IRELAND’S cricket team was flying out to Zimbabwe on Friday – defying UK government advice that the trip would send an “inappropriate message given the controversy surrounding President Robert Mugabe's regime.”
                          
The Irish named a 14-strong squad which includes captain William Porterfield, Andrew White, Gary Wilson and Paul Stirling -- all UK passport holders.

But because cricket is an all-Ireland sport, with players from two jurisdictions, it is an anomaly over which the quartet have no control, once Cricket Ireland took the decision to go, based on the Irish government’s support of the unity government in Zimbabwe.

White said: “With the World Cup in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka just five months away, no player is really in a position to say ‘no’ and our focus will be fully on beating Zimbabwe in their own backyard.

“It would be a tremendous boost to our confidence ahead of the World Cup and a 3-0 win in the one-day series will put us above Bangladesh in the world rankings, for the first time,” said White.”

Ireland face a Zimbabwe XI in an Intercontinental Cup tie in Harare from September 20-23, and then play three one-day internationals against Zimbabwe.

Last week, Scotland pulled out of their Intercontinental match, due to be played in Zimbabwe next month, because the British government said they were still unhappy with the slow pace of political reforms in the African country while the MCC are also refusing to send a team, which was due to double-up as a fact-finding mission because, according to British Sports Minister Hugh Robertson, “the positive signal such a tour would send would not be appropriate”.
                                                                                          
Cricket Ireland received the same message from the Foreign Office in London but the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs said, unequivocally “it supports the Unity government in Zimbabwe and has no objection to an Ireland team touring there”.

"We're currently ranked 10th in the world, above Zimbabwe, and we want to not only keep our position but close in on and possibly overhaul [ninth-placed] Bangladesh.

"The World Cup is now only five months away, and for the fringe players these fixtures represent a mammoth opportunity to convince me and the selectors that they should be on the plane to Bangladesh and India.

"I hope that they take their chance and make a name for themselves. I have most of the squad in my mind, but there's still a few places up for grabs."

Ireland’s decision to tour is a personal triumph for Sports Minister David Coltart who visited Belfast to address the Ireland squad and allay their security concerns. Coltart had embarked on a similar trip to Scotland.

Coltart compared the situation in Zimbabwe 2010 to South Africa in the early 1990s when sporting teams there were readmitted to international competition while the apartheid regime was still in power.

He told the players that everything was still not perfect, indeed there was much still wrong with the country, but political change was happening and it is positive. He believed that sport can play a constructive and healing role without legitimising what had gone before.

That, along with the blessing of the Irish government was enough to convince Cricket Ireland that they should abide by the International Cricket Council’s request and travel to the country, as the cricketers of India and Sri Lanka have already done this year.

White said: “I, personally, have no problem with going to Zimbabwe and although I admit to not knowing too much about the situation there. Having listened to Mr Coltart, in an eye-opening and frank discussion, he is in as good a position as anyone to give advice, having survived an assassination attempt and now happy to be part of the new government.

Ireland Squad (v Zimbabwe): W Porterfield (captain), A Botha, G Dockrell, A Eastwood (Pembroke), T Johnston, N Jones, J Mooney, K O'Brien, N O'Brien (wkt), A Poynter, P Stirling, A Van De Merwe, A White, G Wilson (wkt)