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Ireland trio miss out

Image: Porterfield: staying with county

William Porterfield, Niall O'Brien and Boyd Rankin are all unavailable for Ireland's matches against West Indies A.

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Porterfield, O'Brien and Rankin remaining with counties

Ireland must do without captain William Porterfield and county duo Niall O'Brien and Boyd Rankin for their forthcoming matches against West Indies A and in the World Cricket League. The Irish host West Indies' second string for two matches at Stormont on June 23 and 25 before the World Cricket League meetings in the Netherlands between July 1 and July 10. Their hand is weakened by the absence of Gloucestershire batsman Porterfield, Northamptonshire wicketkeeper O'Brien and Warwickshire seamer Rankin, who are all required by their English employers, while Gary Kidd and Peter Connell have been overlooked. All-rounder Albert van der Merwe has been called up for the first time, while Sussex-affiliated paceman Craig Young and Andrew Poynter have also been selected. Ireland coach Phil Simmons said: "The county players have one and four-day games over the period, so we have to plan without them. It's always a balancing act with the counties, and we've got bigger games ahead. "The Bangladesh games are vital in terms of ranking points, and in testing ourselves against teams who are above us at the minute. It'll also give us a chance to try out new players. "February 19th 2011 and the World Cup is really our primary focus at the minute. We've got to see what depth we have for that."