Platform:The journey taken by Ireland's cricket team in 2007 was arguably the sporting story of the year. In March, they went to Jamaica to compete in the ICC Cricket World Cup for the first time, writes  Richard Gillis.

They were rank outsiders to qualify from their group, but they famously beat Pakistan, watched by hundreds of supporters draped in green and orange on St Patrick's Day. The team finished the tournament as the 10th ranked international one-day team in the world.

When they came home through Dublin airport, John O'Donoghue, the then sports minister, stood to welcome them and promised cricket a new home ground.

A day later Bertie Ahern chased them around the ballroom of the Shelbourne Hotel at the official reception, telling everyone who would listen that he had watched the games in his local pub, where the cricket crowded out the dogs and racing. Martin McGuinness told of his long-time devotion to the game at a similar do at Stormont.

In an interview I did with him, the Deputy First Minister recalled his wife coming down in the middle of the night to find him sitting in his pyjamas watching the cricket from the Caribbean (an odd one because the games finished at 9.30pm Irish time).

The team were guests on the Late Late Show and, at one point, the prospect of an open- topped bus ride through Dublin looked a realistic possibility.

Behind the scenes, however, things were going less well. Despite the enormous media attention the team received, the people who run cricket in Ireland, the Irish Cricket Union (ICU), was struggling to make ends meet. Rather than being a cash bonanza, the World Cup left the ICU virtually bankrupt.

The cost of keeping the players on the road for most of the year was taking its toll. The prize money for winning through to the second round of the World Cup amounted to about €75,000, which was split between the players and the coaching staff.

Throughout the last two years, the team was sponsored by Bank of Ireland, which paid about €70,000 to be on the shirt. Despite the most high- profile year in Irish cricketing history, the bank has decided not to renew its deal.

One reason for this is that throughout the World Cup, which reached a huge global audience on television, the sponsor's logo was not on the front of the shirt. The bank was "conflicted out", because the ICC, the world governing body, had sold its own sponsorship of the event to Scotiabank.

The ICC compounded Ireland's problem by signing up a financial services partner full- time, meaning Bank of Ireland would have no exposure at any ICC events.

The example of Irish cricket highlights the quandary that many smaller sports have in making ends meet. When the sports business is discussed, it is usually the Premier League, the Olympics or the Fifa World Cup that take centre stage, all able to reap huge sponsor rights fees and broadcast deals.

These lucky few skew the picture. Most sports are not in this league. They are eking out a living, trying to convince the marketing community to support them in their bid for survival.

Warren Deutrom, the chief executive of the ICU, is bringing an innovative approach to the problem. He has recognised that changes to the structure of cricket throughout Ireland are required if the profile of this year is not to be squandered.

He is not just battling a tough advertising market. He has difficult neighbours, too. This summer, Deutrom negotiated for India and South Africa to play a triangular tournament in Belfast, a real coup and potential money-spinner. The weather and the apathy of the locals meant this lost money.

It also led to a spat with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), which saw Ireland's growth as a potential threat to their own television deals. The ECB was close to throwing Ireland out of the annual Friends Provident Trophy, a position from which it has since backed away.

The extent of the rapprochement can be seen by a new deal that sees England playing Ireland more regularly over the next few years, and the national team playing in a new revamped FP Trophy next year. The first game of the season is live on Sky Sports.

There is real opportunity for a commercial partner to make a splash here, at a price point below the GAA, elite rugby and soccer. The Irish have become a welcome new addition to the international scene.

Currently two of the World Cup team, Niall O'Brien and Boyd Rankin, are playing in a big-money event in India. The emergence of Twenty20 Cricket is a huge plus: the first T20 World Cup final was watched by 400 million people two months ago. Twenty20 levels the playing field between the top pros and the rest, is portable and is pulling in the crowds. For a sponsor looking to create a stir, have access to the players and provide clients with an evening out, it could work well.

So, next year may not match this one for shocks, but there is certainly room for optimism.