Vaughan's hit by yawn factor

England have been going a little stir crazy here, so much so that today’s World Cup clash against Ireland might be characterised as Celtic Tigers versus Caged Tigers.

A measure of England’s impatience

could be seen in the nets yesterday

when Andrew Flintoff flung his bat in

disgust at the end of an unsatisfactory

batting session when he was hit several

times on the hand.

Scroll down to read more:

Staying focused between the intermittent rain seems to have been a problem for a team who

have been in the Caribbean for four

weeks and who, prior to today, have had

only three meaningful days of cricket in

addition to two warm-up games.

They are desperate to get their Super

Eight campaign going and will not be

taking it easy against a side who are

this World Cup’s answer to Jamaica’s

bobsleigh team.

It is also clear they yearn to get back

to the island life of Antigua and

Barbados, where they will be joined by

the nearest and dearest — the WAGs.

Before then they have to gain the two

points that would come with a victory

over a largely amateur team buoyed by

new-found celebrity at home.

Anything else and England can kiss

goodbye to any realistic hopes of

making the semi-finals which, in this

diluted format, are still the best part of

four weeks away.

Michael Vaughan did not sound like

he was auditioning for a job with the

Guyana Tourist Board when he talked

of their stay since arriving on Sunday.

"There’s a bit of boredom factor that

can creep in," he said. "This week has

been pretty difficult with the facilities

and the boredom factor, but we feel we

are in as good a state of mind as we can

be going into this game."

England have been less than enamoured

with their practice environment

as well as the weather in this area which

is close to the rain forest.

"We’ve had a few gym sessions,

watched a few DVDs and a few of us

went to the Falls the other day, the general

kind of thing you do on tour," said

the captain.

He was probably selling the breathtaking

natural beauty of the Kaieteur

Falls a bit short and, however impoverished it is, Georgetown is a

fascinating place to walk around with

plenty of architectural gems to savour.

But England are here on business and

must ensure they dispatch a team

whom they comfortably beat by 38 runs

in Belfast last summer.

There is no reason to believe they will

not win handily and the conditions will

surely not be as lopsided as those that

facilitated the Irish upset of Pakistan.

That was a bespoke wicket for Ireland’s

seamers to bowl first on and flattened

out as the game went on, which is one

reason to dismiss suggestions there

was anything fishy about the result.

The Irish will not lack motivation or

confidence, but they will not have the

‘Blarney Army’ support they enjoyed in

Jamaica and the atmosphere will not

exactly be that experienced at Croke

Park.

Guyana’s new Providence Stadium

has all the charm of an out-of-town

shopping centre and is as soulless as

the beautiful old Bourda ground was

romantic. Sadly, one legacy of this

World Cup will be to rid the Caribbean

of two of its most wonderful international

cricket arenas — Antigua is another case — and replace them with

the modernistic and functional, built

with money donated from influenceseeking

China and India.

The one advantage of the new ground

here is that the outfield drains far more

efficiently. That may help preclude England’s

dread scenario of the weather

causing a one-pointer, but there could

be the uncertainty of the Duckworth-

Lewis formula being employed.

Vaughan was bowling in the nets yesterday,

which told both of how much

the captain’s knee has improved and of

the possibility that Jamie Dalrymple

might be restored as a second spinner.

Ireland have had injury concerns over

their Australian-born seamers, skipper

Trent Johnston and David Langford-

Smith, but they will play.

There is resentment in the minnows’

camp about the focus there has been

on the input of the ‘imports’ — Jeremy

Bray is also an Aussie and Andre Botha

is South African — who have married

and settled in Ireland.

Kyle McCallan, the Ulsterman who is

their most capped international, could

not hide his irritation. He said: "It does

annoy me. I’m not naive, we miss Trent

when he doesn’t play but I would imagine

England miss Kevin Pietersen when

he doesn’t play. There’s no difference.

"We beat Pakistan fairly and squarely. Niall O’ Brien and Boyd Rankin (heroes

with bat and ball respectively in that

game) are both born and bred Irishmen.

