Ireland’s 2001 ICC Trophy campaign wasn’t one of their more memorable ones as they missed out on a World Cup place finishing a lowly eighth, and also saw a player being sent home following a ‘frank exchange of views’ with their Head Coach.

Reporting on the highs and lows was the Irish Times cricket correspondent James Fitzgerald, who played club cricket for YMCA in Dublin.

James Fitzgerald©CricketEurope

Already a man down, the Irish were further hampered by injuries as the tournament progressed, so much so that they were down to just 11 fit players for their game against Canada.

When further misfortune saw a player having to leave the field, James donned the whites of Ireland acting as 12th man.

Irish Times readers couldn’t accuse James of not getting close enough to the action!

James Fitzgerald©CricketEurope

The photos here show him on duty again for Ireland, when he carried the drinks on at Clontarf against Namibia in an InterContinental Cup game.

James went on to work for the ICC before taking a position with WADA.