Some loyalties divided, but passion absolute

Ireland's cricket World Cup odyssey continued yesterday with a game against old rivals England in Guyana that was watched by cricket fanatics across Ireland.

The match saw Ireland came face-to-face with their old teammate Ed Joyce, who had helped them qualify for the tournament two years ago before declaring for England to further his career.

With Ireland surprising everyone to reach the Super Eights stage of the competition, fans at cricket clubs were glued to the TV screens.

At the Russell Court Hotel in Dublin, co-owner of the hotel and member of the Railway Union cricket club, Rangan Arulchelvan arranged for the game to be shown on every television.

Downstairs was where the majority of the support was based, though, and each Irish run was applauded and every boundary was met with whoops of joy and rapturous cheers.

In the end, the much-awaited battle between Joyce and his former colleagues didn't last long - as he scored only one run in five balls before being bowled by Boyd Rankin.

Watching at Merrion Cricket Club in south Dublin was Ed's brother Dominick, who had also helped Ireland get to the Caribbean and was unlucky to miss out on the World Cup squad.

"That's the last time I'm going to watch him, to be honest," he said. "I'm actually too nervous."

Ed had scored 50s for England in the previous two games, but misjudged a ball by Rankin in the second over of the game. "He just misjudged it," Dominick said. "It can happen to anyone, especially openers. "

Many of the Railway Cricket Club members had decamped to the Russell Court Hotel, and among them were Brendan and Camilla O'Brien - parents of Kevin and Niall - whose brilliant displays against Pakistan helped Ireland to a famous win.

They had returned from the Caribbean on Monday and plan to travel back to Barbados to watch Ireland's games against Australia and Bangladesh.

"We thought it would be good to go for the holiday, but the team have been great, they've exceeded all expectations," Camilla said.

Brendan said he was delighted by the interest shown by the Irish public. "That was filtered through to Jamaica, that even people in Gaelic pubs were watching the games."

Dressed in an Ireland shirt and cap, Arthur Deeny had also just returned from a €1,500 trip to the Caribbean. "They're great lads and they've done very well," he said. "They've no illusions about themselves, but they don't play a percentage game - they really have a go."

Boyd Rankin is a man mountain of a 22-year-old from the village of Bready in Co Tyrone. Yesterday, he made life distinctly uncomfortable for England's top order.

"In this household it's farming and cricket," his mother Dawn said recently. You suspect that at 2.30pm, with her son preparing to take the new ball against Joyce and the England captain, it was presumably more one than the other.

Rankin's impact was immediate. His first ball pitched on, jagged back and hit off-stump two-thirds of the way up as Joyce bewilderingly shouldered arms, a misjudgment in every respect. If that brought whoops of surprised delight from the small band of Irish supporters, there was more jubilation to come.

In his third over Rankin persuaded Michael Vaughan to nibble at a straight one and provide a low catch to Niall O'Brien behind the stumps. He finished the over with figures of two for five. England - at 25 for two - were contemplating the unthinkable.

At 6ft 7in, Rankin has been touching heady heights in more ways than one. His three wickets against Pakistan in only his third one-day international contributed to one of the biggest shocks in World Cup history.

Before that, he combined his agriculture studies at university in Shropshire with a job on the Lord's groundstaff. But it was the attributes that earned him a county contract which were on show yesterday in Guyana - and in livingrooms and public houses all over Ireland.

Meanwhile, Australia will be out this afternoon to erase a few more of the bad memories they must still have of facing Bangladesh - two years after the minnows pulled off one of cricket's biggest shocks.

The stakes will be higher at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, as Australia bid for their fifth straight victory at this World Cup, than they were in the NatWest Series at Cardiff in June, 2005.

Australia, also given a Test match scare by Bangladesh in the meantime when they conceded a first-innings lead in Dakar last year, could hardly be in better shape going into their latest brush with the Tigers.

They are one of just two countries with four Super Eight points on the board already - while record-breaking veteran pace bowler Glenn McGrath, one of seven members of the current team who played in Cardiff, is in line to set a new all-time best for World Cup career wickets.

McGrath, wicketless at Sophia Gardens, took three in Australia's win over West Indies two days ago and now needs just two more to go above Wasim Akram's aggregate of 55 in this competition.

And Sri Lanka aim to reclaim their swashbuckling image in their World Cup Super Eights match against West Indies in Georgetown tomorrow.

"There are two points on offer, and we want to make sure we give 100 per cent and play the brand of cricket we're used to playing," Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene said.