Cricket Ireland President Joe Doherty will undoubtedly have enjoyed the first leg of his World Cup journey following Ireland's win over the West Indies on Monday.

The result wasn't as unexpected as it may have been to many in the past, however the North West man did get one surprise in the aftermath of the game as the squad gathered at Nelson airport to fly to Brisbane.

A young man and his wife introduced themselves to Irish Manager Roy Torrens at the terminal and indicated that the man's father had played for Strabane some years earlier.

Roy introduced the couple to the President, a lifelong player, supporter and committee member at the Tyrone club and the chance meeting proved to be the icing on the cake for Joe.

"It turns out the couple were Stuart Faulkner and his wife Sarah and they were on honeymoon from their home in Edinburgh. Stuart is the son of legendary Strabane batsman Ronnie Faulkner who has been living for many years now in Ballymoney.

"I was a teammate of Ronnie's in the sixties and seventies and he was a batting mainstay in a team that included Paddy Gillespie, Wifred Mortimer, Brendan and Daniel Donaghey and Aubrey Finlay.

"He was a Strabane boy, and although he left to live and work in Ballymoney, he continued to play for us for several years after. Ronnie was also a member of the North West team that won the first inter-provincial title in 1966.

"It would appear that cricket is still in the blood as Stuart was present at the ground to witness Ireland beat the West Indies on Monday, making it a memorable trip for everyone.

"Having flown to the other side of the world for this wonderful World Cup adventure it still seems a small world to have had the pleasure of meeting the couple in New Zealand and obviously I wanted to extend a warm greeting back to Ballymoney to the rest of the family".