550892 © PA

Cricket Ireland has set out its strategy to bring full Test status by 2020. Targets include an increase in the number of people playing the game in Ireland to 50,000, reaching eighth in the world rankings and establishing a domestic first-class structure.

A number of commercial deals have been secured, allowing Ireland to unveil their strategic plan to 2015 and target their ultimate ambition of securing Test status. As part of that process Cricket Ireland want to have three first-class teams in place by 2015.

Warren Deutrom, Ireland's chief executive, said: "We have set ourselves a very clear long-term ambition - to become a full Test nation by 2020, nothing less. This is not a dreamy aspiration but a real ambition founded on the playing talent being developed on this island, the growing passion and profile of the game here, a sustained and proven track record of achievement on and off the field and a clear roadmap set out by us for how to get there."

Phil Simmons, the Ireland coach, has also agreed a two-year extension to his contract which will take him through to at least the end of Ireland's World Cup qualifying campaign late next year.

Cricket Ireland has offered a record 23 professional contracts to players, in three categories, for 2012, a development Simmons says is vital for their continued improvement.

"A key part of our success to date has been the move to professionalism," Simmons said. "With so many players on full or part-time contracts we now have a structure supporting the senior squad to make sure we can maintain our competitiveness on the international stage."

Initiatives to swell participation numbers to 50,000 will include the establishment of regional academies; a Get Into Cricket scheme which will seek to attract six to 12-year-olds to take up the game in clubs and schools; a Better Clubs Initiative, which will encourage clubs to improve their facilities; and the Cricket Ireland national awards which will recognise contributions ranging from players to volunteers.

"Our commitment to the game at grassroots level will hopefully make a real difference on the ground," Deutrom said. "We want to give as much attention to the domestic game as we have to the international teams in the last four years."

Limavady, a club team in Ireland, escaped a complete ban from the Irish Senior Cup despite refusing to come out to field in the second half of a match against Instonians in June

The umpires abandoned the game and Limavady, near Londonderry, were thrown out of the competition.

But Cricket Ireland suspended their two-year ban from the tournament. They will be forced to play all their games away from home during that period.

The 2011 Women's World Cup Qualifier will feature 10 teams and be played at four venues in Dhaka, the ICC has said. The tournament is scheduled between November 14 and 25.

The four venues will be the Sher-e-Bangla stadium, Narayanganj Osmani Stadium, Bangladesh Krira Shikkha Protishtan (Bangladesh Institute of Sports) 1 and BKSP 2. Hosts Bangladesh will be joined by South Africa, Sri Lanka, Netherlands, Zimbabwe, USA, West Indies, Pakistan, Ireland and Japan to battle it out for the four remaining spots at the 2013 Women's World Cup in India. England, Australia, India and New Zealand already qualified for the event because they were the top four teams in the 2009 Women's World Cup.

The teams for the qualifiers will be split into two groups. Bangladesh play Pakistan in the first game of the tournament on November 14 at the Sher-e-Bangla stadium.

Group A
South Africa, Sri Lanka, Netherlands, Zimbabwe, USA

Group B
West Indies, Pakistan, Ireland, Japan, Bangladesh

In a hard-fought and generally low-scoring Twenty20 competition on the European Women’s Championship opening day all three teams finished with a win and a defeat, but it was the Dutch hosts who came out on top on net run rate, thanks to a comfortable victory over Scotland.

Scotland had caused an initial upset by beating Ireland in the first game of the day, after Irish skipper Isobel Joyce had elected to bat after winning the toss. Ireland’s batters found the conditions difficult against a steady Scottish attack, and battled their way to 72 before they were dismissed in exactly 18 overs, only Joyce herself, with an enterprising 28-ball 29, gaining any real measure of control. Keeper Mary Waldron (16) was the only other Irishwoman to reach double figures, while Kari Anderson with three for 20 was the most successful of the Scottish bowlers. There were two wickets apiece for Kathryn White, Leigh Kasperek (whose four overs cost just six runs) and Lois Wilkinson.

Scotland found scoring equally difficult, with Kim Garth taking 1 for 4 for Ireland in her four overs and Amy Kenealy claiming two for 12. White top-scored with 23, but when she became Joyce’s third victim (for just 7 runs) the Scots faced an uphill battle.

Nine were still needed from the last two overs, but Fiona Urquhart took some of the pressure off with some calculated strokeplay, and in the end Scotland managed to take the winning single off the very last ball of the game, with two wickets in hand.

Ireland 72, 18 overs (I Joyce 29; K Anderson 3-20)
Scotland 73-8, 20 overs (I Joyce 3-7)
Scotland won by two wickets

The Netherlands became the only side to pass the hundred mark in the second match, Esther Lanser’s 35-ball 32 enabling them to reach 104 for 9 from their 20 overs. White, Anderson and Wilkinson claimed two more wickets each, but the batting quickly crumbled against the Dutch bowlers. It was the running between the wickets which was the real root of the Scots’ problems, however, and the Dutch fielders took full advantage, producing no fewer than five run-outs as Scotland were all out for 49 in 16.2 overs.

Two direct hits by Helmien Rambaldo removed openers Dianne Pedgrift and Catherine Smaill, and with Lanser, Laura Brouwers and Jolet Hartenhof making scoring difficult – Hartenhof having the remarkable figures of one for 1 from two overs – the running became increasingly desperate. Rambaldo took two for 13 from three overs of spin as Scotland subsided to a 55-run defeat.

Netherlands 104-9, 20 overs (E Lanser 32)
Scotland 49, 16.2 overs
Netherlands won by 55 runs

That set up the final match between Ireland and the hosts, and Rambaldo again elected to bat on winning the toss. But Ireland’s attack was much more effective this time, restricting the Netherlands to 89 for 8, Rambaldo herself leading the way with 31 from 40 deliveries. Thirteen-year-old leg spinner Elena Tice showed great promise in taking 3 for 22, and by removing both Rambaldo and Violet Wattenberg, who had put on 31 for the third wicket, she gave her side a great chance.

Garth (22) and Joyce (33) then seized the initiative with a 51-run opening stand – the only half-century partnership of the day – but once they were both run out the run rate slowed, and once again the chase extended into the final over. With plenty of wickets in hand, however, Laura Delany and Kenealy were able to pace their chase fairly comfortably, and the Dutch fielders were unable to stem the flow of runs which eventually saw Ireland home with two balls to spare.

Netherlands 89-8, 20 overs (H Rambaldo 31; E Tice 3-22)
Ireland 90-3, 19.4 overs (I Joyce 33, L Delany 17*, A Kenealy 11*)
Ireland won by 7 wickets

But with two very close finishes Ireland’s net run rate was unable to compete with the Netherlands’, and it was the home side which took the honours, with the Irish second and Scotland, despite their opening win over Ireland, having to settle for third place.

Tickets are now available for Ireland's one-day international against England in Dublin on August 25. Adult prices are 40 Euros and under-16s can watch the action for 14 Euros and can be purchased from December 4.

t will be the first time the sides face each other in Dublin, although the teams have played twice in Belfast, and also in both the 50- and 20-over World Cups in West Indies. They are also due to meet each other in March during the 2011 World Cup In India.

Warren Deutrom, the Cricket Ireland CEO, said: "Following the huge success of the RSA Challenge between Ireland and Australia back in June, we hope that Ireland playing England in Dublin will continue to raise the growing profile of cricket in this country, and that the Irish public will get behind our boys as they challenge one of the world’s great cricket teams, in what is certain to be a fantastic cricketing occasion.”

For more information and to purchase tickets visit www.ticketmaster.ie.

Boyd Rankin, the Ireland fast bowler, is confident he is on track to take his place at the World Cup as he recovers from a stress fracture of his foot.

Rankin missed Ireland's recent trip to India, but is aiming to resume bowling in early December and work his way back to top gear early in the New Year. He is key to Ireland's hopes of making an impact at the 2011 World Cup to match their exploits in the Caribbean where they reached the Super Eight stage with victory over Pakistan and later beat Bangladesh.

"I started running in the last couple of days and should be bowling again next week when I go to Loughborough and it will be two weeks there, a week at Warwickshire and another week at Loughborough before Christmas to make sure I am as best prepared as I can be," Rankin told the Belfast Telegraph. "But this time we are taking it more slowly to make sure there are no more problems."

Rankin was Ireland's leading wicket-taker at the previous World Cup and adds a cutting edge to their attack that most Associate nations struggle to replicate. He also plays for Warwickshire in English domestic cricket and took 22 wickets at 27 last season before being hit by injury.

The ICC World Cricket League Division 1 tournament began in Netherlands with Ireland aiming to defend their title, but Afghanistan sensing another trophy.

Scotland prevailed in a nerve-wracking contest against hosts Netherlands, winning off the penultimate ball with one wicket in hand in Amstelveen. Their chase of 235 had been dealt a serious blow when the first six wickets fell for 121, but the lower order set about pulling things back.

Afghanistan put in an admirable batting display to overcome a challenging target of 258 set by Canada in Voorburg. Captain Nawroz Mangal led the charge with an unbeaten 70, off just 58 balls, and the innings was also supported by half-centuries from opener Noor Ali and Mohammad Shahzad. Noor and Shahzad were involved in a 87-run stand, though both fell in quick succession. Afghanistan recovered quickly from those jolts, thanks to an attacking knock from their captain, who ensured victory was achieved with eight balls to spare.

A collective bowling effort and a solid opening performance from Paul Stirling kicked off defending champions Ireland's campaign on a successful note against Kenya in Rotterdam.

Ireland 152 for 7 (O'Brien 46, Nawaz 3-23) beat UAE 130 (Ali 63, Cusack 3-23) by 22 runs

Scorecard

UAE crashed to defeat against Ireland, losing five wickets for 14 runs to end their unbeaten record in the tournament and leave Ireland one win away from qualifying for the World Twenty20. Batting first on a sluggish track Ireland did well to reach 152, thanks largely to Niall O'Brien's controlled innings of 46 and some lusty lower-order blows from Gary Wilson. In reply UAE recovered from a bad start to set up their chase nicely, needing 37 from 25 balls with Saqib Ali on 62 and five wickets in hand, before crumbling in dramatic fashion.

Expectations of the two sides could not have been more contrasting coming into the tournament, Ireland were recognised as the best team outside the Test game, while UAE only made it into the event because they were hosts. Yet, after the opening round, it was UAE who were unbeaten, and Ireland who were scrapping to keep themselves in the hunt for a place in the Caribbean.

William Porterfield again got his side off to a positive start, having won the toss and chosen to bat, taking two boundaries from the first over and racing to 22 from 13 balls. But a change of pace proved his undoing as he fell to Ali.

It set the pattern of batsmen making useful contributions without really ramming home the advantage as only O'Brien made it past 22. With wickets steadily falling around him, he resisted the temptation for big shots and relied on quick running in his 43-ball innings. When he was one of three quick wickets to fall in the middle of the innings, Ireland were tottering on 117 for 6 in the 18th over. Gary Wilson then injected some much needed momentum, clubbing two fours and a six to make 19 from seven deliveries.

Ireland carried the momentum into their fielding effort, taking three wickets within the first three overs to reduce UAE to 17 for 3. Captain Khuuram Khan then began a fight back with Ali, before he became one of three victims for Alex Cusack.

With UAE precariously placed, Naeemuddin Aslam joined Ali at the crease and set about constructing a fine 46-run stand that gave UAE a good chance of reaching their target. However, 17-year-old left-arm spinner George Dockrell, who has had a difficult tournament so far, struck a crucial blow, trapping Aslam in front with a quicker ball that skidded on.

It signalled a mighty collapse, with Ali following the next ball, trying to slog Cusack over midwicket and Qadar Nawaz deceived by a slower ball, three deliveries later. Andre Botha mopped up the final two wickets to leave UAE facing a crucial game against Afghanistan and Ireland only needing victory against the Netherlands to secure a place in the Caribbean.

Ireland 202 for 4 (O'Brien 84, Cusack 46) beat USA 124 for 6 (Thyagarajan 72*, Connell 4-14) by 78 runs

Scorecard

After the jubilation of their unexpected win over Scotland, USA came crashing back down today as Niall O'Brien's 84 lifted Ireland to a massive 202 for 4 and set up a 78-run win. Aditya Thyagarajan's unbeaten 72 saved USA's humiliation after they had slipped to 25 for 6 in their chase, but the result was already all but guaranteed after Ireland ratcheted up their highest total in Twenty20 cricket.

After the promising start in the win over Scotland, USA were badly let down by their bowlers today. William Porterfield and O'Brien stormed to 83 at 10 an over before Saurabh Verma found the edge of Porterfield's bat for 45, and after he departed Alex Cusack ensured there would be no let-up in the onslaught.

O'Brien looked set for a maiden Twenty20 hundred as he entered the 80s with 19 balls remaining in the innings, but it was not to be. He gave Timroy Allen the first of his two wickets to depart for 84, but by then the total had already passed 170. The other O'Brien - Kevin - came and went quickly, and Cusack was dismissed four runs short of a half-century, but Trent Johnston and Gary Wilson's late hitting took Ireland's score past 200.

