ON CRICKET:LIKE HIS predecessor, Ireland coach Phil Simmons is a notoriously bad spectator when it comes to watching his side in battle. The relaxed Caribbean exterior may remain, but underneath he admits to going through the full gamut of emotions, writes EMMET RIORDAN

At least he still can still watch, unlike former coach Adrian Birrell, who found some of Ireland’s World Cup matches so emotionally draining that he sought refuge in the dressingroom and followed play on television.

Simmons may have been tempted to find a quiet spot at the Rose Bowl on Monday in a bid to escape the carnage on the pitch as Hampshire racked up 198 runs off the final 20 overs of their innings.

Zimbabwean Seán Ervine and Michael Carberry both recorded personal one-day bests in an unbeaten third-wicket stand of 260, scoring 134 of those in the final 10 overs as Ireland conceded over 300 runs for the second time in the campaign.

Simmons was well aware of Ervine’s prowess from his time as coach of Zimbabwe, while the irony that the all-rounder qualifies to play for Hamsphire as an Irish passport holder through the grandparent rule will not be lost on the coach.

With just 19 days to go before Ireland take on Bangladesh in their opening Twenty20 World Cup fixture, it is safe to say that Simmons’s concerns will be focused on his bowling line-up.

The fact that Andre Botha still has to pass a final fitness test and will only play in the tournament as a batsman is a huge loss to Ireland’s bowling armoury.

His brilliant spell of two wickets for five runs from eight overs played a key part in the World Cup victory over Pakistan, while he was the top wicket-taker for Ireland in the Twenty20 qualifiers in Belfast last August.

The main problem for Simmons has been the form of his back-up bowlers, who have failed to make a mark in what has been admittedly a disjointed Friends Provident Trophy campaign.

In that respect the announcement that Ireland will play an extra three warm-up games and partake in a training camp in the build-up to the start of the tournament comes as a big boost.

The games against New Zealand, West Indies and a PCA XI, along with the two official warm-up games against The Netherlands and a second clash with the Windies will give Simmons the time to get things in order.

And they will need to be up to speed for the Bangladesh game as it represents their only realistic opportunity of qualifying for the Super Eights stage. An Indian side defending their title and with players primed by two months of IPL action will surely be too strong in the second group game.

The one big plus to come out of Monday’s 77-run defeat was the excellent innings of Kevin O’Brien, who hit 94 from 75 deliveries, just missing out on a century when he was caught going for a seventh six.

With Eoin Morgan lost to England, O’Brien could be the key man with the bat for Ireland in the World Cup. His aggressive approach to the game has earned him a long-term trial at Nottinghamshire and the fact that he is expected to play in their upcoming Twenty20 fixtures will be beneficial to Ireland, especially gaining more experience of the conditions at Trent Bridge.

Meanwhile, the 20th edition of the Irish Cricket Annual which has just been published manages to pack into its 96 pages a memorable 12 months for the game here.

With full reports, scorecards and pictures from Ireland’s successes in the World Cup qualifying campaign, Intercontinental Cup, European Championship and the Twenty20 qualifiers, it is available from Cricket Ireland’s website (www.cricketireland.org) at a cost of €6.

Possibility of taking on Zimbabwe welcomed

IRELAND WILL have the added incentive of earning part of the €183,500 in prize money on offer when they begin the campaign for a fourth straight Intercontinental Cup title later this summer, writes Emmet Riordan .

The International Cricket Council (ICC) announced yesterday that prize money will be offered for the first time in the competition that was set up to offer Associate nations exposure to multi-day cricket.

The winners of the event will pocket €73,500, while the runners-up will earn €29,500.

An outright win in matches will be worth €2,200 to participating teams.

Ireland may face a tougher challenge this time around after the ICC confirmed that they are in talks with Zimbabwe about their inclusion in the 2009-2010 campaign as the African country seek to return to Test-playing status.

The competition is to be expanded to two divisions, with Ireland being joined by Canada, Kenya, The Netherlands, Scotland and Afghanistan, while Zimbabwe’s inclusion would make it a seven-team top flight.

The United Arab Emirates, Namibia, Bermuda and Uganda will make up the second division.

Cricket Ireland chief executive Warren Deutrom welcomed both the added prize money and the possible chance to play against Zimbabwe in the new-look competition.

“It’s a fantastic development. I think the ICC is delighted with the fact that we clearly take the event seriously and invest sufficient resources to make sure we are successful. The results that we have achieved testify to that, so a degree of recognition is important and it certainly gives an added incentive for what is clearly a very important tournament,” said Deutrom.

Meanwhile, Ireland complete their Friends Provident Trophy campaign today when they take on Worcestershire at New Road.