With Ireland's recent promotion to Test cricket people may be interested in this slim booklet covering those that have represented Ireland in a first-class match, those who have represented Ireland in a non-first-class match and those who represented Dublin University in a first-class match (including Samuel Beckett, still the only Nobel Prize winning first-class cricketer).

This is a fairly basic guide to Irish cricketers and their first-class stats (Beckett 35 runs at 8.75, highest score 18), as well as listing the opposition in non-first-class matches they played (the Australians played them seven times from 1938-1977 while I Zingari fronted up 27 times between 1859 and 1906).

Why didn't Beckett write a play about cricket? "Irish cricketers: 1855-1980" doesn't supply an answer, sadly. ( )