Thoroughly demoralised after Ireland's blitz, USA's batsmen quickly capitulated in Peter Connell and Trent Johnston's opening spells. Three top order batsmen fell without scoring - including Captain Steve Massiah, to the first ball he faced - as USA crumbled to 11 for 5. Three overs later they slipped to 25 for 6, and it looked as though USA would struggle to survive past the halfway mark of their innings.

With only honour left to play for, the debutant Thyagarajan set about his task with gusto, collecting 11 fours in his innings and adding 99 with Orlando Baker to salvage some pride for USA. He was particularly severe on George Dockrell, the young left-arm spinner, and USA's final total was an admirable one after the depths of their collapse.

Ireland will be pleased with the extent of their victory in this game after their opening loss to Afghanistan, as they are now in strong contention for a Super Four berth. In theory, USA also still have a chance of going through to the next round, although they will have to inflict a resounding defeat on Afghanistan tomorrow which, on current form, looks highly unlikely.

Afghanistan 139 for 8 (Nabi 43*, Johnston 2-18) beat Ireland 126 all out (Porterfield 35, Sadiq 3-17) by 13 runs

Scorecard

Mohammad Nabi produced a magnificent allround display to continue Afghanistan's fairytale rise in international cricket with victory over Ireland, in a gripping match at the World Twenty20 Qualifier in Dubai.

In a fluctuating contest, neither side were separated for long until Afghanistan surged to victory with glut of quick wickets at the end. The day began with William Porterfield winning the toss and inserting Afghanistan on a lively pitch in the International Stadium. Trent Johntson, Ireland's evergreen opening bowler, made the most of the bounce available, getting his side off to an ideal start with two quick wickets. Karim Sadiq was bowled in Jonhston's first over before Shafiqullah, lashed out after a couple of dot balls to be caught smartly by John Mooney.

It could have been worse for Afghanistan as a number of chances were spilled before Noor Ali and wicketkeeper Mohammad Shahzad steadied things with a 47-run third-wicket stand in just under seven overs. At 57 for 2 at the half-way stage the foundations had been laid for a decent total but Shahzad was run out by Mooney for 12 before Ali fell soon after. He was dismissed by a full-length diving catch by Paul Stirling as he tried to flick Andre Botha into the leg side. It left Afghanistan reeling at 69 for 4 with just over seven overs to go.

Nabi immediately arrested the momentum with successive sixes off young left-arm spinner George Dockrell, which was followed by another captain Nowroz Mangal. Though Mangal was stumped the next ball, trying to repeat another heave, the damage had been done with 23-runs from the over. As wickets tumbled around him, Nabi's blend of quick running and occasional boundary swiping lifted the total to 139 and he finished unbeaten on 43 from 25 balls.

As a captain opening the innings, Porterfield had an important role in calming the nerves and setting the tone for the run chase. With a four in the first over and successive, massive sixes over midwicket off Shapoor Zadran in the third, he got off to a flyer. Zadran held his nerve, however, and removed Niall O'Brien off the final ball of the third over. Having already taken 14 from the first five legal deliveries, there was no need for O'Brien to try and smite another boundary, it proved his undoing as he was caught by Ali for 2.

Stirling, Ireland's most promising young player, joined his captain as the two calmly lifted the total to 49 off just six overs. At that stage Ireland looked like they could coast home but Sadiq made up for his earlier disappointment with the bat with a crucial double-strike in the seventh over. First Porterfield was bowled by a sharply-spinning offbeak and then Andre Botha was bowled through that gate from one that came back at him for a duck. Kevin O'Brien and Stirling soon followed as Afghanistan took charge to leave Ireland at 98 for 7, still 41 needed from 33 balls.

Johnston and Mooney then wrestled back some of the momentum, putting on 27 in four overs to keep Ireland in the hunt, before Johnston holed out off a full toss from Nabi to leave Ireland needing 14 from the final six balls. They didn't get close as Hamid Hasan ran out Peter Connell from the first ball and castled Mooney off the second to secure Afghanistan a sensational start in their quest to reach a global tournament.

Speaking after the game Porterfield was very disappointed with the way his side, fancied before the tournament, imploded today. "We lost it all round really. I don't think we deserved anything from the game, the way we went at it," he said.

"We didn't bowl badly but we probably gave them 20 or 30 runs with the amount of dropped catches. But even walking off the field, I would have taken 140, I wasn't too disappointed to be chasing that. Just the way we went about it with the bat wasn't good enough. The way we've been preparing for the last two weeks has been nowhere near that standard, and it wasn't good enough."

The squads for the World Twenty20 Qualifier tournament in Dubai and Abu Dubai between February 9 and 15 have been announced.

The tournament will see 17 matches take place in the five days, played Abu Dhabi's Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium and the Dubai International Cricket Stadium at Dubai Sports City, where the final will be staged.

At stake are two places in the World Twenty20 which takes places in the West Indies from April 30 to May16. The winner of the UAE event will join South Africa and India in Group C while the losing finalist will join Group D which includes the West Indies and England.

All eyes will be on Afghanistan, who's stellar performances over the last ten months have reverberated around the cricketing world and beyond. While they narrowly missed qualification for the 50-over World Cup 2011 in April, they have been in good form at the Intercontinental Cup. Most recently they displayed flair and resilience to defeat defending champions Ireland, and also recorded a come-from-behind, one-wicket victory over the Netherlands in August 2009.

Ireland, who have been pushing for full-member status, remain one of the strongest associate sides and their squad includes 13 players from the 2009 World Twenty20 in England, where they defeated Bangladesh by six wickets and qualified for the Super Eights.

The Netherlands, who caused the major upset of the 2009 tournament when they defeated England in the opening match, will be without captain Jeroen Smith's this time round but will still be looking to impress.

Afghanistan Dawlat Ahmadzai, Hameed Hasan, Karim Khan Sadiq, Mohammad Asghar Stanikzai, Mohamamd Shahzad Mohammadi, Mohammad Nabi Eisakhil, Merwais Ashraf, Nawroz Khan Mangal, Noor Ali Noori, Obaidullah Konary, Raees Ahmadzai, Shafiqullah Shafaq, Shahpoor Zardan and Samiullah Shinwari.

Canada Harvir Baidwan, Ashish Bagai, Geoff Barnett, Umar Bhatti, Ian Billcliff, Rizwan Cheema, Khurram Chohan, John Davison, Sunil Dhaniram, Shaheed Keshvani, Usman Limbada, Henry Osinde, Abdool Samad and Saad Bin Zafar.

Ireland Andre Botha, Alex Cusack, Peter Connell, George Dockrell, Trent Johnston, Gary Kidd, John Mooney, Kevin O'Brien, Niall O'Brien, William Porterfield, Boyd Rankin, Paul Striling, Andrew White and Gary Wilson.

Kenya James Kamande, Lameck Ngoche, Nehemiah Ngoche, Shem Ngoche, Alex Obanda, Collins Obuya, David Obuya, Nelson Odhiambo, Otieno Ondik, Elijah Otieno, Maurice Ouma, Rakep Patel, Steve Tikolo and Hiren Varaiya.

Netherlands Peter Borren, Mudassar Bukhari, Daan van Bunge, Ryan ten Doeschate, Tom de Grooth, Mark Jonkman, Muhammad Kashif, Alexei Kervezee, Atse Buurman, Timothy Gruijters, Edgar Schiferli, Pieter Seelaar, Eric Szwarczynski and Bas Zuiderent.

Scotland Richie Berrington,, Kyle Coezter, Gordon Drummond, Gordon Goudie, Gavin Hamilton, Majid Haq, Ross Lyons, Neil McCallum, Dewald Nel, Navdeep Poonia, Simon Smith, Jan Stander, Ryan Watson and Fraser Watts.

UAE Fayyaz Ahmed, Saqib Ali, Arfan Haider, Mohamed Iqbal, Amjad Javed, Khurram Khan, Mois Shahid Malik, Naeemuddin, Qadar Nawaz, Ahmed Raza, Abdul Rehman, Shoaib Sarwar, Mohammad Tauqir and Qassim Zubair.

USA Timroy Allen, Imran Awan, Orlando Baker, Lennox Cush, Kevin Darlington, Sudesh Dhaniram, Glenmore Hall, Rashard Marshall, Steve Massiah, Sushil Nadkarni, Usman Shuja, Aditya Thyagarajan and Saurabh Verma Carl Wright.

Afghanistan pulled off their second win in the Intercontinental Cup, defeating defending champions Ireland by seven wickets to propel themselves to the top of the table.

Click here for the full story.

The ICC European Development Programme has announced its 2010 tournament schedule which will see a number of European countries participate in an exciting and challenging programme of tournaments during July and August next year.

Following the programmes’s bi-annual rotational process, it is the turn of Divisions 1 and 2 to take to the stage at senior level.

Jersey have taken the opportunity to host Division 1 for the first time in early July. The six participating teams will play a round-robin format and participation is based on ICC global rankings.

Division 2 will be hosted by Guernsey in mid July and again participation is based on World Cricket League (WCL) rankings and will also include Israel, who having won 2009’s Division 3 Championship then went on to triumph at the play-off in October with Division 2’s sixth-placed side Croatia and were consequently promoted to Division 2.

Division 2 will be a particularly vital tournament for France, Germany and Israel as these countries are currently not imbedded in the WCL structure and a good performance in this tournament could see them win a place in the WCL Division 8 tournament to take place in late November/December 2010. Progress into the ICC World Cricket League enables countries to vie for qualification for the ICC Cricket World Cup so an important event for these three European countries.

The European women’s cricket programme is represented in 2010 by the senior European Women’s CWC Qualifier Championship to be held in mid August and hosted for the first time by Scotland. A four-team round robin fixture list will see the welcome addition of the ECB Women’s Academy side to the event.

A busy youth programme gets underway in July with the 8-team Under 17 Division 2 Championship and followed in late July by the European U19 CWC Qualifier hosted by Ireland and will give the opportunity for the same group of players to prepare for the global qualifier in 2011 and ICC Under 19 Cricket World Cup in 2012. In August the Under 15 Division 1 Championship will be held in Netherlands.

A new initiative for 2010 is the Under 17 Challenge Series which replaces the Under 17 Division 1 Championship. This pilot programme will consist of the six Division 1 countries participating in two three-match series of home and away fixtures during the summer season. The opposition for these matches will be the other Division 1 countries and also possibly English county sides and it is hoped these fixtures will have the result of adding value to the countries’ youth development programmes with more consistent and testing opposition.

2010 ICC European Championship Schedule

1-7 July
ICC European WCL Division 1 Championship: Jersey
Participants: Denmark, Ireland, Italy, Jersey, Netherlands, Scotland

13-19 July
ICC European WCL Division 2 Championship: Guernsey
Participants: France, Germany, Gibraltar, Guernsey, Israel, Norway

18-23 July
ICC European Under 17 Division 2 Championship - venue TBC
Participants: TBC

24-30 July
ICC European Under 19 WCQ Championship: Ireland
Participants: Denmark, Guernsey, Ireland, Jersey, Netherlands, Scotland

9-13 August
ICC European Women’s WCQ Championship: Scotland
Participants: Ireland, Netherlands, Scotland, ECB Academy

9-14 August
ICC European Under 15 Division 1 Championship: Netherlands
Participants: Denmark, Guernsey, Ireland, Jersey, Netherlands, Scotland

Various Dates
ICC European Under 17 Challenge Series: various venues
Participants: Denmark, Guernsey, Ireland, Jersey, Netherlands, Scotland

Ireland have announced an ambitious plan to ascend to Full Member status within the ICC. The Irish will seek to become the ICC's eleventh Full Member nation, and the first to rise from the Associate ranks since Bangladesh in 2000.

Warren Deutrom, Cricket Ireland's chief executive, has sent a letter to the ICC stating his board's intention to apply for Full Membership - a potential pathway to Test cricket - and to seek clarification on the process. The ICC have since informed Ireland of the council's criteria and expectations, and the matter will now be discussed at the next chief executives' meeting, scheduled for later this month.

Click here for the full interview with Warren Deutrom

The inclusion of fast bowler Boyd Rankin in the ECB's enhanced England Performance Programme has left Warren Deutrom, Ireland's chief executive, worried about a further depletion or resources. Ireland have lost batsmen Ed Joyce and Eoin Morgan to England in recent years, and Deutrom has warned that Rankin's following course would be a major loss to their cricket.

Rankin, who switched from Derbyshire to Warwickshire, was named in a pool of 41 players who will train in Florida, Loughborough and Chennai over the next few months. "In terms of Boyd's personal development, it is obviously terrific for him to have access to the sort of programmes that the ECB can provide," Deutrom told the Daily Express. "But for us it is a worrying development that he has obviously figured on the England radar. It is, of course, a source of pride that we continue to produce cricketers that England are interested in but, if we were to lose another player to follow Ed and Eoin, it would be a severe blow to Irish cricket."

Ireland stand to lose Rankin for their Intercontinental Cup match and one-dayers against Afghanistan in early 2010, because he is slated to fly to the MRF Pace Academy in Chennai in January to train under Dennis Lillee for ten days at the same time. "I am still keen to play for Ireland as much as I can but I can't play Test cricket for Ireland and I have to do what I can to get that opening," Rankin told the Belfast Telegraph. "The idea of this camp, I understand, is to build up strength, to be fitter and stronger. I have done a lot of fitness work in the last 12 months and apart from a minor groin strain played the whole season."

