Ireland at full strength

Coach Phil Simmons believes England could face the strongest side in Ireland's history

Ireland have named a full strength squad for next Thursday’s one-day international against England in Belfast.

The match is part of England’s preparations for the NatWest Series against Australia, which includes two Twenty20 internationals and seven one-day internationals.

Warwickshire’s Boyd Rankin, Northamptonshire’s Niall O’Brien and Surrey’s Gary Wilson feature in a 13-man party led by Gloucestershire's William Porterfield.

John Mooney also joins the squad following the drawn Intercontinental Cup fixture with Scotland in Aberdeen.

Ireland coach Phil Simmons said: “I’ve everyone available and I always maintain that with a full strength squad, we are a match for any country on our day.

“We’ve shown that with our results in the past, and we’ll continue to do so in the future.”

“I don’t know if this is the best Ireland team ever, but we have a great bunch of talented cricketers who are playing with great confidence at the moment.

“We have got great depth in our batting, and plenty of options in the bowling as well. If we play well, then certainly we can beat England.

“They will be favourites for sure, but cricket has a nice habit of throwing up surprises.”

Porterfield added: “It’ll be a dream come true for me to step out over the boundary ropes in front of a packed crowd.

“I was 12th man when England last played here in 2006, so in three years I’ve gone from being a squad player to captaining my country, and leading from the front with the bat.”

“There’s sure to be a wonderful atmosphere on the day, and it’s been good to hear that the tickets are now virtually sold out. With the crowd behind us, we can give England a real competitive game.”

Ireland squad: William Porterfield (captain), Andre Botha, Alex Cusack, Trent Johnston, John Mooney, Kyle McCallan, Kevin O’Brien, Niall O’Brien, Boyd Rankin, Paul Stirling, Regan West, Andrew White, Gary Wilson.