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Robin Walsh is the Cricket Ireland President for the year 2013. Robin’s second diary talks about the visit of the Australians to Belfast for a thrilling encounter at Stormont that had it all on and off the pitch.
There are no more popular tourists to these shores than the Australians and their “A” side, containing seven of the forthcoming Ashes squad, proved no exception during their week long sojourn in Belfast.

The weather may have been unkind to their four-day game against an Ireland XI at Stormont yet sporting declarations and three centuries – not least one in 63 balls from the Australian opener Nic Maddinson – made for fine cricket and just reward for the patience of the less than large crowds.

Ireland lost by 93 runs but the sense was that cricket had won as both teams relaxed together privately over post- match refreshments. And there was no more relaxed figure than one Rodney Marsh, the legendary wicket-keeper batsmen with 96 Australian Tests to his name, now aged 65 and one of his country’s three selectors.

Time may have slowed him down, due mainly to a knee replacement, but has not diminished his liking of a fine wine and a “real Irish Guinness” which go hand in hand with splendid reminiscences in his soft-spoken way: none more so than one of the most famous bets in sporting history.

It was the Ashes Test at Headingly in 1981 when such was the hopeless England cause that late in the game the odds against them winning were 500-1. It was a temptation that neither Marsh nor Dennis Lillie could resist and the team coach driver placed £5 for the former and £10 for the latter. What happened, of course, is Ashes history as the miraculous batting of Ian Botham and bowling of Bob Willis saw England to victory.

You believe Marsh implicitly when he tells you it was the only bet he never wanted to win and a chunk of the money went on a set of golf clubs and a family holiday in Australia – including hotels – for the coach driver.

One of the delights of taking the Presidential blazer strolling round the boundary line is chatting to some seriously interesting people: like David and Josie Judson who hail from the West Midland of England.

Their hobby is visiting grounds which have staged first class matches in the UK, Ireland and Holland and the trip to Stormont took them over the 400 mark. And if that’s not enough they’ve been to every racecourse in the UK and Ireland and every football ground in all divisions of the English Football League down to the Conference League. We promised to meet again at the big RSA Ireland v England game at the newly-expanded Malahide ground on September 3.

Equally rewarding was the stroll around the delightful Eglinton ground during the recent nail-bitter that was the North-West v NCU three-dayer in the excellent RSA Inter-Provincials. It was a pleasure to meet Holly Streak, girlfriend of Lisburn’s Craig Ervine and daughter of that excellent Zimbabwe opening bowler Heath Streak. I regaled her with her father’s exploits on the same ground back in 2003 when he decimated Ireland’s top order. She was best pleased.

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