Ireland face Canada at Centurion Park today, where they are strong favourites to win the one trophy that has eluded them in their years of dominance over Associate cricket. The euphoria at qualifying for the last World Cup had a little shine taken off it by losing to Scotland in the ICC Trophy final at Clontarf in July 2005.
There are just three survivors from that day still in the squad, Andrew White and former captains Trent Johnston and Kyle McCallan.
White has proved to be a key member of the side after starting the tournament as one of the water-carriers. Injuries to McCallan and Andre Botha allowed him in and he grabbed his chance – with both bat and ball.
After Friday's final Super Eight game against Kenya he talked of unfinished business: 'That's part of the job done for us. The initial goal for us was to get through to the World Cup but having done so well since the last World Cup our overall goal was to try and win the tournament. So we still have to do that.
'We believe we are the best Associate team around but in order to prove that again we need to win this tournament. So although we have qualified for the World Cup, to an extent it's still job not finished. It's important, for our own well being, that we prove we are the best Associate in all formats.
'We have played consistently throughout the tournament and we'll back ourselves to go out and put in another good performance in the final and hopefully that will be good enough on the day.' It has been a clinical performance by the Irish, with a series of difficult situations being rescued with seemingly little fuss. Despite losing Eoin Morgan, who flew to rejoin Middlesex yesterday, Ireland are strong favourites for today's final. John Davison, Canada's talismanic batsman, is still out with a groin strain while Ireland can recall ‘Davo's' old team-mate Trent Johnston, Alex Cusack and Boyd Rankin.
It was a tournament with many heroes for Ireland. The top order was so strong that the Number 7 batsman was only required twice in nine games. Will Porterfield has taken giant strides in the three years since he was first capped and is one of only four players to score 400 runs in the tournament. Eoin Morgan and the O'Brien brothers were just as consistent, while White made 166 in the four games he was required to bat. Gary Wilson had a string of ducks, and his best scores came against the weakest sides Ireland faced, but he is worth 20 runs in the field. When he looks over his shoulder he will see several young shavers keen to grab his spot in 2011.
The attack was just as professional, with all the bowlers putting their hands up at least once. Rankin's raw pace disconcerts batsmen at this level, but the back-up seamers were tight and effective. The World Cup will be held in south Asia, where spin is vital, and it was heartening that Ireland's leading wicket taker has been slow-left armer Regan West, who only came into the side at the end of last summer.
Where the 2011 event will be held is still debatable, of course, and the ICC sensibly opted to take Pakistan out of the equation on Friday. There are still huge questions to be answered by those responsible for player security in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, and it seems certain that the Blarney Army will not travel in such numbers as were seen in Jamaica.
Besides the general economic climate, the structure of the event is very different to 2007. Ireland played their group games over eight days in Kingston, allowing supporters to establish a base there or nearby. The opening round of the 2011 CWC will see two groups of seven, ensuring a chaotic set of fixtures across a vast area. At the very least it will be horrendously expensive.
One side-effect of Ireland losing with a weakened side against Kenya was that Scotland missed out on the World Cup. While some may mourn the absence of our nearest and oldest rivals, there is little warmth in the relationship between the sides and the Irish dressing room resounded with a hearty belting-out of ‘Flower of Scotland' when news came through that ‘the Jocks' were out.
The Lord's Taverners do great work supporting cricket in disadvantaged areas, and the Irish branch has made an important contribution in the few years it has been active here. On 13 May, the night before Ireland play Leicestershire at Clontarf, the Taverners host a dinner in Clontarf Castle marking the 40th anniversary of that legendary '25 all out' win over West Indies. All the surviving members of the Irish side have been invited and it promises to be a memorable evening. Tickets and further details are available from Derek Brennan at thebrennans@ireland.com.
Trinity welcome their new pro, Brad Rasool, with a fund-raising quiz in the Pavilion Bar on Tuesday night. All welcome, starts 8.30pm.
The latest issue of Cover Point is out now, and as ever there is much of interest in the magazine. There are fascinating interviews with Ginger O'Brien, Angus Dunlop and hurler Nicky English. You can also find out which member of Midleton CC's under 11s has a grandfather who played five tests for South Africa. More at www.cover-point.com