David Parsons, the ECB's performance director, said the management was on the look-out for a tall fast bowler capable of hitting the deck hard, such as Rankin, who impressed during the 2007 World Cup for Ireland. "We know from the research and from looking at cricket at the prevalence of injuries that there is quite a steady turnover of fast bowlers in the modern game," he said. "We need to make sure that England has a deep pool of fast bowlers ready to go out and perform at high levels.

"But there is also no mistaking that fast bowlers are match winners. Boyd would be the standout quick in terms of his physical stature and the feedback we've had is that he has got a lot of potential. Bowlers who hit the deck hard at a high end pace are really proven to be match winners. If we can identify people like that we are on the right track."

The ICC has confirmed the groups for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011. Canada and Kenya will play in Group A where they will face Australia, Pakistan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, while Ireland and Netherlands are drawn alongside India, South Africa, England, West Indies and Bangladesh in what on current rankings has to be the easier group.

Cricket Ireland has declined the ECB's invitation to join the new English domestic 40-over one-day competition in 2010. The ECB has ditched 50-over cricket in favour of a shorter format, but Ireland feel their development will be better served by concentrating on the international version.

"Notwithstanding any possible changes to its format down the line, international cricket is our bread and butter and the means by which we are measured on the global stage," Warren Deutrom, the Cricket Ireland chief executive, said. "Therefore, we felt that we needed to focus our limited financial resources on preparing for our international programme."

Ireland's developing reputation on the international stage - they reached the Super Eights of the World Twenty20 in June and the same stage of the 2007 World Cup - also means they are forging their own fixture list ahead of the 2011 World Cup.

"We are very lucky to have England as the Full Member in our region. They have been nothing but incredibly generous with the opportunities they have afforded Ireland at all levels, both within the domestic competition and at full senior level," Deutrom said. "That generosity is now beginning to pay off, and we are starting to take the stabilisers off the bike and stand on our own two feet as a country that has an improving record of achievement against some of the best teams in the world."

Despite declining the 40-over offer they are confident of getting more three-day fixtures with county 2nd XIs and an increased programme of A-team cricket. Their schedule also includes an Under-19 World Cup, ICC World Twenty20 qualifiers, World Cricket League plus the Intercontinental Cup.

Ireland's coach, Phil Simmons said: "Our international fixture calendar has become very comprehensive, and, assuming we get what we think we will get fixture-wise and we continue to qualify for events and their latter stages like the last couple of years, we may have between 40-50 international fixtures in 2010. Leading up to the 2011 World Cup in the sub-continent, I want to focus on primarily the 15 or 16 players who will represent us there, and I feel that the 12 additional games would be a step too far for the guys.

"We'll also be playing in the Under-19 World Cup in January in New Zealand, and it's my intention for a substantial number of that squad to form the basis of the A team. That's not forgetting about the World Cricket League and possible European Championships, you can see they too will have no shortage of cricket.

"The Friends Provident Trophy used to serve us well timing-wise in terms of preparing the players for the international summer. However, given our success and expansion, we are now playing more and more cricket out of season. It's approaching an all-year-round game for Irish cricket, therefore the timing doesn't work as well as in past years."

Netherlands will take Ireland's place in the 21-team 40-over tournament alongside Scotland and an ECB Recreational XI and the board said they would continue to support Irish cricket. "We are pleased that we have supported Ireland in becoming a high performance country within the ICC Associate group," David Collier, the ECB chief executive, said. "Given the heavy expansion of cricket at international level for this group we can understand why Ireland have focused their resources on international events.

"The ECB, as the Full Member within Europe, continues to support European Associates and Affiliates, and we continue to have an excellent relationship with Ireland. The Irish women participate in our Women's County Championship while we have an agreement in place to play ODIs in alternate years, and this remains the case as part of a broad agreement with Ireland."

There remains uncertainty about which three sides will make up the numbers in the ECB’s new-old40-over tournament in 2010. While Scotland are sure to be there, pending a formal announcement from the rather secretive England board, and rumours abound the Netherlands have also been offered a place, it seems increasingly likely that Ireland will turn down the chance.

While there is no certainty the Netherlands would accept either – although for them not to do so after so many years of pushing for a place would be rather odd – Ireland are increasingly uneasy with entry to a 40-over tournament when the bulk of their cricket – at least their cricket that matters – is over 50 overs. Their other worry is the increasingly packed international schedule and how another 12 matches would fit in with that. With games at weekends, it would mean ODIs and Intercontinental Cup matches, for example, would be shoved to midweek slots.

Any answer is likely in the next few weeks. If Ireland say no, it makes the Netherlands’ participation even more important for the ECB. It is already facing the need to find an extra team – a Minor Counties XI or a British Universities XI are the favourites – but to find two fillers would leave the competition looking rather desperate before it had even got off the drawing board.

The most talented young players in Associate and Affiliate cricket gather in Toronto this week in an attempt to qualify for the 2010 Under-19 World Cup, staged in New Zealand.

While the opportunity of competing against the best young squads from larger nations, such as Australia and India, is at the forefront of the players' ambitions, the tournament gives them a chance to impress and perhaps even press for a place in the senior team. Ireland's Paul Stirling, a highly regarded left-hander, turns 19 September 3 and displayed his potential during his senior side's three-run defeat to England on Thursday, cracking 30 from 26.

Click here for the full story.

The decision by the England board to dump 50-over cricket and return to the original 40-over format first introduced 40 years ago has left Scotland, Ireland and the Netherlands waiting on the ECB to clarify if they are going to be invited to join the party.

Assuming they are invited to participate in the new, primarily Sunday, competition – and with 21 teams in the mix and only 18 counties, it seems likely that two if not all three of them will be - then it will be a mixed blessing. All three are aware that while the exposure to top-level domestic cricket can only be good, all their international one-day games are 50-over matches and so in terms of preparing them for that the new structure falls short of expectations.

The decision to scrap the 50-over Friends Provident Trophy was largely driven by the counties who have always found it easier to market the shorter format.

Scotland, however, appear to have jumped the gun. While there has been no announcement from the ECB, Roddy Smith, Cricket Scotland’s CEO, told reporters that he was “delighted to be invited to take part,” adding: “I think we have a lot of 50-over cricket planned for next year
anyway.”

Ireland, however, have yet to be formally invited, and Warren Deutrom, Cricket Ireland’s chief executive, gave the changes a guarded reception. "It would be a big thing to be asked to take part in the ECB's 40-over competition, and one that we'd have to take very seriously," he told Cricinfo. "But currently, 50-over cricket is our bread and butter, and the standard by which we are judged internationally."

Scotland – are Ireland and Netherlands assuming they join in – will play a minimum of 12 matches in a seven-team group stage.

Ireland completed a 3-0 series win against Kenya in Dublin which sees them move above Zimbabwe into tenth in the ICC’s ODI rankings. Ireland have a rating of 26, three ahead of Zimbabwe (23) and 20 behind ninth-placed Bangladesh (46).

Zimbabwe host Bangladesh next month in a four-match series and can move back into tenth if they win the series.

The 2009-10 Intercontinental Cup is just around the corner, and Ireland are this weekend due to announce their squad for their first match against Kenya on July 3. Ahead of that, however, Ireland A are taking on a young Yorkshire team who yesterday compiled an impressive 337, with Chavez Younes top-scoring on 71. Cricket Europe has the full report and a scorecard.

	© Getty Images

Click here for Cricinfo's match report

Warren Deutrom, the chief executive of Cricket Ireland, has launched a stinging attack on the ICC and the way it handles cricket below Test level.

The ICC has sunk millions of pounds into Associate and Affiliate cricket, and established several global competitions, but speaking to the Wisden Cricketer, Deutrom was unimpressed.

“What is the point of Associate cricket?” he said. “Ireland has proved itself head and shoulders above the rest of the Associate nations, winning all the available titles in every form of the game – four-day, 50-over and Twenty20. Yet we are bumping up against a glass ceiling. What does the ICC want us to do? How do we get from high-performance programme to the higher echelons of the world game? There is no road map for us. The issue brings to question the whole mission statement of the ICC High Performance programme: what is it preparing teams for?”

Deutrom has made no secret of his ambition to see Ireland play Test cricket, but he admitted there was little prospect of that happening in the near future. And, without that goal, he concluded, what was the point of the Associate merry-go-round.

“Three or four years from now there will be no new entrants in to the cosy club of full Test members. That is a significant frustration. It shows that despite the massive investment in the Associate programme, costing over £200 million over seven years, there is no stepping stone from No.1 of the Associate countries, into the Test world.

“Inclusion in the Future Tours programme gives guaranteed fixtures, which allows the CI board to put together a commercial package with some certainty. This makes it interesting for broadcasters, and then sponsors, ticketing and hospitality. Currently, we don’t know what next year’s fixtures are going to be. We are not saying that Ireland deserves to be a Test nation tomorrow but what steps do we need to take to get there?”

In a separate conversation, Deutrom told Cricinfo: “We are all aware that there is no established pathway to Test cricket for Associates, and ascension to the Full Member ranks by (for example) Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and Bangladesh appears to have happened rather haphazardly. For me, having top Associates playing the bottom-ranked Test teams is pure common sense and the first step in breaching the glass ceiling separating the Full Member and Associate world.”

If the rest of the ICC World Twenty20 is going to be as eventful as the warm-up game between Ireland and Netherlands it will be a thrilling tournament. The handful of fans who turned up at Lord's, and there weren't many, were witness to a tie and then a one-over eliminator after which Ireland finally clinched victory by four runs.

Click here for the full report of Ireland and Netherlands' warm-up match.

Ireland coach Phil Simmons has big ambitions for his team at the ICC World Twenty20 and will be disappointed if the side don't make it through to the Super Eight stage of the tournament.

Simmons wants the squad to repeat their success from the 2007 World Cup in West Indies when they reached the last eight after beating Pakistan in the qualifying section and later in the event they also beat Bangladesh.

For the full story click here.

Ireland and New Zealand will gain valuable practice ahead of the ICC World Twenty20 when they contest a warm-up match at Derby on May 27.


Irish Cricket chief executive Warren Deutrom said: “We’re delighted to be preparing for our ICC Twenty20 World Cup campaign against such masterly practitioners of the short-form of the game as New Zealand.

“Of course, the County Ground will be familiar to many of our county-based players as well as to our coach, Phil Simmons, who spent many summers just down the M1 at Leicestershire.

“We hope that the Derbyshire public comes out in droves during the half-term holiday to watch an excellent contest and, of course, Irish fans will be hoping this is the start of another terrific campaign when the team can once again create more than a few upsets and grab the cricket world’s attention.”

New Zealand team manager Dave Currie added: “New Zealand are grateful that Derbyshire has agreed to host this game against Ireland. It is an important part in our preparation for the ICC Twenty20 World Cup and we look forward to an exciting afternoon.”

The match will give the Derbyshire public the opportunity of seeing world international stars such as Brendan McCullum, Jacob Oram, Jessie Ryder and Daniel Vettori in action as well as checking on the progress of an Ireland side who stunned the world in 2007 by qualifying for the Super Eight stage of the World Cup. The match gets underway at 2pm.

The preparations for the ICC World Cup Qualifiers continued in South Africa at the weekend.

Ryan Watson led from the front in Scotland’s win over Westerns in Pretoria, his 73 guiding them home after being set a modest target of 170. “It was a good result and important to get our first go out in the middle,” coach Pete Steindl said. “There are one or two areas that need to be worked on but we also had some good individual performances."

Ireland’s batsmen were in good form as they piled up 309 for 8 against Eastern Province, William Porterfield’s 97 the main innings, but a weakened bowling attack was in less inspired mood as the hosts squeezed to a one-wicket win with two balls in hand.

On Friday, Netherlands beat Boland Academy by 29 runs, but it took a superb sixth-wicket stand of 174 between Mudassar Bukhari and Peter Borren to dig them out of a hole. Bukhari finished on 128 not out from 100 balls, Borren with 74 from 79.

Cricket Ireland has announced ticket details for their ODI clash with England at Stormont on Thursday August 27. Prices remain the same as they were for the previous game in 2006, with an adult ticket costing £35.

Tickets for the game are priced as follows:

Adults = £35
Under 16 with an adult = £10
Under 16 unaccompanied= £15
OAP = £25
Associate/life members = £28 (place orders through Cricket Ireland office)
Family = £90 (2 adults and 2 Under 16)

Club booking = order 10 tickets or more and receive them for £30 each (must be arranged through the Club Secretary and ordered through Sue Wickham sue.wickham@irishcricket.org in the Cricket Ireland office)

Tickets for the game will go on sale at 10am on Monday March 16, and can be purchased at www.ticketmaster.ie or by telephone at the following numbers:

Rep. of Ireland 0818 76 2121

Northern Ireland 0844 277 9950

Cricket Ireland has announced a packed international schedule for 2009, a year in which the team will attempt to qualify for the 2011 World Cup.

