Morgan and Rankin included in England squad for Ireland clash

Eoin Morgan and Boyd Rankin have both been named in the England squad which will face Ireland in the RSA Challenge ODI at Malahide next Tuesday September 3 (10:30am).

For Morgan, who has been named captain, it's a return to a familiar hunting ground, as he began his Leinster senior career with Malahide as a mere 13 year old way back in 2000. Indeed Morgan was part of the Malahide side which captured the Irish Senior Cup in 2002.

Morgan will however find the new international venue at Malahide barely recognisable from the club venue of a decade ago.

The ground, 'Fortress Malahide', has been transformed into a 10,000 capacity venue for the blue riband fixture, and demand for the game has delighted Cricket Ireland officials as it is on course to be a complete sell-out.

The inclusion of Boyd Rankin in the squad means there's a chance that Irish fans may well witness the England one-day debut of the giant Tyrone born paceman - Rankin made his international debut for England in the Twenty20 format earlier this year against New Zealand.

There are six players with Test experience named in the England squad, with Middlesex pace ace Steve Finn the most recognisable name in the bowling ranks.

One-day specialists Ravi Bopara, Jos Buttler and Luke Wright are included, while the highly rated Ben Stokes, James Tredwell and James Taylor will all be out to impress with an Ashes tour coming up in the winter.

There are call-ups for Michael Carberry, Jamie Overton, Gary Ballance, Danny Briggs and 19 year-old Somerset all-rounder Jamie Overton.

There promises to be a number of intriguing personal battles with Ireland's county players coming face-to-face with their colleagues. There's the prospect of Middlesex pair Paul Stirling and Tim Murtagh against Steve Finn and Eoin Morgan, Ed Joyce tussling with Sussex stars Luke Wright and Chris Jordan, and George Dockrell aiming to get the bragging rights over Jos Buttler and Jamie Overton.

There's also the very real possibility of best friends and Warwickshire team mates William Portefield and Boyd Rankin coming head-to-head from the very first delivery of the biggest cricket match ever to be hosted in Ireland.

With the fixture close to being completely sold-out, Cricket Ireland are urging fans to purchase their tickets for the game now - they are available at www.cricketireland.ie and TicketMaster outlets nationwide www.ticketmaster.ie

The England squad in full is as follows:

Eoin Morgan (captain) (Middlesex), Gary Ballance (Yorkshire), Ravi Bopora (Essex), Danny Briggs (Hampshire), Jos Buttler (Somerset), Michael Carberry (Hampshire), Steven Finn (Middlesex), Chris Jordan (Sussex), Jamie Overton (Somerset), Boyd Rankin (Warwickshire), Ben Stokes (Durham), James Taylor (Notts), James Tredwell (Kent), Luke Wright (Sussex).