Ireland squad unchanged for one-day game against Pakistan

Ireland coach Phil Simmons has named an unchanged squad for the two one-day internationals against Pakistan in Dublin next week.

He keeps faith with the players who won both World Cup qualifiers against the United Arab Emirates in March to stay in pole position to qualify for 2015.

"We've always got a chance in our conditions," said Simmons.

"We're getting stronger all the time and we'll try to put them under pressure from the start."

All-rounder John Mooney misses the first ODI through suspension following his tweets after the death of Baroness Thatcher.

Simmons, who has been in charge of Ireland for just over six years and 177 games, is hoping for another major scalp in the matches at Clontarf on 23 and 26 May.

He added: "We've turned in some strong performances in recent years, especially against England and Australia and lost matches we should have won.

"There's a great atmosphere at Clontarf with the Irish fans behind us, and with a full house expected for both games.

"I'm hoping they can get us over the line against Pakistan. It's certain to be a great carnival of cricket over the two days.

"We know how important it is to keep the momentum going with Irish cricket and we'll be looking for headline victories in our marquee games this year."

Simmons knows Pakistan will be formidable opponents as they acclimatise to European conditions ahead of next month's Champions Trophy in England.

"There's no doubt Pakistan are a very strong team who play their cricket in an exciting way," he said.

"We're going to be up against it in both matches, but that's what we want.

"We're crying out for this type of challenge and it's fantastic that we've got these two ODIs against one of the game's superpowers."

Ireland squad: William Porterfield (capt, Warwickshire), Alex Cusack (Clontarf), George Dockrell (Somerset), Trent Johnston (YMCA), Ed Joyce (Sussex), John Mooney (North County, second ODI only), Tim Murtagh (Middlesex), Kevin O'Brien (Railway Union), Niall O'Brien (Leicestershire), James Shannon (Instonians), Max Sorensen (The Hills), Paul Stirling (Middlesex), Andrew White (Instonians), Gary Wilson (Surrey).

Pakistan squad: Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), Muhammad Hafeez, Nasir Jamshaid, Imran Farhat, Asad Shafiq, Shoaib Malik, Umar Amin, Asad Ali, Junaid Khan, Muhammad Irfan, Wahab Riaz, Ehsan Adil, Saeed Ajmal, Abdul Rehman, Kamran Akmal.