England Cricket / Ed Hawkins / 24 August 2011 /

Ed Hawkins thinks England could pay for taking their Irish cousins lightly in Dublin on Thursday

England
Such is the player drain for this meaningless contest it is necessary to break from tradition and actually list the squad of players chosen to represent England.

Eoin Morgan (captain), Jonathan Bairstow, Ravi Bopara, Scott Borthwick, Jade Dernbach, Steven Finn, Craig Kieswetter, Graham Onions, Samit Patel, Ben Stokes, James Taylor, Jonathan Trott, Chris Woakes.

You will spot that the big guns of Messrs Cook, Anderson, Pietersen and Swann are missing. Instead we will see an experimental England outfit. One for the future, the selectors will say. But it is a very green line-up. Stokes, Bairstow, Borthwick and Taylor are uncapped.

The team will be coached by Richard Halsall, the fielding coach, as Andy Flower is having a rest.

Ireland
By contrast, Ireland are brimming with experience. Of their squad, 14 travelled to the World Cup. Kevin O'Brien, who smashed England to all parts in that tournament, and his brother Niall are stellar performers. Otherwise you will recognise county performers in William Porterfield (Gloucestershire), George Dockrell (Somerset), Ed Joyce (Sussex), Boyd Rankin (Warwickshire) and Paul Stirling (Middlesex).

Venue and conditions
The average first-innings score in 13 matches at Castle Avenue, Dublin is 175. It is not the sort of surface which should allow batsmen to dominate. That is exactly how Ireland would like it.

Australia struggled to 231 here last June and the Irish came close to pulling off an upset but were bowled out for 192.

There is rain around but any reduction in overs, or delays, should make life trickier for the visitors.

Match odds
Morgan is making all the right noises. "We're not being complacent" and "we're not taking Ireland lightly". It is all lip service. Of course England are complacent. Why are they fielding such a weakened side?

The game does not matter to them. Ireland, of course, will be desperate to put one over on their neighbours and represent a fine price at [4.20].

This is essentially a contest which will showpiece some of the best talent around in county cricket and for that reason there is very little to choose between the sides.

Hell, we could even state a case for Ireland being favourites. After all, they beat a stronger England side in Bangalore in the World Cup. It was an extraordinary victory and one which the Irish will take confidence from.

Historically there has been little to separate them. Before that World Cup meeting, Ireland went down by three runs in Belfast in 2009. And before that England had won twice by 38 and 48 runs respectively - hardly impressive margins.

Top England batsman
Kieswetter is not a surprising favourite at [4.60] considering he will open the batting. He is not a good one, though. Bopara is not much of a price, either at [5.30]. The pitch is not expected to suit strokemakers and grafters like Trott and Morgan would be our idea of value. Trott is [2.64] for a 50 and Morgan [3.60].

Top Ireland batsman
Kevin O'Brien is likely to be well backed for honours at around . But don't forget Stirling. He is in terrific touch and struck six sixes and six fours on his way to 109 off just 81 balls for Middlesex against Derbyshire in the CB40. It was not quite the fastest ton of the term, though. That honour goes to O'Brien who struck three figures off just 44 balls for Gloucestershire.

Best bet: Ireland to beat England at [4.20]

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