Ireland name unchanged squad for World Cup

Jan 5, 2015 - 1:59 PM Ireland are to stick with the 15 players at their pre-World Cup training camp for their campaign in the global tournament which gets underway in Australia and New Zealand next month.

William Porterfield, one of five in the squad set to take part in a third World Cup for Ireland, will lead the same group of players named last month for the training camp and tri-series in Dubai against fellow qualifiers Scotland and Afghanistan.

Ireland's six World Cup debutants will be Andrew Balbirnie, Peter Chase, Andrew McBrine, Tim Murtagh, Stuart Thompson and Craig Young.

"It's fantastic to be leading Ireland in another global tournament," Porterfield said.

"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.

"While we may have lost the surprise factor over the years, we've certainly gained a lot of respect for our brand of cricket - which has been pretty pleasing."

Also still central to Ireland's plans is all-rounder Kevin O'Brien, who produced one of the most memorable World Cup performances of all time with a record-breaking century in the shock victory over England in Bangalore in 2011.

Ireland have not named any potential replacements for the tournament, but plan nonetheless to have additional players in Australia should cover be needed in the event of injury.

Ireland's World Cup squad: W Porterfield (capt), A Balbirnie, P Chase, A Cusack, G Dockrell, E Joyce, A McBrine, J Mooney, T Murtagh, K O'Brien, N O'Brien (wk), P Stirling, S Thompson, G Wilson (wk), C Young.

Source: AAP