LONDON, May 23: Ireland’s former coach Adrian Birrell, who enjoyed so much success at the recently held World Cup, has been selected to coach an all-star European line-up in a fixture against MCC at Lord’s on June 7.

“It is a great honour for me to be selected in this role,” Birrell said. “Since arriving in Ireland in 2001, I have learned a lot about Associate cricket and I really think there is huge potential for development within the next tier of the international game.

“The performances of Ireland and other supposedly weaker teams during the World Cup have shown that the gap between the best and the next best is closing, although there is still a long way to go.”

This will be the second time that the MCC have played this fixture. In 2006 the MCC won by five wickets at the VOC Cricket Club in Rotterdam Admission to Lord’s for the match will be free.—Agencies