Madam, - As someone who has spent a lifetime involved in cricket in Yorkshire and who has strong business links in Ireland, may I send my sincere congratulations to the Irish cricket team on two wonderful matches against Zimbabwe and Pakistan, even though they did little for my nerves.
It was great to see so many supporters at the games. May they continue to support both the national team and their local teams this coming summer, thus ensuring the continued success of cricket in Ireland. - Yours, etc,
KEITH H. MOSS, Pudsey, Yorkshire, England.
Madam, - I am a blue-blooded Pakistani with a lot of love of your countrymen. I lived with an Irish in New York and also had the pleasure of being another Irish's room-mate in Washington. You deserved every bit of the victory in Jamaica. You played for the love of the game and the love of your country. I would gladly have the behind of my country brutalised by the Irish any day. Perhaps this way some of your qualities can rub off them. - Yours, etc,
ISFANDYAR KHAN, Islamabad, Pakistan.
Madam, - On St Patrick's Day Ireland's part-timers put cricketing giant Pakistan out of the World Cup in the biggest upset in the history of the tournament. This was due in no small part to the performance of Dublin brothers Niall and Kevin O'Brien and to the wonderful support of the fans. The Jamaican TV commentator said: "If you are watching this in Ireland you must be on the floor, as we are on the edge of our seats."
But most of us in Ireland weren't watching. RTÉ, where were you? No live coverage was bad enough - but not even any highlights (and there were plenty)? I know that the match clashed with important (i.e. lucrative) events such as You're a Star, but with a public service remit surely a small portion of the licence fee could have gone on a couple of tickets to Jamaica. - Yours, etc,
ELEANOR FITZSIMONS, Upper Kilmacud Road, Dublin 14.
Madam, - At the end of the Six Nations rugby extravaganza I would like to congratulate the Irish team on great performances in all of their matches and for proving themselves as real contenders for the big prize instead of the also-rans that we used to be. - Yours, etc,
JANE COFFEY, Barrowford, Lancashire, England.
Madam, - Eighty minutes is clearly now 80 minutes. To allow France to score in the last three minutes was unfortunate. To allow Italy a try at 83 minutes was a disaster. Goodbye grand slam, followed by goodbye championship. - Yours, etc,
DAVID J. FLYNN, Ulverton Road, Dalkey, Co Dublin.