"Is Barrack Obama coming with you and Roy?"

That was the question posed by James Carolan, a native of County Clare during the 2011 World Cup in Bangladesh.

He and and his wife Leah had been invited by us out to dinner at one of the top restaurants in Dhaka, close to the diplomatic quarter where they lived.

James and Roy Carolan with Barry Chambers and Roy Torrens

Leah was a HR specialist at Chevron Oil, while James had stepped down from a successful plumbing business to temporarily become a stay at home husband to look after their young son and Barney the dog.

The pair had been very helpful to me in the build up to the opening games of the tournament which would see India and Ireland both playing the hosts in Dhaka.

Security was incredibly tight as there were some tensions in the region and the Bangladesh government were wary of any incidents which would detract from the biggest sporting event in their country's history.

Bangladesh security in the Ireland team hotel corridor looking after Andrew White

Ireland and India were being guarded by the country's Special Security Force (SSF) - a Bangladeshi law enforcement agency that provides protection to government officials and foreign dignitaries.

These guys were 'bad ass' and had been in training for the World Cup for almost two years.

So having been 'locked down' at the hotel for a week, myself and Roy were surprised when they agreed to let us travel out of the compound for dinner with the Carolans.

However, it soon transpired that the SSF were using our dinner as a training exercise.

The first indication came when an hour before we were due to pick them up, I got the call and the question about Obama from James.

The SSF had travelled to their street, closing it off from all directions, and proceeded to do a sweep of all the houses and gardens of their neighbours.

Keeping a close watch on Ireland Team Manager Roy Torrens

There was more.

When we arrived at the restaurant, expecting it to be bustling on normally their busiest day of the week, we found it deserted with half eaten meals all over the shop and curious waiters and cooks peeking anxiously out of the kitchen.

We were taken to the rooftop area where a table had been set out. Snipers and special commandoes surrounded all vantage points and we sat down to eat.

Eventually James was able to find out from the manager that the SSF had stormed the restaurant and threw everybody out as there were special VIPs coming.

They were expecting the President of the USA or maybe Sachin Tendulkar to be sampling their chicken curry. Instead they got Roy and myself...

I think the bewildered staff spent the entire meal trying to work out just who the hell we were.

I told James to tell them we were Irish royalty - I didn't fancy getting poisoned if they really knew we were just two eejits from Derry …