Coach Phil Simmons faces a busy year with the Ireland cricket team

Ireland will begin their defence of the InterContinental Cup in July by playing in Bermuda for the first time.

And north-west club Eglinton will host county opposition for the first time in 13 years when Hampshire visit in the Friends Provident Trophy on 10 May.

The games are two of the highlights of Ireland's fixtures for 2009 which were released on Thursday.

Another top game is the May trip to Hampshire which sees the Irish play their first game under lights.

The year starts with Phil Simmons' team departing for South Africa on 14 March for a two-week training camp ahead of the World Cup qualifiers, which take place in the Gauteng region of the country from 1-19 April.

Scotland, Namibia, Canada, Oman, and the second-placed qualifier from World League Division Three will be in Ireland's group.

Four teams from each Group will then play in a Super Eight series of games, with the top four gaining qualification for the 2011 World Cup.

Ireland begin their Friends Provident campaign against Worcestershire at Stormont on 26 April.

Eglinton host Hampshire while Clontarf is the venue for Ireland's other two home ties against Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire.

The away game at Hampshire on 18 May will see the team play under floodlights for the first time in a competitive fixture.

Ireland take to the world stage again in June in the ICC T20 World Cup.

They have warm-up games at Lord's and The Oval on 1 and 2 June before fixtures against Bangladesh on 8 June and India on 10 June. If they qualify, Ireland will then play in the Super Eight phase of the competition.

July sees the start of the defence of the InterContinental Cup, with the team breaking new ground when they travel to Bermuda for the first time. In addition to the four-day game, they will also play two T20 games against the hosts.

The European 'A' Championships are once again being held in The Netherlands, where Ireland will be hoping to successfully defend their title.

Ireland's most high profile clash of the year is the 27 August One-Day International against England at Stormont.

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