As the Ireland team return to one-day county action tomorrow, with the first of their holiday weekend double-header against Surrey at The Oval - they meet Sussex at Hove on Monday - Simmons reiterated his plan to rest senior players' ahead of the five ODIs against India and South Africa on June 23-24 and the quadrangular series against West Indies, Scotland and the Netherlands in Belfast and Dublin, to be confirmed for July 10-15.

Ireland can insist on fielding their best team in those games so, injury permitting, Boyd Rankin will play his first game for his country since the World Cup and Niall O'Brien and Eoin Morgan will both be released from their county commitments.

Before then the captain, Trent Johnston, will be stood down for at least one of the FP games and Dave Langford-Smith is out of this weekend's matches, although it is an enforced rest as he pulled up in the Inter-Continental Cup final this week with a side strain.

It means Roger Whelan is likely to keep his place in the one-day team, after his debut against Essex two weeks ago, and could also be given the new white ball - although Thinnus Fourie, the 27 year old South African, after taking three wickets in Leicester also did enough to keep his place. But, with both Kyle McCallan and Jeremy Bray to return, one other player will have to make way.

Kenny Carroll, yet again, is the obvious batsman to make way - he scored seven in his first game of the summer against Essex - but he may be dropped down the order and, depending on the Oval pitch, Peter Gillespie or Andrew White may get a rest.

Tomorrow's game is hardly the one to experiment too much in, however. Surrey are the only unbeaten team in the South Section, having won three out of four with rain washing out their other game. Their latest success was on Tuesday evening, in a floodlit game when Mark Ramprakash danced all over the Sussex bowlers to score 142 not out of 281 for seven.

Another former England batsman, Mark Butcher, who is this year's Surrey captain, was next top scorer with 39 but Ireland will need at least two early wickets not just to get those two batsman to the wicket but to slow down the run-rate. In James Benning and Ally Brown, Surrey have the two quickest scoring opening batsmen on the county circuit.

Last year, Ireland got a hint of what they can expect tomorrow when they played Surrey in Belfast - but it was only a hint. The game lasted only 15 overs by which stage Surrey had scored 100 for two with Benning 61 not out from just 41 balls and Ramprakash 11 not out - and that included five overs from Andre Botha who is not available to Ireland tomorrow because of injury.

Meanwhile, the Ireland selectors' panel is back at full strength after the resignations of Matt Dwyer and Ian Johnston after the World Cup.

When Simmons returns home he will be able to consult with former Ireland batsman, and still Lurgan player, Ross McCollum who is the new NCU selector and Clontarf's Brian MacNeice replaces Dwyer as Leinster's sounding post.