After the team's historic victory over Pakistan on Saturday, it was back to work yesterday for Ireland's cricketers.

Out on the practice pitch at the Kensington Cricket Club, a short drive across town from Sabina Park, it was a light work-out and a voluntary net session before the preparation cranks up toward Friday's big clash against hosts West Indies.

The dream of a place in the Super Eights is within touching distance. All going well, the trip of a lifetime will start next week: six games, in four weeks, spread across three Caribbean islands.

Back at base, issues of a more practical nature occupied the Irish Cricket Union's (ICU) administrators.

Having planned for the two weeks in Jamaica, the logistical challenge of keeping the team on the road begins. Uppermost in the minds is where the money is going to come from to pay for it.

The success of the team is a huge boost to Irish cricket generally, and will doubtless create greater awareness for the game. But it comes with a price tag, in particular the cost of recompensing the players for time lost at work.

Apart from the handful of fully professional players in the squad, the majority are part-timers, balancing jobs at home with their cricketing commitments. Money is a pressing issue, and players must fall back on the generosity of helpful employers.

"I'm fortunate because I have a very understanding boss," says David Langdon-Smith the team's opening bowler. But it is tough to keep going back to the well."

The Ireland team have been away from home for the majority of the year. They went to South Africa for acclimatisation, before moving on to Kenya for the World Cricket League. This was followed by a four-day game in Abu Dhabi, before a two-week break at home.

From there they flew to Trinidad for the World Cup warm-up games against South Africa and Canada, and then flew to Jamaica for the tournament proper.

Following the success of the past week, Guyana, Grenada and Barbados await.

According to Warran Deutrom, chief executive of the ICU, the budget for the team takes up around 40 per cent of the union's budget, accounting for around €360,000.

"The team is our greatest asset, so it is appropriate they should be the biggest cost," he says. "But it is also true that the more successful they are the greater the strain on ICU finances."

The team's sponsor, Bank of Ireland, contributes around £70,000 (€102,335)a year, a deal that runs out at the end of the tournament. It is unfortunate for BOI that their logo is missing from the team shirts at the World Cup.

This is because the ICC have sold their sponsorship to Scotia Bank, which under the tournament's stringent ambush marketing rules, judges that BOI are a rival financial organisation and therefore "conflicted out" of the tournament.

A similar situation exists on the England shirt, where Vodafone is muscled out by tournament sponsor Hutchison.

For the period of the World Cup, the ICC pays for all flights and accommodation for the team and its officials, in addition to a $70 daily allowance for each player.

For winning against Pakistan, the team received $10,000, and $7,500 for the tied game against Zimbabwe. The losing team in the first group stage gets $5,000.

The prize money takes a big hike in the Super Eights, with the last-placed team awarded $50,000, with the tariff increasing in $50,000 increments, to the fifth-placed team taking $200,000.

The winners of the World Cup walk away with a $2,240,000 jackpot.