Curtis Campher and Harry Tector are in line to make their Ireland ODI debuts against England on Thursday after being included in a 14-man squad for the first match of the series, which will kick off the Men's World Cup Super League.
Campher, a 21-year-old allrounder, toured England in 2018 with South Africa Under-19s, but decided earlier this year to use his mother's Irish passport to boost his international prospects. He signed a development contract earlier this year and travelled with the Ireland Wolves on their A-team tour against Namibia before the pandemic struck.
ALSO READ: Explainer: Men's ODI World Cup Super League
An attacking middle-order batsman, Tector has already won 20 T20I caps at the age of 20, but is now in line for a 50-over debut. He warmed up for the series with a pair of fifties - in Ireland's intra-squad practice match and in their fixture against England Lions - and showcased his ability as a hitter in the T20I series against Afghanistan in March.
The high-profile omission from the squad is Mark Adair, Ireland's leading ODI wicket-taker in 2019. Adair got through eight overs against the Lions following an ankle surgery earlier this year, but is not yet fully fit after limited cricket so far this year.
Ireland will name squads on a match-by-match basis, with a 22-man group staying on-site at the Ageas Bowl. Left-arm spinner George Dockrell and middle-order batsman Gary Wilson are also left among the reserves, with the selectors looking to give younger players an opportunity to bed into the international set-up.
ALSO READ: TV umpires to call front-foot no-balls in ODI Super League
"Curtis has impressed selectors and coaches with both his batting and bowling, played very well for the Ireland Wolves against Namibia in February, has trained well in recent weeks and provides a great balance to the side," said Andrew White, the chairman of selectors. "Fans saw a little of what he can offer during the intra-squad match last Wednesday, and we believe he'll be ready to step up if called upon.
"Another exciting one for Irish fans is Harry Tector, who comes into the reckoning now to make his ODI debut. Harry has already featured in 20 T20 Internationals for Ireland, and has demonstrated during warm-up games and in training that he is ready for this format of the game. His half-century on Sunday was against an excellent attack, and demonstrated a maturity in his batting for a player so early in their career.
"Our deliberations on selection took into account not only those two warm-up games, but also form shown earlier in the year before lockdown. In addition, we also took into account that we have a larger squad here than would be normal, so we decided on a side for the first game only at this point. This means that the eight players who miss out on this playing squad may still have an opportunity to feature in the series."
Ireland squad for first ODI: Andrew Balbirnie (c), Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, Josh Little, Andrew McBrine, Barry McCarthy, Kevin O'Brien, William Porterfield, Boyd Rankin, Simi Singh, Paul Stirling, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Craig Young
Reserves: Mark Adair, Peter Chase, George Dockrell, JJ Garth, Tyrone Kane, James McCollum, Stuart Thompson, Gary Wilson