Cricket One day tournament: Sometimes you just know things aren't going your way. Having lost to Middlesex by nine wickets at Lord's on Sunday the Irish team boarded their minibus that evening for the 50-mile journey to their hotel in west Kent.

But the trip that should have taken no more than an hour and a quarter ended up lasting about three times that as they got lost in London's one-way system.

The fact the bus was being driven by national coach Adrian Birrell can have done nothing to help his mood, already dark from what happened earlier on the field of play.

Yesterday Ireland suffered their second comprehensive defeat in two days, beaten by 83 runs against a Kent side that had been languishing at the bottom of the southern section of the C&G Trophy.

In a game drastically reduced by rain, Kent made an impressive 194 for 4 off 23 overs, smashing Ireland's bowlers to all parts of the picturesque Tunbridge Wells ground. Only skipper Trent Johnston escaped the onslaught, bowling five overs for a relatively meagre 22 runs.

But Darren Stevens and then Justin Kemp were not so kind to the rest of the Irish attack. Stevens' half-century came off 38 balls while Kemp bludgeoned 57 off just 33, including five sixes, one of which was last seen heading over the nearby county border into Sussex.

Ireland's target score was revised upwards to 206 to win once the Duckworth/Lewis method had been applied and it was vital to get off to a good start. But instead, they lost five wickets for just 16 runs, including overseas player Shahid Afridi in his final game for Ireland.

The ever-dependable Peter Gillespie did well, hitting 36 positive runs while Kyle McCallan and John Mooney put together a good partnership towards the end. But by that stage the cause was lost and when the rain interrupted play for the final time, Kent were miles ahead on Duckworth/Lewis and were duly declared the winners.

The rain pounded Tunbridge Wells after that, a damp and miserable end to a couple of days that will not go down as the finest in Irish cricket. This Ireland team must now regroup ahead of their two remaining C&G Trophy fixtures (both at home), not to mention their one-day international against England at Stormont on June 13th. Not an easy task.