Porterfield unfazed by England selections

Ireland skipper William Porterfield does not expect England's decision to name a weakened squad to take away from the occasion of their one-day clash in Dublin on Thursday.

                                                                

                                          Porterfield - looking forward to big clash.

England's selectors opted to leave their Test stars at home and rest them following the 4-0 series win over India, with Dublin-born Eoin Morgan and batsman Jonathan Trott the only England regulars in a 13-man squad.

Nevertheless Porterfield maintained that the make-up of the England side on Thursday would not diminish the enjoyment of a sell-out crowd.

"To be honest it doesn't really matter who comes," he said. "It is a one-day international against England as far as we are concerned. Whoever puts on the shirt for them doesn't bother us, we are going out there to play against England and that's all we care about."

With Ireland beating England in a World Cup clash in Bangalore in March, Porterfield also sees an opportunity to prove that his side belong at cricket's top table.

"No one takes us lightly anymore when they come over here and it's going to be a good game of cricket. We are looking forward to it," Porterfield said.

"For the people back home the key was beating England, like in any sport - get one over on them - and we managed to do that at the World Cup. It did wonders back here and hopefully we can keep that going and keep Irish cricket moving forward."

Ed Joyce, who played for England in the 2007 World Cup before returning to his native Ireland, also played down the effect of England selecting a diminished squad, and insisted that there is still plenty of quality.

"People like James Taylor and Jonny Bairstow and Ben Stokes - we have seen a lot of them in county cricket and they are special talents," he said. "I think those guys will be around England set-ups for a long time to come.

"So that will be exciting for the Irish public. It will be a good occasion because these guys coming in are very good players.

"These guys will be in ODI squads going forward from here. It is not as under-strength as people are making out. They will obviously be a huge test for us and we are looking forward to giving them a good gam