Coach Phil Simmons is upbeat about the game, which gives his team a chance to break the cycle of FPT defeats.

"Grace Road is like my second home after the Caribbean, " said Simmons.

"When I heard we were to play the final there I was a very happy man. I know the ground really well. I am very comfortable there and I will try to pass on that feeling to the players when we get there. There could not be a better venue for this match as far as I'm concerned, " he said.

IRELAND Trent Johnston (capt), Jeremy Bray, Will Porterfield, Eoin Morgan, Kevin O'Brien, Gary Wilson, Peter Gillespie, Andrew White, Kyle McCallan, David Langford-Smith, Thinus Fourie, Kenny Carroll, Roger Whelan Cricket is cool again, judging by the quality of celebrities the Irish team are now attracting.

Neil Hannon (The Divine Comedy) and Thomas Walsh (Pugwash) have previously shown support, but last Sunday's Clontarf tie saw a keen observer in Gary Lightbody (pictured) of Snow Patrol, the biggest selling Irish act in the world last year. Lightbody played a bit as a boy in North Down and has asked his pal Dave Langford-Smith if he can go to Irish nets. DLS has tried to suggest some new stage moves but has been unable to convince him that The Funky Ferret Dance would fit the bill.

The latest edition of the Wisden Cricketer wraps up the World Cup and Ireland are given a few honourable mentions. Their award for best captain was shared by Ricky Ponting and Trent Johnston, a fabulous honour for the Irish skipper.

WCM also ranked the teams according to performance, giving more points for wins against stronger countries. In this table Ireland finished seventh, just ahead of England. There was one less palatable honour, however, as Ireland topped the bowling extras table with 101 . . . 85 wides and 16 no balls. We name the guilty men: Boyd Rankin 44w, 3nb, Dave Langford-Smith 25w, 4nb, Trent Johnston 2nb, 9w, Kyle McCallan 4w, Kevin O'Brien 3w, Paul Mooney 3nb and Andre Botha 2nb.

The ICU are fighting hard to keep their home-grown players in the Irish fold, but may have to plan without Boyd Rankin for the foreseeable future. The iconic fast bowler, one of the stars of the World Cup, has slotted straight into Derbyshire's first team and has had a dream start. He would have especially enjoyed taking 4-80 and 4-41 in this weekend's game with Middlesex, the county that let him go 12 months ago. Former Ireland coach Mike Hendrick, now with Derbyshire, believes Rankin is a strong contender for next winter's England 'A' tour and such an elevation would take him out of the Irish set-up for good.

The stirring on-field deeds of the Irish team and the killing of Bob Woolmer ensured that the death of Bob Kerr in Jamaica was not fully acknowledged at the time. The Irish squad wore two black armbands against the West Indies and the minute's silence for the two Bobs was observed by the 12,000 crowd. The North Fermanagh man was a talented and committed administrator who made an enormous contribution to the advancement of Irish cricket as ICU chairman and president. So it is fitting and praiseworthy that the union would rename their senior domestic trophy the Bob Kerr Irish Senior Cup. His wife Hope, who has sponsored the cup this year, said "My husband Bob was a real enthusiast for cricket, and the All Ireland dimension of the game was particularly important to him. For that reason I am very pleased to give his name to this Senior All Ireland Trophy."

An Irishman has one of the trickiest jobs in world cricket this summer . . . getting the West Indians' heads right after several years of turmoil. Belfastman David Scott studied at the University of Ulster, where he graduated with a degree in Sport Science. His research focuses primarily on behaviour change and performance enhancement in sport and on the psychological benefits of sport and exercise. Scott is at Lord's this week and, from the evidence so far, will be working overtime.

The criceid as gaeilge game mentioned here last week went off well, with Scoil Mobhi winning both the Rang a Cuig game (by nine runs) and the Rang a Se (by aon run amhain). A return fixture in Maynooth will take place shortly.

The Intervarsities Competition has been going for 34 years now and is a most enjoyable tournament for participants and spectators. The increase in third level institutions . . . there were 16 entries this year . . . means qualifying rounds have had to be introduced before the finals tournament in Queen's on 11-12 June. So far the quarter-final line-up reads: GMIT v NUI Galway; UCC v Waterford or DCU; Trinity v DBS or UCD; Queen's v UU or RCSI or DIT.

Other sides to compete were Athlone IT, University of Limerick, LCD and Griffith College.

The annual MCC tour kicks off on Tuesday week under the auspices of Clontarf 's Greg Molins and Iain Synnott.

Their four games are against a Munster Development XI (Mardyke, 11.30am), Leinster Schools (Claremont Road, 2pm), Leinster U19s (Anglesea Road, 11am) and Irish Universities (College Park, 11am). The Marylebone men have a strong, mostly Irish, panel.

MCC: IJ Synnott (capt), GL Molins, T Hodson, JR Holliday, TJ Williamson, RJ Mitchell, WC Horwood, AT Rutherford, RM Henson, RMO Cooke, P Saville, MWR McCord, GR Shears, AD Cullen, RA McCollum