KINGSTON, March 17: Take a bow Vanessa, Geraldine and Maebh, the unheralded stars of the Irish cricket team. Without them, Ireland may not have managed their thrilling last ball World Cup tie against Zimbabwe.

Irish girls all, Vanessa is the wife of skipper Trent Johnston, Geraldine is married to batsman Jeremy Bray, who made an unbeaten 115 in Thursday's match, while Maebh met Dave Langford-Smith when the bowler travelled to Ireland to attend Bray's wedding.The common link? Johnston, Bray and Langford-Smith are all Australian.

Johnston met Vanessa when he was playing club cricket in Leinster but then moved to Sydney.

However, the couple returned to Ireland where Johnston was entitled to an Irish passport through marriage.

He then announced himself as an international player when he took two wickets in Ireland's famous win over the West Indies two years ago.

“Ireland is home now. I love the lifestyle – the weather's different but the people are just as laid back,” Johnston told the Sunday Tribune newspaper.

Bray was Australian player of the year at under-19 level and played youth tests for his country.

He played for New South Wales but went to Ireland when girlfriend, Geraldine, returned to care for her seriously ill father.

Langford-Smith arrived in Ireland for Bray's wedding and met Maebh.

“We went home for our honeymoon in December 2005 and after a few weeks I started to feel homesick – for Ireland,” said the bowler.

The trio's odyssey enjoyed a glorious stopping-off point here on Thursday with Ireland's last ball tie in the country's first World Cup match.

“We have played quite a few games which have gone to the last ball or the last over,” said Man-of-the-Match Bray, the 12th opening batsman to carry his bat in a World Cup game.

“But the skipper has always told us to keep fighting and fighting even when our backs are to the wall.”—AFP