Their year begins with a two-week training camp in South Africa on March 14 prior to the World Cup Qualifiers, which take place from April 1 to April 19. Ireland have been placed in a group alongside Scotland, Namibia, Canada, Oman, and the second-placed qualifier from World League Division 3, the tournament in Argentina which kicks off next Saturday. Four teams from each group will then play in a Super 8 series of games, with the top four gaining qualification for the World Cup.

In addition to home and away fixtures in the Friends Provident Trophy, Ireland will be apart of the ICC World Twenty20 in June, followed by the defence of the ICC InterContinental Cup. "We've a chance to showcase Irish cricket again on the world stage, when we take on Bangladesh and India in the World Twenty20," said Phil Simmons, the coach. "I know how much the players are looking forward to face England again, and we've also got some mouth-watering clashes in the Friends Provident Trophy. It'll be a great experience playing under lights at The Rose Bowl - even more so if it's shown live on tv!

"We've come to look upon the Intercontinental Cup as our own, having won it three times on the trot, and the four day format seems to suit our style of play, no matter what the climate or conditions."

Ireland have announced their squad for next year's World Cup Qualifiers in South Africa.

There are no surprises in the 18 names, with the 15 who won the Intercontinental Cup against Namibia in South Africa last month all retaining their places. They are joined by Eoin Morgan, who missed that trip due to injury and Middlesex commitments, Paul Stirling and Reinhardt Strydom.

"I've decided to go with the group of players who have served us so well this past season," the coach Phil Simmons explained. "It's hard to go outside that group, and the fact there's so little cricket for us between then and the qualifiers makes it nearly impossible for anybody else to stake a claim.

Click here for the full story.

In addition to 2009's county fixtures, the ECB also announced that England will meet Ireland in Belfast on August 27.

England first played, and defeated, Ireland in Stormont in 2006, followed by a group match in the 2007 World Cup. Their game on August 27 represents a final warm-up before the first Twenty20 against Australia which precedes seven one-dayers and, in what is a high-profile week for British Associates, Australia take on Scotland the following day.

Ireland's captain William Porterfield was understandably excited. "Obviously it's great to be given the opportunity to test ourselves against some of the best players in the world again," he said. "It's a fixture that all the lads are really looking forward to after the announcement of the game earlier this year. The last time England came to Stormont there was a massive turnout, and hopefully August will be no different, and we hope to put on a real show for them."

The Ireland coach, Phil Simmons, called the contest "almost like a local derby" but remained cautious about Ireland's chances.

"It's another chance for the players to showcase their talents, and hopefully by playing good cricket, we'll get the fans to come and back us not only in this game, but in all our fixtures," he said. "It's fantastic for the players and fans to see some of the real superstars in world cricket playing in Ireland. It'll be a tough test facing players of the calibre of Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff, but as we've shown in the past, we have players who are capable of responding positively to that challenge."

The Ireland allrounder, Andre Botha, has won the inaugural Irish Cricket Writers Club award for 2008.

Botha scored 756 runs at an average of 36, and also took 37 wickets at 17.97. he earned his his 100th cap in the Intercontinental Cup final victory over Namibia, was named in the ICC Associates team-of-the-year, and scored centuries against Kenya and Netherlands this season.

“I’m honoured to be the first recipient of this award. It means a lot to me, and it’s a privilege to be recognised by the Irish media," he said. "They have given the squad unparalleled coverage this past few years, and I know just how much the players appreciate it.”

Ireland's impressive form as an Associate has lifted their hopes of one day qualifying as a Full Member nation. However, the ICC's high performance manager, Richard Done, has issued a warning against complacency while calling for greater consistency if Ireland - and, indeed, other Associate nations - are to challenge the world's elite.

Click here to read the full article, and leave your comments in the form below.

A little more than a week after the postponement of the Champions Trophy, Cricinfo can reveal that the ICC will have to either move or postpone its next high-profile event, the World Cup Qualifiers.

The tournament, which involves the leading Associates, is due to be staged in the UAE next April, with the top four countries winning a place at the 2011 World Cup. The event will also be used to establish which six Associates will be granted one-day status for the next four years.

Read the full story here and leave your comments below.

Ireland's rain-affected match against Canada was frustratingly cut short with no play possible on the fourth and final day, but Ireland have closed the gap on an already tightly packed top four in the Intercontinental Cup table

Click here for more.

	The destroyed outfield at Dungannon Park © Dungannon CC

A club in Ulster have had their entire season wiped out because of a music festival which left their ground at Dungannon Park unusable.

Dungannon CC use a council-owned pitch, and last weekend the local authority agreed to the staging of UTV CountryFest, attracting almost 10,000 spectators. But heavy rain had left the outfield sodden, and lorries used to construct the various stages to host the bands churned up the outfield and left it an unusable mudbath.

The concert organisers did erect fencing round the square, but for access to the stage area they drove over the outfield. “It looks like a ploughed field with an oasis of the square in the middle,” a club official told Cricinfo. “It didn’t take a lot … a car would have done considerable damage but they were using lorries.”

Dungannon now face having to forfeit their remaining home games which will almost certainly mean them being relegated from the Northern Cricket Union league. More worrying is that the outfield is in such a bad state that it needs leveling and then reseeding. Club officials fear that even if this work is undertaken now the ground might still not be ready for the start of next season.

Dungannon is a close-knit club and hope that they will not lose players because of their inability to play at home, but it has tarnished their 60th anniversary celebrations.

Dungannon Council said that all remedial work to the area was part of the contract with the organisers of CountryFest and that they would endeavour "to ensure that this work is carried out as swiftly and efficiently as possible".

The World Twenty20 Qualifers get underway at Belfast tomorrow. Have a read of our preview of this important event.

The ICC and ECB have reaffirmed their support for the mandatory release of Associate players from county cricket to take part in international matches and the priority of FTP events.

This followed discussions and correspondence between the ICC president, David Morgan, and the new CEO, Haroon Lorgat, with Giles Clarke, the ECB chairman, and ECB chief executive David Collier.

"The full commitment of the ECB to work with counties to support the ICC Board's mandatory release policy for Associate players is great news and very welcome," Morgan said. "It will help to ensure that when the top Associates have ODIs against Full Members or compete in next month's ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier in Belfast they have their top players available.

"In terms of the ICC WT20 Qualifier, that will make sure the best teams reach next year's event, rather than the teams with the most top players available on that weekend in August, something that will then have a knock-on effect of enhancing next year's event.

"And with all county-contracted players available for a ODI against Full Members it will make the Associate side that much more competitive, making for a worthwhile experience for that Full Member as well as a great career-enhancing one for all the Associate players, even those playing regular county cricket.

Those comments were endorsed by Clarke. "The ECB recognises that nation versus nation is the lifeblood of cricket and its integrity must be protected at all costs. One way of protecting that integrity is by ensuring that the top Associate players currently playing county cricket are available for their countries in all their mandatory commitments with Full Members and in prestigious events such as the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier. The ICC further recognises that this must also embrace and enforce the priority of all FTP events and ECB welcomes that position.

"Whilst we recognise the individual choice of players we will continue to proactively remind counties of their mandatory obligations in this regard and this will help to ensure our strong sport grows ever stronger."

Despite the encouraging words, this is actually unlikely to make any difference to the availability of players. Those that have missed matches recently have not been prevented from playing by their counties but have actually chosen to give priority to their full-time employers rather than turn out for their countries.

While the boards can do all they can to urge their best players to be available, the increasing number of games played by them allied to the pressure on individuals to perform for their counties means that availability will always be hit and miss.

It is likely that most county-contracted players will be freed to play in the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifiers as this is a high-profile competition. But when it comes to one-off ODIs or other lower-key competitions, county is always likely to win through over country.

The ICC has announced a revised schedule for the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier in Belfast next month.

The tournament, involving the six leading Associate teams - Bermuda, Canada, Ireland, Kenya, the Netherlands and Scotland - will now take place from August 2 to 5, with a fourth day included to allow room for a third and fourth-place play-off.

Click here for the full story

Although the ECB has told Cricinfo that no plans have been made to identify the two additional sides joining the 18 first-class counties in the new EPL, Scotland chief executive Roddy Smith had said that he does not expect his side to be one of them.

It is widely believed that one slot will be filled by a team belonging to Allen Stanford, as part of his recent multi-million pound deal with the ECB. Despite media speculation that the other could come from Australia, county sources have indicated to Cricinfo that they believe the second side could come from the IPL for commercial reasons, assuming some deal could be agreed with the BCCI.

"Ourselves and Ireland both applied to the ECB about being involved in the EPL but were unsuccessful in doing so," Smith told The Scotsman. "For us it wasn't to be, which is fair enough. The ECB are under no obligation to do anything for us."

	Eoin Morgan: only one winner when it came to club or country © Getty Images

In his column in the Sunday Tribune this week, Ger Higgins highlighted the problem, laying the blame at the door of the ECB.

"There is ample evidence that Irish cricket is being systematically plundered by English counties," he wrote. "The fact that there are a dozen-odd players attached to counties wouldn't be much of a problem if they played fair about player release. But they don't: already this season Morgan, Niall O'Brien and William Porterfield have "opted" to play for their employers ahead of their country. Even an ICC regulation that players must be released for ODIs failed to prise that trio from the clutches of the counties. And it is a similar story with Scots players.

"It is about time that the ECB showed some leadership and told the counties to allow their Irishmen and Scotsmen to play internationals. A FIFA-style regulation could be introduced where a player who is not released must not play for the club on any of the days of the Irish game."

Higgins' frustration is understandable and you have to sympathise for the Associates who are deprived of their best talent in this way. But, equally, it is too easy to lay the blame at the boards and to demand legislation to force the individuals to play when they are asked to.

Critics point out that FIFA, football's governing body, have such rules in place. But our colleagues on soccernet point out that in reality such draconian steps are rarely taken. Forcing a sportsman to do something he doesn't want to do is hardly to way to get the best out them.

Look at it from the players' point of view. There are those whose ambitions end at playing for their country and who make tremendous sacrifices to do so. Almost all the leading Associates rely on such individuals, as only Kenya have a professional, full-time squad.

But there are others who want to make a career out of cricket. That is not available to them in Ireland, either in terms of cash or consistently high quality of opposition. So they head abroad, mainly to England, to hone their skills and earn good money while doing so. Some, such as Ed Joyce, even go on to play for their adopted countries.

Higgins cites examples of players contracted to English counties who opted to remain with them rather than play for Ireland, recommending that they should be banned from playing while their country is in action as an "incentive".

Take the case of Morgan. Last season he had just broken into the Middlesex side when he got an Ireland call-up. He faced a quandary. Middlesex were happy/obliged to release him, but made clear that he was not guaranteed a first-team place when he returned. If whoever filled his boots while he was away scored runs, Morgan would be back in the reserves with no guarantee of regaining his place. At the end of the season that could have made the difference between him being offered a new contract or released.

One could understand the county's position, and also Morgan's when he chose to remain with them. "He wants to qualify and play for England, and feels that by obtaining a regular place in the Middlesex team is the best way to achieve that," Phil Simmons, Ireland's coach, observed.

In such circumstances, legislation preventing Morgan from playing for Middlesex at that time would be completely counterproductive. It could also be illegal, and would hardly be likely to make the individual more inclined to play for his country in the future. In the case of the Morgans of this world, they might even retire from international cricket, albeit temporarily, to circumvent the problem.

The Associates are rightly concerned and it has been discussed within the ICC. Additional funding due to them from 2009 will help. But while it will reward those who give up so much to play for their countries, cash will not make any difference to those with ambitions to play on a bigger stage that Associate cricket can offer.

Whatever happens, there can be no winner. Either the country loses out or the players do. But to blame the employers or the individual is wrong. After all, how many of us would risk our careers in similar circumstances?

The reality is that the best players will always aspire to play at the highest level, and so they should. All the Associates can hope for is that they play for them as often as they can and bring all their experience into the national side, and act as an inspiration to the next generation.

Rather than reacting with anger when Joyce pulls on an England or Middlesex shirt, Ireland should be proud of what they have produced and wish him well. The hope has to be that the day will come when the Joyces and the Morgans of the future are only too eager to chose country over county.

Andre Botha reached his 150 for Ireland against Netherlands, on a frustrating second day's play in Rotterdam yesterday. Click here for the brief report.

Next week's ICC annual get-together promises to have more than its fair share of politicking, posturing and controversy. But, unless there is a major about-turn, it should also be a watershed for the Associates and Affiliates.

In 2009, income from the ICC's six-year media deal with ESPN-Star, worth over US$1 billion, kicks in, and while the game's big boys will still keep the lion's share, the rest will see substantial increases in their incomes.

Although the ICC draws considerable flak on many fronts, it is quietly committed to promoting the game in as many countries as possible, and it does that by means of a myriad of competitions and initiatives. Most do not warrant much media attention, but they are there and they work.

Until now, the gripe of the smaller countries, and especially those bubbling just underneath the top flight, has been about the inequality of the way in which the game is financed. That was never more apparent than when it came to earnings from last year's World Cup.

