Trent Johnston will retire from international and representative cricket after the ICC InterContinental Cup final in Dubai in December, which takes place following the World Twenty20 Qualifiers.

Top seeds Ireland named in easier of the two groups avoiding Afghanistan, The Netherlands and Scotland.

Watching Ireland’s cricketers earn World Cup qualification with a win and a tie against the Netherlands at the beautiful VRA ground in Amstelveen showed a team working in harmony towards a joint goal.

Kevin O’Brien predicted yesterday that Ireland could find themselves playing in front of sold-out, Irish-heavy crowds of up to 30,000 at the 2015 World Cup.

In a dramatic finish Ireland tied with the Netherlands and thus ensured qualification for the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand in 2015 with two games to spare.

Without the World Cup, Irish cricket would still be rudderless and, increasingly, the World Cup would be poorer for the absence of Ireland.