Having expressed his desire to play again for Ireland recently it was a completely surprised Andy Britton who took a phone call on Thursday afternoon advising him that he had been selected for the "A" side to play in next week's 3-day game against Gloucester Seconds.

The Limavady pace-man was obviously delighted with the turn of events and suggested that although the opportunity had come along much quicker than he had expected he was already looking ahead to the match.

"It was out of the blue to be honest but I can't wait to get started now. As I said earlier my last game for Ireland was a full International against Kenya on 12 July 2009 at Clontarf and I would have dealt with things at that time differently had they happened now. This gives me an opportunity to put all that behind me and I still harbour ambitions at the top level. That means I have to do everything I can now to stay on the radar and wait my chance and I intend working hard towards that".

The call-up causes something of a quandary for Britton's club side as the squad flies to England on Sunday evening and both he and Stuart Thompson are expected on board, however the Roesiders have a double-header against Fox Lodge and Creevedonnell this weekend. "I think CIYMS are in the same boat and have offered to fly Chris Dougherty over late on Sunday night and that has been accepted by CricketIreland however I'm not sure if either Stuart or I will be asked to do likewise".

Looking ahead to the game the pace-man suggested that he was fully focused on the opportunity to impress and had made arrangements to skip work immediately. "I work for my brother and he knows it's important for me so there were no issues. I have played with or against most of the other lads so I'm really just looking forward to playing for Ireland again".

Whilst it may feel that he's been around for a while it is easy to forget that Andy Britton is just 22 years of age. Opportunity knocks again.