Cricket in Ireland is a minority sport, but with the country having recently qualified for the 2007 World Cup for the first time, the profile and the popularity of the game is sure to rise.

Gerard Siggins is assistant editor of the ‘Sunday Tribune’ and lifelong cricket fanatic. There are few people more passionate or informed about the game than Ger (pictured right) and this affection translates itself into a lively, utterly engaging read.

The book begins with an account of the first recorded cricket match played in Ireland.

Phoenix Park was the venue. 1792, as you might guess was the year, and the contest was between an All-Ireland selection and the Army Garrison. Incredibly, the Irish team was thought to have included one Arthur Wellesley, later to become better known as the Duke of Wellington.

The book is full of interesting anecdotes like this. You’ll get a wry smile out of reading about the exploits on a cricket pitch of such famous Irish figures as John Redmond, Charles Stuart Parnell and believe it or not, Eamon De Valera.

The Phoenix Park gains several mentions in ‘Green Days’. Just over a century ago, there were 20 cricket clubs in the park. In 2005, just two remain: Phoenix Cricket Club, the oldest cricket club in Ireland and Civil Service C.C, the second oldest.

Phoenix was unlucky enough to be hit by a stray Luftwaffe bomb on 31 May 1941.

Nobody was killed but considerable damage was done to the club’s pavilion. After the war, the German government made amends by sending a cheque of £219 to a grateful Phoenix!

Ireland’s most famous cricket success was, of course, against the mighty West Indies in 1969.

Contrary to popular misconception, it was not the amount of black stuff consumed the night before which sunk the Caribbean side, but more the cold, damp conditions in Sion Mills and the outstanding performance of Ireland’s bowling attack.

Such has been the progress of Irish cricket since 1969, that we have beaten West Indies on two occasions since with little fanfare attached.

Bringing the book right up to date, Green Days closes with an exciting account of Ireland’s World Cup qualifying campaign in the summer of this year.

There is also a chapter devoted to the history of women’s cricket in Ireland– our international team coincidentally, has made the World Cup Finals four more times than their male counterparts!

For anyone with even a passing interest in cricket in this country, ‘Green Days’ is an excellent buy. It’s on sale now at ‘Books on the Green’ in Sandymount village and other good bookshops in town.