Intercontinental Cup: Ireland trio return for Scotland match

Paul Stirling returns to a 14-man Ireland squad for the meeting with Scotland

Ireland welcome back Niall O'Brien, Paul Stirling and George Dockrell for their final Intercontinental Cup game against Scotland in Dubai.

The trio come into the 14-man squad for the 29 November-2 December match with John Anderson, Nathan Smith and Jack Tector dropping out.

Ireland, who are chasing a fifth Intercontinental Cup title, are 12 points behind leaders Afghanistan.

"We want to make a strong finish" said Irish captain William Porterfield.

He added: "The Intercontinental Cup has been traditionally a great competition for Irish cricket and there have have been some memorable wins along the way.

"I made my debut in the competition against Namibia in 2006 so have fond memories of the tournament.

"The four-day format has been a wonderful way of introducing a lot of the younger players into the game, and has really helped in their development.

"Afghanistan (who play UAE) are obviously in the driving seat, but we will look to put them under pressure. It's always a tough battle against Scotland and I expect this match will be no different."

Ireland will also play Afghanistan in a three-game one-day series in Sharjah after the Scotland encounter, with the matches on 5, 7 and 10 December.

Ireland squad:

William Porterfield (Formby CC/Warriors), Ed Joyce (Merrion/Lightning), Andrew Balbirnie (Pembroke/Lightning), Niall O'Brien (Nantwich/Warriors), Paul Stirling (Middlesex), Simi Singh (YMCA/Lightning), Kevin O'Brien (Railway Union/Lightning), George Dockrell (Leinster/Lightning), Jacob Mulder (CIYMS/Knights), Tim Murtagh (Middlesex), Boyd Rankin (Warwickshire), Peter Chase (Malahide/Lightning), Gary Wilson (Derbyshire/Knights), Barry McCarthy (Durham/Lightning).