Ireland got a flat fee of US$125,000 a year for four years for taking part, and on top of that they received another $50,000 for reaching the Super Eights. However, because of the extra costs involved in their progression, not least because their players are not professional cricketers and their absences from their full-time jobs had to be underwritten, Ireland's success actually left the board out of pocket.

Zimbabwe, on the other hand, turned up, tied with Ireland and never threatened to progress after being thumped by Pakistan and West Indies. For those three matches, Zimbabwe Cricket received US$11 million, their share of the pot as a Full Member.

The top six Associates receive no more than US$500,000 a year - some substantially less - to fund their entire operations. Out of that they have to pay all their cricketing and administration costs. Only those with a low cost of living, such as Kenya, can hope to maintain a professional squad on that kind of money.

The gulf between the haves and have-nots is further widened by the limited sums Associates can earn from sponsorship and media contracts. Zimbabwe can exploit home series against, say, India to carve out lucrative TV deals worth millions, and on the back of that, attract shirt- and other corporate sponsorship. As highlighted by Scotland's failure to secure any TV deal for their forthcoming ODI against England, the Associates struggle to get such income streams.

The new deals will provide a substantial increase for Associates, especially for the countries who are pressing for space at the top table. Until now the share has been roughly equal, rewarding Netherlands and Kenya on par with Thailand and Fiji. The new system will see more demarcation between the top Associates and the rest.

The leading ten could earn as much as US$1.5 million a year from 2009. There will then be an onus on them to professionalise their administrations, but several of them are already well down that route. They will also be more accountable - the ICC does not want a repeat of the mess that came following a spike in Kenya's funding earlier in the decade.

The second-string Associates will also get more - around US$160,000 as a base figure - but then again the demands on them are less. Even Affiliates will receive US$15,000, with the opportunity for more should they make a good enough case. There will also be more cash in the pot for participating and hosting competitions.

There have never been more opportunities for development outside the Full Member countries, but there remain some nagging worries.

The main one is how to bridge the gap between semi and full-blown professionalism. Almost all the Associates rely on dedicated amateurs, both on and off the field. As the number of ICC competitions has increased - and they have to be welcomed - the pressure has begun to tell. Scotland and Ireland particularly have already found players cannot meet all their commitments, and even the increased income will not allow them to employ a full-time squad.

"So much of putting players on full-time retainers depends on how many fixtures we can command," Warren Deutrom, Cricket Ireland's chief executive, said. "At the moment, all we can promise the squad in 2009 is a World Cup qualifying campaign, eight FP Trophy matches, an England game, and probably some Intercontinental Cup matches. Of course, we hope to have more, but can't be sure at the moment.

"Our top players are already plying their trade in county cricket, while others have full-time jobs which they may not wish to give up. The actual number of players that the coach will want to put on a full-time contract, or else the number that even want to have one, may not be that many."

The other quandary is how to get them fixtures. Kenya, widely regarded as the leading Associate, have found it almost impossible to get Full Member countries to visit or host them. As a result they invariably play other Associates. Good for the win-loss ratio, not so clever in providing the kind of experience that no amount of money can buy.

These issues will need to be addressed, but for now the future has never looked so promising beyond the Test world.

Ireland's squad to face New Zealand and Scotland in the tri-series next week has been further depleted by the withdrawal of Eoin Morgan.

Yesterday Morgan confirmed to Paul Simmons, the Ireland coach, that he had made himself unavailable, prompting Ireland to call up Chris Doughtery, the Bready opening batsman.

Click here for the full story.

Ireland will host the inaugural World Twenty20 Qualifiers between August 2 and 4, with the top six Associates vying for the two places available to them in next year's ICC World Twenty20 in England.

Click here for more and the itinerary.

Much is spoken about the expansion of the international game, and if, as expected, proposals for a significant increase in funding for the Associates is approved when the ICC meets in June, then their progress should be further boosted.

But cash and goodwill can only go so far. What is widely agreed is that to improve, the leading Associates need to play more, and against the elite top ten Full Member countries. And that is where the problems come.

A casual glance at the international schedule will show that the major countries are on an almost constant global tour. In part this is because of the requirements of the Future Tours Programme, but more often than not the large gaps in that schedule are filled with lucrative one-day tours or tournaments.

In an ideal world, there would be time for India or England to undertake ambassadorial tours to Kenya or the Netherlands. But given the choice between a lucrative three-match series against commercially attractive opposition containing star names or a trip to a cricketing outpost in Africa or Europe, it's not a contest.

Click here for the full article

West Indies fast bowler Ravi Rampaul will be Ireland’s overseas professional for the remaining seven games in this season’s Friends Provident Trophy.

There were big wins for West Indies, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Malaysia on the second day of the CLICO International U-15 Championship in the Caribbean. Of the three, only Bangladesh are not guaranteed a semi-final place, meaning the winner of their match against Ireland will progress to the last four.

Click here for the full round-up

John Campbell struck 112 for West Indies Under-15s in the CLICO International Under-15 Championship. Click here for the full report. Scorelines and cards for the other matches can be found below.

West Indies 237 (Campbell 112) beat Bangladesh 200 (Nelson 3-43) by 37 runs
Scorecard

Ireland 111 for 3 (Getkate 31*) beat Kenya 110 (Karim 46, Getkate 4-17) by seven wickets
Scorecard

Pakistan 332 for 5 (Naeem 90) beat Netherlands 102 (Worries 20, Gohar 3-32) by 230 runs
Scorecard

Malaysia 157 for 8 (Goonasagaran 33, Hazim 19*) beat Americas 156 (Joshi 64, Zahid 3-36) by two wickets
Scorecard

Kenya, tipped by some as one of the teams to watch, were easily beaten by an ICC Americas team in the first round of the Clico International Under-15 Championship. Set a modest 134 to win, ICC Americas eased to a six-wicket win with more than 13 overs to spare.

Kenya won the toss but never got their innings going and limped to 133. Bermuda’s Joshua Gilbert, who had taken 2 for 11 with his offspin, played the anchor innings with an unbeaten 43 off 97 balls, twice being dropped, but that was not enough to win him the Man-of-the-Match award which went to Nitisj Kumar who took 3 for 14.

In the day’s other game, Pakistan beat Ireland by eight wickets to book a semi-final against Bangladesh while ICC Americas will play West Indies. Ireland managed only 99 off 43.3 overs, Usman Qadir, the son of the legendary Abdul Qadir, taking 3 for 22, a score Pakistan passed in 20.5 overs.

Trent Johnston, Ireland's captain, has decided to take an indefinite break from international cricket. Johnston, who turns 34 next month, will play no part in Ireland's Friend Provident Trophy games, but hasn't ruled out featuring later in the year in the Intercontinental Cup.

Click here for the full story

As widely expected, the ICC executive board approved proposals to reduce the number of Associates participating at the 2011 World Cup from six to four.

This was done, so the ICC claimed, to reduce the length of an event which many considered to be too bloated in 2007 from 47 days to 38.

The ICC's 10 Full Members automatically qualify and they will be joined by the top four teams from next years World Cup Qualifiers in Dubai. As thing stands, this means that Ireland have to qualify for a tournament they reached the Super Sixes at last time, while Zimbabwe, who are below them in the official ICC One-Day Rankings, do not.

Alternative proposals, including one which would have involved a pre-qualifying tournament featuring the top six Associates as well as Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, were earlier rejected by the ICC's chief executives committee.

ICC Europe has announced the schedule and venues for the ICC European Division 1 Championship to be held in Ireland from the July 25 to 31, 2008.

The 50-over round-robin tournament will see Europe's top six Associate and Affiliate countries - Denmark, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway and Scotland - fight it out for Europe's top spot. Six cricket grounds will be used to host a total of 15 matches that will see each country come face to face over five days.

Click here for the full story

The newly-constituted Irish board cricket met for the first time this week, and announced that the trading name of Irish Cricket Union Ltd will now be Cricket Ireland.

The board also confirmed that Belfast and Dublin would host the ODI matches against England in 2009 and 2011.

Click here for the full story.

Warren Deutrom, the chief executive of the Irish Cricket Union, has warned that a failure to qualify for the next World Cup will have a seriously detrimental affect on leading Associates.

"Non-qualification for two out of the existing six ODI countries will have a materially detrimental effect on the profile of the sport in that country, therefore ability to attract finance, therefore ability to attract (and pay for) top teams to visit, therefore ability to tour abroad to play competitive cricket,, therefore ability to move forward on and off the pitch."

Click here for the full interview.

The ICU have announced a 14-man squad for the Under-15 Clico International tournament in West Indies which starts on April 19 and runs for two weeks.

Hugh MacDonnell from Leinster will captain the side and Ben Wylie from Instonians is the vice-captain. There are eight countries participating in firstly a knockout competition, followed by an international championships, which has been split into two groups.

Ireland have been given a tough draw, facing Pakistan in the knockout phase, while they are drawn with West Indies, Bangladesh and Kenya in the group stages.

Squad Hugh Mac Donnell (capt) (Leinster), Ben Wylie (Instonians), Jonathan Andrews (North County), Jordan Coghlan (Clontarf), Eoghan Conway (Rush), George Dockrell (Leinster), Shane Getkate (Malahide), Matthew Gillespie (Donemana), Hugo Mays (Railway Union), Andrew McBrine (Donemana), Graeme McCarter (Killyclooney), Philip Moon (Limavady), Simon Olphert (Eglinton), Jason van der Merwe (Muckamore)

The number of people actively participating in cricket outside the Test-playing countries increased 17% in 2007, according to the ICC.

The research, carried out by the ICC's development program, was collated from 33 Associate and 58 Affiliate members. It showed that there were 338,051 male and female players in those countries in 2007, an increase of 49,158 on the previous year. Since 2002, when there were 144,047 participants, there has been a 135% rise.

Click here for the full story.

As revealed by Cricinfo last month, the 2011 World Cup will be shortened and the main victims of the change will be the Associate countries who will have their numbers cut from six to four.

"It is a move we both feared and expected and it's not great news for the Associates," Warren Deutrom, the chief executive of the Irish Cricket Union, told Cricinfo. "Neither is it a great vote of confidence in the ICC's own High Performance Programme.

Click here to tell us what you think of this? Is it the start of the gradual elimination of smaller countries from the World Cup or a necessary and welcome move?

	Ireland hosted England for the first time in 2006 in Stormont © Getty Images

The Irish Cricket Union (ICU) and the ECB have agreed that Ireland will host England for ODIs in 2009, 2011 and 2013, while also confirming that Ireland will continue to participate in the English domestic structure "for the foreseeable future".

The two governing bodies have also agreed to finalise television contracts for the two countries in order to provide income to support the development of the game and to avoid any scheduling clashes.

"We are absolutely delighted that we have reached an agreement with the ECB moving forward . The ECB have been strong supporters of ours for a number of years and it was a logical step to enter into a more formal agreement," Warren Deutrom, the ICU's chief executive, said. "Having England play in Ireland in 2009, 2011 and 2013 will give the game a huge boost and I am sure our cricketing public will be looking forward to welcoming the English team."

England played Ireland for the first time in 2006, a match England won, in front of a sell-out crowd, rather unconvincingly by 38 runs in Stormont.

"We have a strong relationship with the ICU and we are delighted to have reached this agreement," David Collier, the ECB's chief executive, said. "The ODIs with Ireland will create a lot of interest and the participation in our domestic competitions by the Ireland team will help build on the outstanding achievements of the Ireland team in last year's World Cup."

Ireland are about to confirm that they will play three ODIs in Bangladesh in March, according to a report in the Belfast Telegraph.

The games will come on the tail of Ireland’s Intercontinental Cup match against UAE in Abu Dhabi and while in Bangladesh they will play a four-day match followed by a couple of one-day warm-ups and then the three ODIs.

Barry Chambers

The draw has been made for the 2008 Northern Bank Senior Cup, with Bready taking on NW league champions Brigade at Magheramason. The two sides have been frequent opponents in recent years, with Brigade coming out on top in 2006, thanks to a partnership of 312 between Iftikhar Hussain (204) and Wajahtullah Wasti (115). There were happier fortunes for Bready in 2005, when they skittled Brigade for just 66. Trevor Britton, the captain, took 5 for 18.

Brigade will have a new captain at the helm next year, as Charlie Elder takes the reins from Mark Simpson.

Donemana will also have a new face in charge, with Dwayne McGerrigle replacing Jordan McGonigle who is stepping down after 5 years. They have been handed a tricky opening-round fixture against Fox Lodge. The Ballymagorry side have never reached the final, while McGonigle was captain when Donemana last tasted success in 2004.

The other clash sees Killymallaght on their travels to Strabane. The Tyrone outfit last won the cup way back in 1993. The visitors won't be overawed - they chased 274 earlier this year to win by seven wickets. Their hero on that occasion was Danza Hyatt, who scored an unbeaten 131, and with the Jamaican due to return in 2008, another win could well be possible.

Holders Limavady will begin their defence against Senior Two oppostion, with a home tie against either neighbours Drummond, or Creevedonnell.

Newly promoted Ardmore, who won for the only time in 1994, have home advantage over either Bonds Glen, who have knocked them out twice in recent times, or Burndennett.

