cusack, George Dockrell, Trent Johnston, Nigel Jones, Gary Kidd, John Mooney, Kevin O'Brien, Niall O'Brien, Boyd Rankin, Paul Stirling, Andrew White, Gary Wilson