James Hall, Ireland’s best batsman at the recent Under 19 World Cup finals in Malaysia, has been rewarded with a place in the senior team for Sunday’s Friends Provident Trophy game against Nottinghamshire at Clontarf.

The Waringstown all rounder - he is also a useful off-spinner - is the one surprise name in the party of 13 for Ireland’s opening game of the season which includes all but one of the available players who were in Bangladesh last month.

Trent Johnston and Dave Langford-Smith both announced their retirements from the one-day international scene on their return home from the 3-0 series defeat in Dhaka and Niall O’Brien and Eoin Morgan are back with their counties, Northamptonshire and Middlesex respectively.

Leg spinner Greg Thompson, Hall’s captain at the World Cup in February, is the one absentee with Waringstown slow left armer Gary Kidd, who played all three games in last year’s quadrangular series with West Indies, Scotland and the Netherlands, keeping his place in the one-day squad.

Paul Stirling and Reinhardt Strydom, who made their international debuts in the UAE and Bangladesh respectively, will play their first game on home soil with the North County batsman, who scored an undefeated 170 at the weekend, likely to be new skipper William Porterfield’s likely opening partner while Stirling, still only 17 years old, will be first or second wicket down.

Apart from Kidd, the other two players added to the winter party are Andrew White, who was getting married while his Ireland team-mates were getting roasted in Dhaka and Gary Wilson, now full-time with Surrey, who takes over from O’Brien as wicket-keeper. White will win his 95th cap.

The absence of Johnston and Langford-Smith will mean that Strabane’s Phil Eaglestone, who did not play in any of the four capped games on the winter tour, will make his Ireland debut, as opening bowler, probably with Kevin O’Brien.

For the second year in a row, however, there will be no overseas professional in the team for the opening game, forcing Ireland to play with one hand behind their back against their county opponents.

Last year, National coach Phil Simmons had the excuse that he had only succeeded Adrian Birrell and everyone was just back from seven weeks in the Caribbean, but this year the West Indian has had all winter to find professional help. His excuse this time is the Indian Premier League, which has bought the best players in the world and who will be in action for the next six weeks.

However, Simmons was able to say this morning that he hopes to confirm an overseas professional for the last seven FPT games tomorrow.