2005 winners Glendermott face Sion Mills at The Rectory in a repeat of last year, when the home side chased 324 to win by two wickets. Eglinton, the 2006 winners, face a possible giant-killing act when they appear for the first time in their distinguished history at Killyclooney.

The final tie is an all Senior Two affair, with St Johnston or Coleraine playing the winners of the Nedd versus North Fermanagh game.

The preliminary round takes place on May 10 with the first proper round two weeks later on May 24.


The draw in full

Limavady v Drummond/Creevedonnell
Fox Lodge v Donemana
Ardmore v Bonds Glen/Burndennett
St Johnston/Coleraine v The Nedd/N Fermanagh
Strabane v Killymallaght
Bready v Brigade
Killyclooney v Eglinton
Glendermott v Sion Mills

Tony Cozier is, rightly, one of the most respected journalists in the game. His work to cover and promote cricket in the Caribbean has been unstinting for almost four decades. And yet even the best writers have off days, and his attack on the way that the ICC funds the Intercontinental Cup, the first-class competition for the Associates, is one of those.

Cozier's outburst in his Caribbean-syndicated column at the weekend in effect concluded that rather than waste money on Associate tournaments it would be better spent on aiding West Indies, a “well-established member with a great tradition presently fallen on hard times”.

Cozier attacked the ICC for doling out "heaven knows how much cash every year" to run the Intercontinental Cup. The overall annual cost of the tournament is actually around $400,000 on top of which the participants contribute another $120,000 between them. For that, the leading eight Associate countries get to play in a prestigious (for them) competition, to meet a variety of opponents across the world and to improve.

Yes, it has its faults and there are mismatches, but the same could be said for any competition or series involving the Full Members. When was the last time Bangladesh or Zimbabwe or, dare it be said, West Indies played in a gripping contest as opposed to occasional one-off successes. As seen at the World Cup, the gulf between the have and have-nots on the field may be large but it is nothing like as vast as the chasm between their respective funding.

The leading Associates survive on grants of under half a million dollars a year; some, such as Kenya and Scotland, earn more through winning tournaments such as the World Cricket League which entitles them to ICC World Twenty20 participation money. The Full Members receive twenty times more. Zimbabwe, for example, coined in almost $11 million from the World Cup, and yet they struggle to hold their own with several Associates. What is more, the Full Members almost all have bloated payrolls; the Associates rely almost entirely on goodwill of hard-working administrators who often end up digging deep into their own pockets to keep things ticking over.

What Cozier seems to overlook is that the ICC should not be about looking after the big boys and forget the rest, although as the major boards become more money-obsessed by the month it may go that way. It has a responsibility to nurture and support the game in areas away from the traditional bedrocks. That is done through a myriad of tournaments, coaching clinics and advice. The total sum spent on Associates is under 25% of the ICC's overall budget. To scrap that would be akin to pulling up the drawbridge, hoping that the game survives among the existing ten Full Members, and hang the rest. No other sport would consider such a short-sighted policy, and neither should cricket.

Then there is the additional income that Full Members can earn through the very fact they play each other so often. Sponsorship and TV deals bring in tens of millions on top of the ICC funding. Although the WICB has never revealed the value of the original deal with Digicel, it is believed to be worth more than $20 million for five years. The England board's four-year TV deal with BSkyB was worth in excess of $400 million, the Indian board's own deals even more. They should be awash with cash.

Associates cannot attract funding worth even 5% of that as they play precious few big matches, a fact not helped by the continuing reluctance of most Full Members to play them. The big boys prefer to pack their schedules with ever longer one-day series against the same old - more lucrative - opposition. Television and sponsorship deals for Associates, if they ever get them, are for peanuts.

Cozier also argues that the Intercontinental Cup is not worthwhile as sides cannot always field their full sides as players cannot get time off work. It is a problem, and one everyone is aware of. But that ignores the fact that the bulk of players are prepared to make remarkable sacrifices to represent their countries. With more funding, and not with less, those players can be rewarded for their cricket skills and so availability will improve. As an aside, it is worth remembering West Indies couldn't find 15 players to represent their A team in Zimbabwe last July.

To argue that the woes of the West Indies could be cured by diverting cash from Associates to the Caribbean simply doesn't add up. Those who have witnessed the antics of a succession of West Indies boards might counter that to pour money into the region would be akin to chucking it onto a bonfire. In the last decade the WICB has run up debts running into tens of millions of dollars. It has failed to handle sponsors or players remotely adequately and needed the income from a (poorly run) World Cup to bail it out. That the game in the Caribbean is in need of help is beyond question. But it is in even more need of some broad-minded and competent leadership. Julian Hunte, the new WICB chairman, might be such a man but he has a daunting job ahead of him.

This is not a call for more money to be poured into Associate cricket, but there has to be some kind of reality check before those looking to establish and build the game are asked to tighten their belts even more because a Full Member is down to its last few dozen administrators.

Tony Cozier, the veteran Caribbean journalist and broadcaster, has launched a scathing attack on the way the ICC funds global cricket outside the Test-playing countries.

Writing in his column which is syndicated throughout the Caribbean, Cozier was angry at the way that established regions, such as West Indies, were not allocated more money instead of so much being spent by the ICC on Associate competitions.

“Certainly there is no ICC venture more illogical or costly than the one dubbed the Inter-Continental Cup,” he wrote. “It is an annual tournament, described by the ICC as its ‘flagship first-class competition’, comprising round-robin, four-day matches between its second tier members, those one below Test status. These are countries where the game has always been based on amateur, weekend, one-day club cricket. They play no four-day domestic matches and almost certainly never will.

“Yet the ICC doles out heaven knows how much cash every year to fly them, and their own entourage of officials, across the world and to house and feed them at venues as scattered as Aberdeen, Dublin, Namibia, Toronto, Sharjah and Windhoek.

“Canada were unable to raise their strongest team for the African tour because many of their best players simply could not get time off from their jobs. The same problem affects others, rendering the tournament even less relevant.”

The ICC maintains that the competition enables players from Associate countries to gain more experience in the longer form of the game.

Ireland are to tour Bangladesh for three one-dayers next March and April.

Ireland, who in addition to beating Pakistan in that memorable World Cup match earlier in the year also defeated Bangladesh, will also play two four-day warm-ups against local teams.

"As we are not yet in the ICC's Future Tours Programme, we have to look for matches against the teams close to us in the ODI rankings, such as Zimbabwe, Kenya, West Indies and Bangladesh," Warren Deutrom, the Ireland Cricket Union's chief executive told Cricket Europe.

The tour gets underway from March 16.

The ICC Europe Cricket Committee (ECC) have confirmed Ireland as the host for next year's European Division One Championship.

They lasted hosted the tournament in 2002 when 12 teams participated. In the past five years, however, six more countries have joined including Europe's four High Performance Program countries: Denmark, Ireland, Scotland and the Netherlands. Norway - who won Division Two in 2006 - also join Italy.

The previous championship, hosted by Scotland in 2006, crowned Ireland as the European Champions and 2008's event will also feature three official one-dayers.

Meanwhile it was also confirmed that Guernsey will host the Division Two Championship in August, a six-team tournament which includes France, Germany, Gibraltar and Jersey. The sixth place will be decided later this year when Croatia meet Israel on November 18.

The caribbeancricket.com website has reported that Phil Simmons, the current Ireland coach, is among those who have applied for the vacant West Indies coaching post.

Simmons coached Zimbabwe before taking charge of Ireland five months ago.

Ireland's domination of European youth tournaments continued as they captured the Under-13 title in Denmark this week.

They edged home against Scotland in a thrilling contest by just one wicket in the final decider. They opened the competition with a convincing seven-wicket win over Netherlands thanks to a fine bowling performance from Ross Adair and George McKinley. The pair each picked up three wickets to dismiss Netherlands for 104. Tyrone Kane and Jordan Magee also got among the wickets.

That total proved little obstacle to Ireland as they lost just the three wickets - David Barr top-scoring with 50, while Matthew Clarke, the wicketkeeper, made a composed 20.

Determined batting from Denmark saw them post a respectable 154 for 6 in the next game, with Saad Ahmed (45) and Basit Javed (38) playing neatly. Adair was again their main performer with the ball, taking 3 for 31. Ben Wylie, the captain, secured the win with a chanceless 71 not out.

The deciding fixture with Scotland was going to plan when four wickets from McKinley reduced Scotland to to 80 for 7. But a fine rearguard action from Johnny Perrium (31), and Nicky Farrar (27), saw them score 141 for 9.

In reply Ireland were well placed at 60 for 1, but Andrew Umeed hit back with four wickets to reduce them to 132 for 9. The nervous last pair of George Adair and McKinley got the Irish over the finishing line much to their obvious delight. The Scots will rue the concession of 41 extras - 38 of which were wides, which proved the decisive factor in the outcome.

"I'd like to congratulate the entire squad and support staff on another fantastic achievement. To win the title for an 8th consecutive year is a truly remarkable feat,” Tom Prior, the Irish Cricket Union president said.

Ireland have a chance to complete a second consecutive clean sweep of the European Championships, having won all six tournaments last season, and having won four of the five so far in 2007. The Under-17s are currently in action in Dundee, where they play Scotland in the final fixture on Sunday and Monday in a two-day fixture.

	Jeremy Bray chose not to represent Ireland ... because he can earn more playing club cricket © Getty Images

"I was a bit tired and needed a rest", he told the Sunday Tribune, "at least that was the initial plan. But it's hard to get to training because I live so far away. My wife has her own hair salon business so organising childcare has become a big issue. The reality is that it costs me money to play for Ireland."

Since Ireland returned from the World Cup there has been much talk of Ireland turning professional and negotiations are well advanced, but Bray isn't impressed. "It's just a joke", he said, "But I'm not surprised - that's the Irish Cricket Union for you."

Bray has spoken to Ireland captain Trent Johnston about the situation but is still uncertain about the future. "I hope it doesn't get to me giving it all up, but we need to get it all out in the open and see what's on offer."

Warren Deutrom, the ICU chief executive, who has been a driving force being the quest for a professional set-up responded to Bray's comments and said the delay isn't because of a lack of effort.

"The fundamental issue is that we can't complete and finalise the contracts for the players until we know we are able to satisfy what they are requesting in terms of additional monies," he said. "We can't do that until we know how much of a budget we have, and we won't know that until this current series of games is completed. It's a vicious circle.

"Do we want to be able to pay the players? Absolutely, of course we do, and it's the fundamental route to success. I know there's a significant degree of frustration among the players, and I completely understand that. We have met with the players on a number of occasions, and will continue to do so.

"We've managed to get many of their issues and concerns out into the open. A lot of the players are prepared to be patient until they know of the final financial result. Obviously we're trying to do our very best."

Johnston has also been vocal in his call for a professional structure in Ireland. Following the match against India on Saturday he said: "We've got to have professional contracts put in place so players can get back to the standard we set in the West Indies. Four months we were away playing cricket and you could see in our performance over there we were a much better team."

Trent Johnston, Ireland's captain, has challenged his young squad to produce the goods against the might of India who they face in a one-dayer on Saturday at Stormont, Belfast.

Only seven members of the squad which beat Pakistan to reach the Super Eights of the World Cup remain, but Johnston insists that - in spite of being in a phase of regeneration, not to mention beset by injuries - they can still challenge India.

Click here to read the full story.

In The Daily Telegraph Tony Francis travels to Ireland to see if the World Cup was a flash in the pan or something more significant. The findings are not that encouraging, but he does flag an interesting point when he talks to some players from Derry. They believe that:-

“The authorities should encourage indigenous cricketers and scale down their dependency on Australians, South Africans and Asians who migrated to Dublin when the economy took off in the Nineties. Unless they can block the drain of talent to England by contracting Ireland's young elite such as Boyd Rankin, Niall O'Brien and Eoin Morgan, who all play county cricket, they'll need more Johnstons and Bothas if they're to have any chance of building on their international success.”

The issue will continue to dominate as a number of players refuse to play for Ireland because of their count commitments.

“The Irish Cricket Union would rather avoid a repeat of the Ed Joyce scenario. While understanding his career decision and wishing him well at Middlesex, most followers were hurt to see an Irishman representing England in the World Cup. It was like watching Roy Keane sing God Save the Queen.”

Peter Gillespie has retired from international cricket after 124 appearances for Ireland.

"I was going to retire after the World Cup but my family persuaded me to stay on,” he told cricketeurope. “I’m glad they did because I wanted to finish on the pitch. I knew the team would be weaker because of retirements, injuries and the three County players in England, so I'm glad I stayed on to give a bit of experience to the new caps."

Eoin Morgan has declared himself unavailable to Ireland, setting a worrying precedent for the future as more Ireland players pledge their future to England © Getty Images

Ireland have announced a severely depleted 13-man squad for their one-dayers against India and South Africa due to get under way on June 23.

Though it is a wonderful opportunity to showcase Ireland's talent, several of their star players are missing through injury. Andre Botha, Dave Langford-Smith and, most disappointingly of all, Boyd Rankin have all failed to recover from their respective injuries in time, though it is expected they will be fit in time for the quadrangular series in July.

