Irish board to be known as Cricket Ireland

The newly-constituted Irish board cricket met for the first time this week, and announced that the trading name of Irish Cricket Union Ltd will now be Cricket Ireland.

"The initial recommendation, made last year, following an in-depth review into ICU governance structures by external consultants, was that a change of name should take place as part of a rebranding exercise to highlight the changes taking place behind the scenes in Irish Cricket," explained Warren Deutrom, the chief executive. "This name style is consistent with the change made by other cricket boards around the world and this new streamlined identity reflects what we hope is a more dynamic and professional approach to running the sport in Ireland."

The board confirmed that Belfast and Dublin would host the ODI matches against England in 2009 and 2011. "A huge amount of work goes into organising matches of this scale, and it is important to provide certainty to the respective hosts to proceed with their planning," Deutrom said. "It was determined that the venue in Stormont, as currently our largest capacity cricket venue, provides the best opportunity for the largest number of Irish fans to watch the match.

"By 2011, it is expected that the new cricket venue due to be constructed in Dublin will have come to fruition, and will be an excellent host for this prestigious match."