Monday 19th March
Clarence Hiles reports from the Caribbean...
The tragic news of Bob Woolmer's death has cast a shadow over the World Cup and especially within the Ireland camp as the former England test cricketer and accomplished coach was a great friend of the associate nations cricket and generous in defeat last Saturday. There was further sad news for the Irish camp when word got round that former ICU treasurer Cyril Irwin had suffered a stroke at the match and is in intensive care at a local hospital.
Somehow these events put sport into perspective and make Inzamman's 'retirement' announcement almost insignificant given its poor timing and lack of sensitivity.
The Ireland players are now back at their Kingston headquarters and it was business as usual for the players with early morning training. As for the officials and supporters it was a time to reflect on what has been achieved to date, what lies ahead in Guyana, Barbados and Grenada and the logistics of putting all the pieces of the jigsaw together over the next few days.
It's a problem nobody envisaged a few weeks ago but a nice one to deal with!
