We're not suggesting that there will be anything but a sporting encounter in the Cayman Islands versus Jamaica Gaelic football match that takes place in Ocho Rios today.

But there may be a bit of spice at the Melbourne CC ground in Kingston when the locals turn up at noon today for a game against an Irish side. The Melbourne Invitation XI is a strong one, including in its ranks eight former West Indies players, including such greats as Courtney Walsh and Laurence Rowe.

They may prove a bit strong for the Dublin side, the Terenure Taverners.

We sense a little bit of a communications breakdown here, as the taverners side is essentially a group of drinkers who like to throw the bat in 20-over games on summer Friday evenings.

Facing the eponymous great at the Courtney Walsh Drive ground - even in retirement - is probably still a bit quicker than they are used to. The Irishmen responsible for this fixture were hard to find in Kingston yesterday.

Presumably they were practicing. Or buying helmets.

The TV cameras have been zooming in on a 6'8" inch leprechaun who has an extraordinary amount of energy. The man in question is Adrian Raftery and he has travelled here from Sydney. Kylie, his wife of six days, is here too and smiles indulgently at his antics. Raftery's parents are from Galway and he visited Ireland last year as a member of the Australia over-35s team that played a three-test series of International Rules against Ireland.

There was a nice bonus for the Irish Cricket Union from Thursday's tie with Zimbabwe. Winners of each pool match receive $10,000 and the losers $5,000. The extra $2,500 that Niall O'Brien secured off the last ball will come in handy when the bills come in for this trip.

Ireland opener Will Porterfield has a burning ambition to make a career of cricket with an English county side.

He told Inside Edge over the course of this weekend that he has had talks with both Kent and Gloucestershire but is likely to opt for the latter. "They want me to go over after the World Cup, '' he said. That's not likely to endear him to his teammates as Gloucestershire are Ireland's first opponents in the one-day Friends Provident League on 22 April. That game at Clontarf will be the first chance for the Irish public to salute its World Cup heroes.

A year ago Porterfield was way down the pecking order in the Ireland squad but a conversation with Adi Birrell set him on the road to Sabina. "He thought it would be beneficial for me to play cricket in Ireland again, so I joined Rush.

Playing in Dublin was the best option - it's a better league, playing better cricket. I thought I'd get a bit more exposure too, so it worked out well for me.'' It's been a busy few years for the 22-year-old from the Donemana club in Derry.

He spent three years studying at Bradford-Leeds UCCE, which gave him three games a year against county teams, and he also spent four summers on the MCC Young Cricketers programme.

With a couple of retirements expected and the prospect of county deals taking others away, it may be a very different Ireland team that defends its ICC Intercontinental Cup next month. The game will be held on the County Ground in Chelmsford, Essex on 2124 May.