Ireland captain William Porterfield returns home from New Zealand

Cricket Ireland confirmed on Friday that Ireland captain William Porterfield left the ongoing World Cup acclimatisation tour of Australia and New Zealand to return home "due to personal reasons".

The 30-year-old opening batsman had been a late arrival on the tour due to his county commitments with Warwickshire and made 23 and 42 in the two victories over the ACT Comets in Canberra.

Kevin O’Brien captained Ireland in Porterfield’s absence in the defeat against the Northern Districts in the opening game of the New Zealand leg of the tour on Thursday, by which stage Porterfield was already on his way home.

In a brief statement released on Friday, Cricket Ireland asked that “William’s privacy be respected at this time”.

O’Brien is likely to continue in charge of the side for the remaining three games of the tour, starting on Saturday with a meeting with a strong New Zealand XI at Hamilton.

The acclimatisation tour has not run smoothly for Ireland, with Paul Stirling and Tim Murtagh ruled out with injuries before the squad left, while Andrew White was forced to travel home after breaking a finger.

Cricket Ireland have decided against calling up a replacement for Porterfield and they will pick from the remaining squad of 14 for the remaining three games.