Johnston and Bray in line for return to Ireland duty

Cricket: WORLD CUP stars Trent Johnston and Jeremy Bray are in line for a return to international action after they were named in a 19-man squad for Ireland's first Twenty20 fixtures later this month.

Phil Simmons's side will take on an all-star Lashings XI in two 20-over friendlies on Sunday, June 22nd, to mark the inauguration of Oak Hill Cricket Club in Wicklow, a new facility built by racehorse breeder and owner Peter Savill on his stud farm at Kilbride. Lashings, dubbed the best club side in the world, include many former Test stars such as West Indians Richie Richardson and Jimmy Adams plus England bowlers Phil Defreitas and Devon Malcolm.

Simmons will use the two games as part of his preparation for the Twenty20 World Cup qualifiers in Belfast at the start of August, with a game against Bangladesh A also lined up for the end of June at Eglinton.

Johnston, who captained Ireland in the Caribbean, retired from one-day action after the tour to Bangladesh earlier this year, but remained available for selection for Intercontinental Cup games. Simmons will have had no hesitation naming him for the T20 form of the game as the Railway Union skipper has been in fine form with the bat, leading the run-scoring charts in Leinster with 315 in six games this season.

Bray hasn't played for Ireland since the Intercontinental Cup final victory over Canada in May of last year, but his aggressive approach at the top of the order is perfectly suited to the nature of the T20 format. Andre Botha, who missed all but one of the Friends Provident Trophy matches through injury, also returns.

Malahide's highly-promising 16-year-old all-rounder Shane Getkate receives his first-call up to the senior ranks. He is joined by two of his Under-19 World Cup team-mates, with Donemana opening bowler Andrew Britton and North Down left-arm seamer Gavin McKenna named.

The other new faces in the squad are Ireland A players Peter Connell, an opening bowler and team-mate of McKenna at the NCU Premier League leaders, and Clontarf's Andrew Poynter, who made an undefeated 130 in last weekend's Antalis Cup victory over Leinster.

Kyle McCallan is unavailable, while Gloucestershire's William Porterfield will captain the team.

Although the games will not be open to the public, pairs of tickets are available to Cricket Ireland members on a first-come first-served basis. Contact membership@irishcricket.org.

IRELAND(Squad for T20 fixtures v Lashings XI, June 22nd, Oak Hill Cricket Club, Wicklow): W Porterfield (Gloucestershire, Capt), A Botha (North County), J Bray (The Hills), A Britton (Donemana), P Connell (North Down), A Cusack (Clontarf), T Fourie (Railway Union), S Getkate (Malahide), J Hall (Waringstown), T Johnston (Railway Union), G Kidd (Waringstown), F McAllister (Rush), G McKenna (North Down), K O'Brien (Railway Union), A Poynter (Clontarf), P Stirling (Cliftonville), R Strydom (North County), A White (Instonians), G Wilson (Surrey).