CRICKET: Although supporters of Irish cricket know better than to count chickens - too many times in the past they have been left with nothing more than empty egg shells for their trouble - there is a tendency at the moment to view the future on the basis that Ireland have already qualified for the 2007 World Cup, even though it is still mathematically possible for them to fail.

Assuming that Ireland will take their place in the Caribbean two years from now - a dangerous assumption, I know - the question will be how best to use the extra $500,000 that the International Cricket Council will be forking out to try to develop its Associate Members who will be lining out against the top teams in the world come 2007.

There are strict guidelines for how the money must be used, but it might mean that Irish Cricket Union funds normally earmarked for development or coaching could then be redirected.

One thing is for sure : Ireland will play nine games against county opposition next season in the revamped Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy and they are entitled to two overseas players. There will be two schools of thought on this as far as Ireland are concerned.

Firstly, by bringing in two world-class performers, for example, Dwayne Bravo of the West Indies and Pakistan's Shahid Afridi (names that have already been whispered in ICU quarters), it would mean that Ireland would be far more competitive in what will be a difficult competition played by full-time professional sides.

The confidence that would come from registering a couple of wins over county opposition could be invaluable as Ireland prepared for the World Cup. Also, the influence that those top players might have on Ireland's elite performers could help the game at the top end.

However, it will be argued that the places of Bravo and Afridi (or whomever) could have gone towards developing players who will be available for the big event in 2007 and the money used to pay the stars could be better employed in bringing on the next Peter Gillespie or Ed Joyce.

Why waste money paying stars who don't care about Irish cricket and who will be playing for the opposition during the World Cup?

What may happen and, in this column's opinion, should happen is that they bring one overseas professional over as a happy compromise. They might even use the other overseas spot to blood a foreign player who is not yet eligible but will be by 2007, such as Australian-born fast-bowler David Langford-Smith, who is keen to be considered for Ireland at some stage.

The ICC windfall (to be distributed over four years) can make a huge difference to the future development of cricket here. With success comes new headaches and the ICU has a challenging time ahead as it tries to bring the game on at all levels.

The Irish Times, in association with the Irish Cricket Union, has two pairs of tickets to give away for the ICC Trophy final in Castle Avenue on Wednesday July 13th. E-mail the answer to the question below to jfitzgerald@irish-times.ie. The closing date is tomorrow (July 6th). Winners will be picked at random. One entry per person; judges' decision final.

Who were the three countries that qualified for the 2003 World Cup from the last ICC Trophy in 2001?