North County all-rounder Eddie Richardson has been rewarded for a great season at club and interprovincial level with a place in Ireland's 13-man squad for the RSA Challenge One-Day International at Malahide on September3rd.
The 23-year-old takes over from Clontarf's Alex Cusack, who was ruled out of the game through injury.
Richardson has been one of the standout players in the new interprovincial series this summer with both bat and ball and will join first cousin John Mooney in a senior Ireland squad for the first time.
“It’s a dream come true for me really, I can’t wait to pull on an Irish jersey,” said Richardson. “I’ve worked really hard on my game, especially the last two years and it’s fantastic that the selectors have rewarded this with senior recognition.
“The difference this season is that I’ve been scoring runs as well as taking wickets. I’ve been bowling decently this past few years but to get into the Ireland team you have to be doing both, as it’s got so many talented all-rounders.”
Richardson also praised the influence of fellow all-rounder Mooney in helping him make the step up.
“I train alongside John and he’s always driving me on to higher levels. He’s been a great role model for us all at North County, and it would be great to play in the same Ireland team as him.”
Ireland coach Phil Simmons said Richardson fully deserved his opportunity.
“He’s been very consistent at all levels and the selectors were especially impressed by his form in the RSA Inter-Provincial Series. His volume of runs and wickets has warranted selection. Eddie is a great advertisement for all Irish youngsters. He’s shown that if you put in the hard yards there will be rewards.”
Richardson is the only new name in the squad, which contains seven County-based players and eight who have more than 100 caps.
IRELAND (Squad for ODI v England, Malahide, September 3rd): William Porterfield (Warwickshire, capt), George Dockrell (Somerset), Trent Johnston (YMCA), Ed Joyce (Sussex), John Mooney (North County), Tim Murtagh (Middlesex), Kevin O'Brien (Railway Union), Niall O'Brien (Leicestershire), Eddie Richardson (North County), Max Sorensen (The Hills), Paul Stirling (Middlesex), Andrew White (Instonians), Gary Wilson (Surrey).
