A former Ireland under-19 captain, batsman Andrew Balbirnie played his first one-day international for Ireland against Scotland in July 2010.

It was one four ODIs he played that year, before a four-year wait for his next one-day cap which came in September 2014.

But the batsman has figured heavily in Ireland’s World Cup 2015 preparations, travelling to Australia and New Zealand with the team for the warm-up matches through the second half of 2014 and playing against New Zealand A in Dubai.

Three fifties in Australia and New Zealand, followed by 129 in Dubai, have stood Balbirnie in good stead to make his World Cup debut in February.

In addition to his batting, Balbirnie also bowls handy off-spin and acts as back-up wicketkeeper.