The International Cricket Council (ICC) Twenty-20 World Cup Trophy is on a four-month tour of the 14 countries which have qualified for the Twenty-20 finals in India in 2016. This, of course, includes Ireland. The World Cup Trophy has been touring Ireland over the past 2 days. The only school it visited was Castleknock College, where cricket is going from strength to strength. The picture shows the cup, surrounded by young cricketers from the college.
Cricket in Ireland is going through a remarkable revival. The international side has had some amazing successes in qualifying for World Cups – as well as some spectacular victories – notably over England in the 2011 World Cup. The number of cricket club members has increased three-fold in recent years from 13,000 to over 40,000. The Irish Women’s team has also qualified for the Twenty-20 Women’s World Cup 2016, which will also be held in India.
Let’s hope things go well for the male and female cricketers in India next year.