Porterfield to lead Ireland at World Cup

LONDON: William Porterfield will captain Ireland at this year´s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, his third appearance in the sport´s showpiece one-day tournament.

Brothers Niall and Kevin O´Brien and former England batsman Ed Joyce will also be playing in their third World Cup in a first-round group along with holders India, Pakistan, South Africa, West Indies, Zimbabwe and the United Arab Emirates.

"It´s fantastic to be leading Ireland in another global tournament," Porterfield said on the Cricket Ireland website (www.cricketireland.ie) on Monday.

"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 first played in the World Cup in 2007 and beat Pakistan on the way to the Super Eight stage of the tournament.

They beat England by three wickets in the 2011 tournament, Kevin O´Brien hitting the fastest century in World Cup history off 50 balls as Ireland chased down a record target of 329.

This year´s World Cup runs from Feb. 14 to March 29.

Squad - William Porterfield (captain), Andrew Balbirnie, Peter Chase, Alex Cusack, George Dockrell, Ed Joyce, Andrew McBrine, John Mooney, Tim Murtagh, Kevin O´Brien, Niall O´Brien, Paul Stirling, Stuart Thompson, Gary Wilson, Craig Young. (Reuters)