All-Ireland SHC Final/Cork team: John Gardiner returns to the Cork side for Sunday's All-Ireland hurling final against Kilkenny. This expected alteration is the only change to the side that overwhelmed Wexford in last month's semi-final.
Gardiner missed that match because of a broken bone in his hand and was replaced by Cian O'Connor, who drops to the bench for this weekend.
Gardiner will be glad to get back for the match, particularly as last year's final proved so frustrating for him personally. He recorded five wides, including two frees, as Cork went down by three points.
Donal O'Grady's side shows four changes from the team that lined out 12 months ago. Three of the absentees are enforced. Setanta Ó hAilpín went to Australia to join AFL club Carlton, but will return this Friday to attend the final.
Alan Browne, last year's captain, has retired whereas Pat Mulcahy sustained a broken leg earlier this year and, although he has recovered and returned to the panel, the Newtownshandrum player hasn't been able to reclaim a place on the team. Mickey O'Connell is still on the panel and has been regularly introduced as a replacement.
The newcomers for this year's match are Brian Murphy, Jerry O'Connor, Kieran Murphy and Brian Corcoran. Brian Murphy, the Bride Rovers corner back, has made the most of Mulcahy's absence to nail down a starting place and his abrasive marking has been a feature of the defence. O'Connor joins his brother and team captain Ben in the side after a great year that began in March with victory in the All-Ireland club final against Dunloy of Antrim.
Playing at centrefield, Jerry O'Connor has brought something of Newtownshandrum's style to the county team and his relentless running at the centre of Wexford's defence in the semi-final yielded a phenomenal six points from play.
Kieran Murphy came in at corner forward after the Munster final defeat to start against Tipperary in the qualifier series and will be starting his first All-Ireland final on Sunday.
Brian Corcoran, who came out of retirement earlier in the year and starts at full forward, didn't play 12 months ago, but has two All-Ireland finals under his belt, 1992 and '99, both against Kilkenny.
Corcoran is the only survivor of the first of those matches, which Cork lost, but gave a man-of-the-match display seven years later when the county held out for a one-point win.
It will be Corcoran's third different starting position in an All-Ireland final - 12 years ago he played corner back and five years ago he anchored the defence at centre back. In both years he went on to be named hurler of the year.
Overall, this is an experienced side with eight survivors from that final of five years ago. As well as Corcoran, full back Diarmuid O'Sullivan, goalkeeper Donal Cusack, corner back Wayne Sherlock, wing back Seán Ó hAilpín and forwards Ben O'Connor, Timmy McCarthy and Joe Deane lined out in 1999.