The batting also lacks depth and, to compound their troubles, both Jeremy Bray and Eoin Morgan have declared themselves unavailable while their allrounder, Peter Gillespie, has decided to call it a day.

"There's no doubt we have been badly hit by injuries," Phil Simmons, their coach, said. "Langford-Smith has a side injury, and this type of injury can be very slow to heal. Both Andre Botha (elbow injury) and Boyd Rankin (stress fracture of the fibula), are still two or three weeks away from full fitness, but I'm confident all three will be ready for the quadrangular tournament."

Injuries, though unfortunate, are part and parcel of the game but it is Morgan's case which is a greater concern, as more and more Ireland players pledge their future to England.

"Morgan has informed me that he isn't available for the ODIs because of his commitments with Middlesex," Simmons said. "He wants to qualify and play for England, and feels that by obtaining a regular place in the Middlesex team is the best way to achieve that.

"Bray asked not to be considered for selection for these matches and Gillespie has decided to retire from representative cricket.

"The positive aspect to this is that a number of the younger players in the squad will now get a chance to show me what they are capable of," Simmons said. "They have the opportunity to firmly establish themselves in the squad. I'm already starting to look ahead to the World Cup qualifiers in the UAE in 2009, and the composition of the team."

Ireland squad

Trent Johnston (capt), Kenny Carroll, Alex Cusack, Thinus Fourie, Dominick Joyce, Gary Kidd, Kyle McCallan, Kevin O' Brien, Niall O' Brien, William Porterfield, Roger Whelan, Andrew White,Gary Wilson

Ireland aren't having much luck with coaches - the four-wheeled, not two-legged variety. Their vehicle to take them to Grace Road for their Intercontinental Cup final against Canada was delayed...and yesterday, en route to London, their team bus broke down. Fortunately, the local constabulary were nearby.

The Ireland squad arrived in London yesterday afternoon on a police bus, after their coach from Leicester was impounded at a service station just north of the capital.

Instead, they were guided into the London Gateway service station where the police told us they were carrying out a vehicle inspection check. This took place while the squad had an impromptu lunch. However, on their return, they were told the driver was "over his hours" and would not be allowed to drive for another 24 hours and the two rear wheels on the coach were found to be defective.

So much for a day off. Ireland play Surrey in a Friends Provident Cup match at The Oval on Sunday.

If you are in Leicester this week, then head down to Grace Road to catch the Intercontinental Cup final – for free. That’s right. It’s your chance to see Canada (including John Davison) take on the reigning champions and World Cup heroes Ireland. The four-day match kicks off on Tuesday 22.

The inaugural ICC European Twenty20 Challenge competition has been cancelled because three of the countries due to take part have announced they are playing ODIs in Belfast at the same time.

Europe's four ICC Associate Member High-Performance countries - Scotland, Ireland, Netherlands and Denmark - were set to compete in the championship, which was a new addition to the European tournament program for 2007. But Scotland, Ireland and Netherlands have taken on other commitments and that made the tournament impractical.

Richard Holdsworth, the ICC's regional development manager for Europe, said: "The recent announcement of an ODI series between India and South Africa in Belfast is fantastic news for the further promotion of the game in Ireland. It will provide additional world class cricket for the many followers in Ireland, but most importantly both of these ICC Full Members have agreed to play against Ireland.

"With additional ODIs soon to be announced for Scotland, Ireland and Netherlands against some Full Members, this exposure and experience is more important at this stage than Twenty20 cricket."

There was no chance of rearranging the event and so the ICC Europe was left with no choice but to cancel it. A spokesman said that it would "review the tournament schedule with a possibility of the competition being held in 2008 or 2009".

Holdsworth added: "We are deeply sorry to any supporters who may have already made arrangements to attend the Twenty20 event in Belfast, but hope they are able to reschedule plans and perhaps support their countries in key ODIs later in the summer."

John Mooney, the Ireland allrounder, has explained his recent withdrawal from the international scene. Mooney's just 25, but he's keen to get his electrical apprenticeship sorted.

He has played 38 times for Ireland, including World Cup appearances against Australia and West Indies in the Caribbean.

"I've been working for Stuart Costello of Stuart Costello Electrical for the past four years. His support for me during that time has been nothing short of exceptional, and has enabled me to play a part in Ireland's great success during that period.

"I've decided now that it's time for me to get my career sorted, and finish my electrical apprenticeship. If I don't do it now, I've a feeling it will drift and never get completed. I'd like to stress that this is my personal decision, and that Stuart would have been happy for me to continue my involvement with the international team.

"I'm committed to getting the apprenticeship finished as quickly as possible, and then I will look forward to resuming my Ireland career, and wearing the green jersey with pride."

Ireland are prepared to risk being thrown out of next season's Friends Provident Trophy by playing ODIs against India and South Africa in June.

The two matches come before the India-South Africa series, which is part of the BCCI's offshore deal with Zee TV, but the games are for the ICU to sell, allowing them a first major inroad into the lucrative TV market.

The Irish Cricket Union and film maker Paul Davey have announced that the principal photography has been completed on a behind the scenes documentary following the Irish team at the World Cup.

“We have enjoyed working with Paul and look forward to seeing the completed work” Irish Cricket Union spokesman Barry Chambers commented. Post production will commence once Davey secures the necessary funding.

For more information about the documentary click here.

The fixtures for the first half of the 2007-08 Intercontinental Cup have been released by the ICC.

The tournament undergoes a change of format once again, with the group stages scrapped and a round-robin system introduced. This will mean that the eight participants play seven matches after the two-year span of the competition.

The event kicks off on June 28 when Canada, who meet Ireland in the final of the 2006-07 tournament at Leicester between May 22 and 25, meet Netherlands in Toronto.

Scotland play back-to-back matches against Ireland and Netherlands at the start of August, while Bermuda will be in Europe to take on the same opponents at the end of the month.

The schedule shows that Bermuda are the busiest country in 2007 with four matches, all away from home. In addition to their European trip, they play Kenya in Nairobi at the start of November and from there go straight to the meet UAE.

Namibia, on the other hand, have only one game inked in, while Kenya have two.

Buoyed by their success in the World Cup, Ireland are preparing to ask the ICC for financial help to take the game forward.

Ireland beat Pakistan to reach the Super Eights, and added a victory over another Test side - Bangladesh - to their list of victims in the second round. Now Warren Deutrom, the Irish Cricket Union's CEO, has said he will be looking to the ICC for support.

The top six Associates - including Ireland - receive an annual High Performance grant of around £125,000 from the ICC as well as the same allowance of £70,000 paid to all Associate members. That aside, all money to run the sport has to come from sponsors and other fund-raising events.

"I shall certainly not be backward in asking ICC in what ways it might assist in ensuring that Ireland's performance curve improves consistently over the next few years," Deutrom told Reuters. "This would be in the same way the ICC pumped in significant funding to both the USA and Kenya to move forward. After all, it's what the HPP is for."

After the 2003 World Cup, Kenya, who reached the semi-finals, were fast-tracked by the ICC and given considerable additional financial backing. But that money was almost all squandered as the country's cricket administration descended into chaos. And Project USA, the ICC's initiative to boost the game in the US, was scrapped after rows over governance with the country's board. The ICC is likely to be very cautious about making the same mistake again.

"My goal is to create a small team of professionals focused on the commercial and administrative side that can ensure we have a firm foundation for all areas of the game in Ireland," explained Deurtrom, a former events manager for the ICC. "That's all that any administration should be about ... providing the best possible environment for the game of cricket to thrive."

Ireland have high-profile ODIs against India and South Africa at Stormont later this year, and they hope to attract other major countries. That will give the ICU a chance to exploit the lucrative broadcast market. "There is no doubt that developing a broadcast partnership is the key to a secure long-term future finance and profile for the sport in Ireland," Deutrom said. "In terms of properties, there are domestic internationals and the possibility of creating new properties attractive to television. I will certainly be keen to cultivate relationships with the heads of sport at all of the broadcasters in Ireland and with overseas broadcasters that might have a footprint in Ireland.

"I have to say, though, our achievements in the 2007 World Cup have somewhat accelerated the timetable."

The ICC has announced that the final of the Intercontinental Cup between Canada and Ireland will be held at Grace Road, Leicester between May 22 and 25.

The County Ground at Chelmsford had originally been earmarked to stage the game, but negotiations between Essex and the ICC broke down earlier in the month.

Martin Williamson has written an article which highlights the pressures players for Associate countries face as they compete with the budgets of the Full Members.

In expanding the game, the ICC has, rightly, offered more matches to the Associates. On top of any ODIs they can persuade Full Member countries to give them, as well as tournaments they arrange among themselves, they participate in the Intercontinental Cup, the World Cricket League and the four-yearly ICC Trophy. But that expansion has not taken into account that the players remain amateur.

The flaw in the ICC's plan is that the increased demands have not been backed by additional funding. In the year ending April 30, 2007, Scotland were scheduled to play 46 days of cricket (including warm-ups for tournaments) as a national side; the numbers for the other Associates are similar - Bermuda 45, Canada 43, Ireland 42, Kenya 37, Netherlands 24. That does include time spent preparing, travelling and acclimatising.

The direct funding they receive for that from the ICC amounts to US$215,000, of which $125,000 is not actually handed over to the boards but is retained by the ICC and used to offset other costs, such as paying for coaches and hosting training camps. Compare that with the lowest-ranked Full Member, Zimbabwe, who will receive around US$10 million with no requirement to account for how it is spent. In the same period, they had 37 days cricket scheduled. That really puts into perspective Ireland's achievement in Jamaica.

	Going easy on the minnows? © Getty Images

Robert Craddock, writing in The Australian, thinks he knows why.

It is understood commentators have been told by Global Cricket Corp producers that it frowns on them denigrating the minnows. However, it is deemed acceptable for commentators to call an event a mismatch but not to say some of the nations do not deserve to be in the tournament.

Some commentators who agree with the directive and feel the minnows are a necessary part of global expansion are happy to abide by it. Others, who feel the tournament has been devalued by their presence, would rather speak their mind.

And Craddock concluded by saying that some of the players themselves are aware of the real picture.

The widespread feeling that the minnows are enjoying every moment of their matches against the big boys is wide of the mark. Several Dutch players privately conceded they feel embarrassed by their team's efforts.

Keep your eyes and ears open and see if what you are watching tallies with what you are being told.

The Irish Cricket Union chairman, Murray Power, kindly spoke to Cricinfo recently on the fortunes of his country and the problems Associates face. Have a read of it and leave your comments below.

Scotland have underlined their position at the top of the ICC Associate ODI rankings after good performances in the World Cricket League in Nairobi. Kenya, who beat Scotland in the final, are not included as they are part of the main rankings until 2009.

Scotland beta Netherlands, Canada and Ireland in the tournament, giving them a 69% win rate against other Associates, well clear of Netherlands in second place. Ireland ate third after a disappointing event, Canada are fourth and Bermuda fifth.

The ICC has announced the regional winners of the ICC Development Program Awards 2006 with Guernsey, Jersey and Ireland coming out on top for the European Region.

Guernsey Cricket Board picked up the Best Overall Cricket Development Program Award for their development program governed by the Guernsey Young Cricketers Development Committee and spearheaded by Jason Shambrook, full-time Cricket Development Officer, and Jon Orme, full-time Cricket Development Coach. The program begins in schools, giving children as young as seven years of age the opportunity to take part in cricket, and providing a player pathway to develop and feed these youngsters into senior club cricket.

Guernsey also had success in the Best Women’s Initiative category, where a series of after school ‘clubs’ resulted in the first ever match between two all-girls colleges and from this stemmed the first girls-only cricket league.

The Jersey Cricket Board picked up two awards - the first in the Marketing and Promotional Program category, for its newsletter “Around the Boundary” and the second the Spirit of Cricket Initiative in association with UNAIDS, awarded for a joint venture between the Jersey Cricket Board Development Team and St James School, a school for children with emotional and behavioural disorders. Children from the school formed a combined cricket team with two other primary schools enabling them to compete in a hardball match for the first time.

The Irish Cricket Union produced two successes in the Volunteer of the Year and Lifetime Service categories. Richard Johnson won the Volunteer award for his tireless contributions to Irish and European cricket, which included helping to stage Ireland’s first official ODI against England and organising the Under 19 European Championships in 2006.

The Lifetime Service award went to Clarissa Pilkington who, amongst her many contributions to women’s cricket in Ireland, led the steering committee for the formation of the Irish Women’s Cricket Union in 1982 and guided the Irish team to their first World Cup in Australia in 1987.

Elsewhere Belgium won the award for Best Junior Initiative following a year of hard work by Full Time Youth Development officer Fazil Mahmoud, which has delivered cricket to many Belgian schools and has brought a new crop of youngsters to the game. And finally, The Photo of the Year award went to a pair of action shots from Peter Power of Denmark.

ICC Regional Development Manager-Europe Richard Holdsworth commented on the awards. “Each year Europe’s member countries continue to produce great initiatives to develop the game, particularly at youth level. This area is so crucial if the game it to grow and further develop and all the very many volunteers and professionals should be congratulated on their efforts. It is particularly encouraging to see the women’s game grow so quickly and participation increase by 37% in the last 12 months”.

