CRICKET: Fans of horse racing, greyhounds, rugby, GAA and soccer are used to being able to wander into their local bookmakers and place a couple of euro on their favourite team, nag or dish-licker.
Followers of English cricket can also avail of the latest prices on how much Andrew Flintoff will make or what colour Kevin Pietersen will dye his hair.
Those of us, however, who spend time around cricket on this island, particularly south of the Border, don't normally see odds in turf accountants' windows, so when it does happen, you can be sure there will be plenty of interest.
The Irish Times has been in touch with Paddy Power to get odds for the ICC Trophy, which gets underway on Friday when Ireland take on Bermuda in Stormont. Unfortunately, the bookies are not offering great value, making Ireland fairly short favourites at 9 to 4. In my reckoning, that is a little miserly and somewhat ambitious; I would have thought 3 or even 4 to 1 would give a more realistic indication of their chances.
A better bet might be for the reigning champions, Netherlands, or Scotland, who are both coming in at 7 to 2, but in terms of an outright bet on the winner it might be worth putting a few bob on the UAE at 5 to 1. The Emirates won this competition in Kenya in 1994 and, though they have not developed as rapidly as many thought they might, they should still bring a decent side over with them.
That said, it is impossible to predict what the UAE will be like in Irish conditions, so taking a gamble on them with your hard-earned cash would be just that.
In terms of outsiders, Denmark could be a good each-way bet at 33 to 1 but, for the serious punter, you might be better off remortgaging the house and putting it all on Ireland to come in the top five and thus qualify for the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies.
Paddy Power are offering 1 to 4 on Ireland featuring in the Caribbean and that looks about right. Just don't come crying to me if it all falls through like it did four years ago in Toronto.
• More tales of unusual scoring in the ranks of junior cricket. I got a great one from Frank Johnstone, who used to play for Pembroke CC. In 1944, Frank was playing in an under-19 final against Phoenix at Rathmines and they hit 450 for five declared with captain Stanley Bergin making a double hundred.
Frank remembers it well as he was the next man in but never got to bat. Incidentally, Pembroke bowled Phoenix out for 50-odd.
• The Irish Times, in association with the Irish Cricket Union, has two pairs of tickets to give away for the ICC Trophy final in Castle Avenue on Wednesday July 13th.
Answer the question below and e-mail it to jfitzgerald@irish-times.ie. Closing date is Wednesday July 6th. Winners will be picked at random. One entry per person.
Which three countries qualified for the 2003 World Cup from the last ICC Trophy in 2001?