This talk takes away from our

achievement. The people born in Ireland

want to show they can compete at

this level and I believe we’ve done that.

"These guys (the imports) are not

mercenaries just flown in for the World

Cup; they are guys who have

contributed to Irish cricket over a

prolonged period of time."

He did not mention Ed Joyce playing

for England and may be unaware that

the family of Vaughan’s wife come from

Northern Ireland. Either way, it does

not sound like much quarter will be

given on either side.

Your guide to the boys in green

TRENT JOHNSTON, 32. Skipper and reliable seamer

who in the late nineties played first-class cricket for

New South Wales before entering into another

Australia-Irish marriage and settling in the

Republic. Calm late-order bat who steadied the

ship against Pakistan. Day job is a fabric salesman.

JEREMY BRAY, 33. Opening batsman originally from

New South Wales who played junior cricket with

Adam Gilchrist. His 115 was largely responsible for

Ireland managing the tie with Zimbabwe. Now

settled in Dublin after marrying an Irish girl, he is

a fitness instructor when cricket permits.

WILLIAM

PORTERFIELD,

22. Like the

whole Irish top

five, a left-hander

who is a former MCC

Young Cricketer and is trialling

this summer with Gloucestershire.

From Londonderry, he has made a

quick start to his international career

and was second highest run-scorer in

the recent World Cricket League

competition for associate countries.

NIALL O’ BRIEN, 24. Ireland’s

answer to Paul Nixon in that

he loves a verbal joust from

behind the stumps and will

give Joyce plenty. His

mature 72 was the key to

overhauling Pakistan in Jamaica. Has

been Geraint Jones’s busy understudy

at Kent, but with the England gloveman

out of favour and available for county

cricket his able deputy will play this

summer at Northants.

EOIN

MORGAN, 20.

Now that Ed

Joyce has

departed, the

young Dubliner is

very much the

golden boy of Irish

cricket and hopes to

follow in Joyce’s

wake. He even plays

at Middlesex with him

and, having gained a

foothold in the first team

already, has a first-class

average of 34 and 44 when

playing one-dayers for

Ireland.

ANDRE BOTHA, 31.

One of the Tipperary

Bothas (only

kidding).

A former firstclass

player with

Griqualand West in South

Africa, the Johannesburgborn

all-rounder has lived

in Ireland for eight years.

A very useful ‘death’

bowler in one-day

cricket who took two for

five in eight overs

against Pakistan. An

agricultural machinery

salesman.

KEVIN O’ BRIEN, 23. Brother of

Niall and son of Ginger, who

played 52 times for Ireland and

was captain. Another bits ‘n’

pieces player who guided them

home against Pakistan. A student

and part-time schools hockey coach.

ANDREW WHITE, 26. Failed to

make the grade in county cricket

and released last year after two

seasons at Northants. Made 40 in

43 balls against England on his

international debut at Stormont

last summer and will shortly begin work as a

PE teacher with Kyle McCallan.

KYLE MCCALLAN, 31. Ireland’s

most experienced player with

154 appearances amassed over

the last 11 years. A middle-order

batsman and off-break bowler

who teaches PE at Belfast’s

Grosvenor Grammar School and had to

obtain permission to gain another month’s

leave for the World Cup.

DAVID LANGFORD-SMITH, 30.

Accurate opening bowler of brisk

medium pace and another who

has found his way from New South

Wales to Ireland. Works as an

agricultural machinery delivery

driver but supplements his income by

coaching cricket part-time.

BOYD RANKIN, 22. At 6ft 7in, the

part-time farmer and student is

the tallest bowler in the

tournament and used his height

to good effect in taking three for

32 against Pakistan. A genuine

prospect, he has been signed up by

Derbyshire for this summer after being

rejected by Middlesex.

12TH MAN JOHN MOONEY, 25. From a big cricket family

in North Dublin — it is a game often passed down between

the generations in Ireland — his brother Paul is also in

the squad. A qualified electrician who bowls

right-arm medium and bats left-handed.