IT'S BEEN a good winter for cricket fans. First, there was the test series in South Africa, then the World Cup and, finally, for those with a large appetite, the Kiwis tour of the Caribbean has also been televised more than enough to chew on.

Of course, there's a world of difference between snuggling up in front of the box with a cup of cocoa and actually venturing out into the April muck and rain with your team mates. Sky Sports, may have succeeded in shortening the gap between the end of one reason and the beginning of the next, but it seems a bit soon to be actually playing.

In fact, a few of the keener ones have been out already. A rather plump looking CYM team were to be seen in College Park last Sunday, preparing for next Saturday's Beckett Cup final with a 30 over friendly against the students. And other sides braved the elements on Saturday. A few more looseners this weekend and then the league begins in earnest.

Which league? Unfortunately, Wiggins Teape and Belvedere Bond have withdrawn their sponsorships, and so for the moment, it's simply the "50 Overs" League to begin with, and the "Senior League", with promotion and relegation, later in the season.

There will be a few other, more welcome changes this summer. Cork County have been included in the 50 over league, a move which will benefit some talented young cricketers and help the development of the game in Munster. For those who were wondering, the Paddy Tynan who was recently named as club captain for the season is the same Paddy Tynan who used to keep wicket for Old Belvedere. But the rumour that Zimbabwean test player Paul Strang had been hired as the club professional has since been quashed.

All but three of the 16 clubs will avail of the services of an overseas player/professional, and quite a few of these have previous experience of Dublin cricket. Trent Johnston (Carlisle), Andre Botha (Clontarf), Paul Cron (Leinster), Justin Benson (Malahide), Wim Jansen (Pembroke), Graham Charlesworth (Phoenix) and Nazir Shaukat (Rush) all return, although Charlesworth will only be available for the Senior League, which begins late in June.

So far, there have been five new arrivals: Australians Glenn Prouten (Old Belvedere) and Simon Milton (Railway Union), along with South Africans Justin McClaren (Merrion), Richard Beukes (North County) and Abre Berger (YMCA).

It would be unwise to make any predictions about trophy winners or promotion and delegation candidates before these newcomers are well and truly settled. However, Clontarf will struggle to repeat their huge successes of last season, when they completed a league and cup double. Skipper Jonathan Fitzpatrick has been transferred overseas, while Angus Hancock and Seamus Boylan have also gone abroad. Ronan O'Reilly, their most talented youngster, has decided to play his cricket with Trinity for the first half of the season, and so Brian MacNeice, captain in place of Fitzpatrick, has a job on his hands.

There have been a few other transfers worth noting. Conor Hoey, captain of CYM last year, has decided to return to College Park, where he will act as Trinity's player/ coach. John Hafty (Phoenix) and Steve Cullen (Leinster) have joined CYM to ease their light somewhat. Leinster, captained again by Clive Colleran, have secured the services of Mark Topping, who opened the bowling for Lisburn last reason.