Yesterday, the amateur four-nations tournament in North Wales became more of a double whammy event than a Triple Crown campaign for Ireland.

The previous day, England and Scotland at least got a result in an actual match; yesterday, for the second time running, just the same five players of Ireland's squad were involved in a bowlout against the Scots, who won it by - hold your breath - 4-3.

The contest had to be switched from Brymbo CC to Northop Hall CC, as the first-named ground was under water. Northop wasn't much better, but a less swamp-like area than the main square was eventually found in the outfield and, to recap, five players from each side bowled two deliveries each against unprotected stumps.

Ireland's successful bowlers were Andrew White with one hit and Angus Dunlop with two, while Gordon Cooke, Matt Dwyer and Kyle McCallan failed to break the stumps. So did Craig White for Scotland, but James Brinkley, Keith Sheridan, David Cox and George Salmond had one strike each, which was enough for victory, if that's the right word.

Also at Northop Hall, the England-Wales bowl-out ended 4-4. Later, as the Irish Cricket Union selectors and officials whiled away the remainder of the day playing cards, and the players, with coach Ken Rutherford, went on a (we hope) educational tour of nearby historic Chester, we learned that administrators from the North Wales Cricket Association had been standing by through the morning at Colwyn Bay CC, where the weather was good and the pitch playable.

Now, how about that for organisation and communication from the hosts? Meantime, the weather forecast being grim, a decision whether to call off today's matches will be taken this morning.