ICC global development manager Matthew Kennedy congratulated all of the award winners on their achievements. “Winning these awards is a fantastic tribute to the successful Members,” said Kennedy. “They will rightly take the plaudits but the whole process of deciding the winners has left the regional judges feeling immensely positive about the health of the game around the world. Since the ICC’s Development Program began in 1997 the number of ICC Members has more than doubled and the sheer volume and quality of nominations for these awards is a positive indicator that cricket is a strong sport growing stronger.

“This year’s awards illustrate the way many established development programs are flourishing. At the same time it is really pleasing to see awards going to Members for the first time and also that women have received significant recognition for contributions to the game.”
Best Overall Cricket Development Program - Guernsey Cricket Board

Best Junior Cricket Initiative - Belgian Cricket Federation

Best Women’s Cricket Initiative - Guernsey Cricket Board

Best Cricket Promotional and Marketing Program - Jersey Cricket Board Newsletter

Photo of the Year - Peter Power (Denmark)

Best Spirit of Cricket Initiative in Partnership with UNAIDS - Jersey Cricket Board Development Team & St James School (Jersey)

Volunteer of the Year - Richard Johnson (Ireland)

Lifetime Service Award - Clarissa Pilkington (Ireland)

ECC media release

It won't get many column inches in the mainstream cricket press, but the World Cricket League, which started in Nairobi yesterday and continues into next week, features the best of the rest, the six sides just under the ten Test-playing countries. For the two finalists, the rewards are bountiful - a place among the big boys in the inaugural Twenty20 World Championship in South Africa this September, along with $250,000. For countries used to surviving on annual handouts from the ICC of less than $200,000, that's big money.

With the exception of Bermuda, cricket is not a mainstream sport in any of the participants. And yet it survives, and in some instances thrives, despite the lack of attention and a relatively small number of enthusiasts.

The ICC, who do sterling work in supporting the game's second and third tiers, will rightly use the event to highlight that cricket is not just about the Indians and Australias of the world.

But there remains a nagging worry. The ICC boasts that the game is spreading across the world. But is that right? Is it taking root or is it surviving because more people from its hotbed - south-east Asia - are emigrating and keeping it alive for the duration of their careers?

In last year's Wisden Almanack, Matthew Engel raised this very issue. "Overwhelmingly, the game in non-traditional countries is played by expatriates, mostly South Asian. Journalists were kidded into believing that cricket was about to burst on China, on the basis of some warm comments by civil servants and a couple of coaching courses. I have seen not one shred of evidence to back this up. Are the kids playing with tapeballs on the streets of Shanghai? Are they heck!"

Take Canada. Of the squad in Nairobi at the moment, only three were born in the country, and two of those are over 35. Of the rest, five come from the Caribbean, four from India and each from Pakistan and Uganda. Whereas other Associates have a smattering of expats, Canada are utterly reliant on them.

Engel's comment attracted fierce criticism from those who either argued that England had more than their share of "imports" or that the game only spread in Asia, Africa, Australasia and the Caribbean through expats playing it in the first place.

The worry in some countries is that rather the game is not being continued by the second and third generations but is only being maintained by a steady flow of new immigrants

The worry in some countries - and again I come back to Canada - is that rather the game is not being continued by the second and third generations but is only being maintained by a steady flow of new immigrants. Canada's cricket heritage is rich but there is little sign that it has been built on. This is best underlined by the selection of former West Indies international Anderson Cummins. Forty years old and without a major match to his name since 1995-96, he made his debut in Mombasa last week. What message does that send out about the strength in depth of cricket in Canada?

It's not just Canada. Look at the USA, whose 2004 Champions Trophy side was a collection of ageing expats whose performances verged on the disgraceful. And the UAE, which is almost entirely dependant on its ex-pat workforce to keep the game alive.

Cricket's expansion should not be about filling teams with expats and expecting the locals to get excited about it. The only way cricket can gain a foothold in emerging countries is by actually getting the indigenous population to embrace the game, and two excellent examples where this is happening are Nepal and Uganda.

Anderson Cummins of Barbados, West Inbies ... and now Canada © Eddie Norfolk

Cricket is in trouble in its traditional homes in Africa - Zimbabwe are hell-bent on destruction and South Africa seems to be falling out of love with the game. So efforts should be made in Uganda . And in Asia, which everyone accepts is the game's stronghold, a side like Nepal should really be given the leg up. It's about targeting rather than a scattergun approach.

In fairness to the ICC, they have a tough time and a lot of countries scrambling for a share of the spoils. It's about weeding out the weak and really looking to grow the game in areas where it has the best chance of taking root. It's an almost impossible ask. Look at the repeated failure of American Football to crack Europe ... and if football itself still battles for acceptance outside expats and schools in the USA, then the size of the ICC's task becomes clear.

Of course expats have a key role to play in expansion. But if the game is basically played by them, is it the game spreading or is it more about diehards clinging to the traditions of their homelands? In the UK there are baseball and American football sides, but they are almost all expat Americans and so few would seriously claim the games have taken hold. However, basketball and ice hockey are widely played by locals, boosted by some imported players and expats, and, crucially, the national side can stand on its own two feet. That's the difference.

Martin Williamson looks at what message is being sent to the Associates by the ICC deciding to appoint Darrell Hair to officiate in their tournament ... and do the ICC even know where they stand.

So Darrell Hair has been appointed to stand in the triangular one-day series in Mombasa next week, the first time he will don the white coat since that gloomy Sunday afternoon at The Oval in August when his world turned on its head.

The announcement - which caught the ICC on the hop as it only intended to release the news on Sunday - caused, inevitably, a flurry of media comment. Some were surprised that Hair was still an umpire, so intense was the criticism of him between the Oval Test and the ICC's decision to bar him from standing in major matches which followed in November.

There are two sides to this. The first is that this is actually a really good move. Hair, for all his stubbornness, was, up to four months ago, one of the top officials in the game, a fact underlined by the ICC's own internal rankings which placed him second only to Simon Taufel. There is no doubt that in Kenya his presence will benefit sides who will for the first time play in a game with such a senior official.

Hair himself will receive a warm welcome. Mombasa Sports Club, which is the home ground of Samir Inamdar, Cricket Kenya's chairman, is a delightful venue and the people there go out of their way to make all visitors feel at home. A few overseas reporters may make their way to the coastal town, but by and large he should enjoy his trip.

But there have to be questions asked of senior ICC officials as to what has changed in the last two months? In November, Percy Sonn, the ICC's president who has a habit of speaking before necessarily thinking, said that the ICC executive board had "come to the conclusion that they've lost confidence in Mr Hair". While Malcolm Speed, the ICC chief executive, has always said he hoped to find a way to keep Hair in the game, he too admitted that the decision was right. Most of those close to the decision-making process left Dubai believing that Hair would not stand in any international match again.

As an umpire, Hair clearly is good enough. So why can he stand here and not in more important matches?
If Hair was not deemed fit by the ICC to umpire then - and the key here is that nobody questioned his decision-making ability - what has changed? The ICC have spent today vociferously stressing that the ban was for Full Member matches only. But surely, either he is fit or he is not.

Perhaps even they don't actually know what they agreed or the best way forward. When Sonn was asked at the November meeting to clarify details regarding Hair's future, he refused, and when pressed snapped at reporters: "You are free to leave if you want. We are not giving any more details." Perhaps Percy was not exactly on message, or perhaps he was as confused as the rest of us.

The Mombasa tournament involves three of the six leading Associates, all of whom will be playing in the World Cup. These are among the best of the rest, and the matches are accorded full ODI status by the ICC. In effect, there is a danger that people will interpret this as the ICC saying that they have no faith in Hair but that the Associates aren't really that important.

This is a unique situation. The ICC could argue with any other official - including Hair's two colleagues also standing in Mombasa - that they were not quite good enough to make the transition from this level to the Elite. But that's not an issue or an excuse here. As an umpire, Hair clearly is good enough. So why can he stand here and not in more important matches? As with every aspect of this sorry episode, the ICC has failed to be clear or transparent in its handling and once more we can expect more smokescreens and sidestepping.

And so, while the Associates ponder just how important they are to the ICC, Hair, who arrives in Mombasa on Monday, is left yet again to face the media on his own. It's something he has become used to in recent months.

The announcement that the ICC is to expand the World Cricket League (WCL) to five divisions is great news for European Cricket.

The expansion will see a total of seven Associates and Affiliates from the Europe Region compete in the WCL. New additions Norway and Jersey are set to join the European top five teams who already compete in the competition.

Ireland, Netherlands and Scotland will participate in Division 1 in Kenya in January next year, and Denmark compete in Division 2 which is planned for Namibia in November 2007.

A change in venue for Division 3 moves the competition from the USA to Darwin, Australia in May/June 2007. Italy is grouped in Group B of this league alongside Papua New Guinea, Fiji and Hong Kong, whilst Group A is made up of USA, Uganda, Cayman Islands and Tanzania.

Elsewhere Norway and Jersey have been announced in the final three teams to be added into Division 5 alongside Singapore. Norway fall into Group A and will face Afghanistan, Nepal and Argentina. Jersey, granted entry into the league after finishing runners-up to Norway in the European Division 2 Championship in Glasgow this year, will compete in Group B against Singapore, Botswana and a country from the East Asia Pacific region.

The host nation is yet to be announced, but will be from amongst the participants and exact dates and venues will be released by the ICC in due course.

The news is great for the Jersey Cricket Board, whose senior cricketers thought their next chance of international competition would be in the European Championships in 2008.

Cricket Jersey’s Director of Cricket, Chris Minty, says that it will give his players something to focus on and work hard towards. “We have no idea what to expect, just as was the case when we competed in the European Division 2 in Glasgow in August this year. The team can only hope to play as well as they can and see what happens.”

The League expansion also gives the Division 5 countries a glimmer of hope in qualifying for the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup. The top two teams from Division 5 will gain promotion to Division 4, to be held later in 2008, and the top two from that competition then progress to Division 3 in 2009. The winner and runner-up of Division 3 then qualify for the ICC World Cup Qualifier, which could result in qualification into the 2011 Cricket World Cup.

This provides Affiliate and Associate countries with a pathway through from competing in the lowest division of the World Cricket League right the way up to the dizzy heights of playing in the World Cup.

Susan Lowrey European Cricket Council

The European Cricket Council's European Cricket Championships, which are being held in Scotland, are the first to be organised under the auspices of the International Cricket Council’s World Cricket League.

The tournament will feature 13 countries in two divisions playing 30 matches in seven days at 12 west of Scotland grounds, starting on Thursday (August 3).

The Division 1 sides - Scotland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Denmark and Italy - will play a round-robin tournament, from which there is no relegation. The three matches involving the first three named teams are deemed by the International Cricket Council as official One-Day Internationals, and will be played at Ayr Cricket Club, where ground facilities have been upgraded with support from South Ayrshire Council.

Scotland’s other two matches will be played at New Anniesland (against Denmark) and Hamilton Crescent (against Italy).

Division 2 consists of eight teams - France, Germany, Gibraltar, Guernsey, Hellas (Greece), Israel, Jersey and Norway - who will play in two initial pools of four, followed by crossover semi-finals and four ranking finals - and one team will be promoted to the first division in two years’ time. The facilities at all grounds have been equipped with additional weather protection and other enhancements, thanks to a range of local authority grants and commercial support.

A huge bonus is available for the Division 2 teams, with the winners not only promoted to the European Division 1 in 2008, but also a place in the new ICC World Cricket League Division 5 in 2007-08. This team will receive $20,000 towards preparation of that event, the venue of which is still to be decided.

The rush to grab tickets for England's encounter against Ireland has started, with £100,000 raised from ticket sales - even before they've gone on sale. 2,900 tickets remain to be sold, priced between £20 and £35 pounds.

The capacity at Stormont on Tuesday June 13 will be 6,200, the biggest audience for a cricket match in Ireland, and there will also be room for 800 schoolchildren and a hospitality tent accommodating a further 500.

More information can be found at Newsletter and a previous article on Cricinfo.

Ireland have secured the services of Saqlain Mushtaq, the former Pakistan offspinner, for their C&G Trophy campaign this season.

As reported by the BBC:

Ireland have agreed to take part in the five-team EurAsia Cricket Series in the United Arab Emirates next month.

The other teams taking part in the March 9-20 tournament in Abu Dhabi are India A, Pakistan A, an England A side and the hosts UAE.

Ireland play England in a one-dayer on June 13 which is expected to be a sell-out, as reported by us yesterday.

Ireland are considering offering key players semi-professional contracts as they gear up for a key 15 months which culminates in the 2007 World Cup. As Adrian Birrell, the South African-born coach, explained:

We'll never be able to afford to contract 15 players but we might be able compensate players in some way for their time and their commitment and that's going to be massive in the next few years.

Top Irish batsman Jeremy Bray has signed for Eglinton. Chairman Jon Pierce said:

Jeremy's signing is an important one for us to demonstrate that we are serious about our cricket here and he will be a great role model. We have a new professional next summer who comes with great coaching credentials and that is the direction we want to be taking as a club.