Simmons relishes Grace Road final

Phil Simmons was a big favourite with the Leicestershire faithful

Former Leicestershire player Phil Simmons is looking forward to his return to Grace Road with his Ireland team next week.

Ireland face Canada in the four-day ICC Intercontinental Cup on the ground where the Trinidadian smashed 261 on his Leicestershire debut 13 years ago.

"Grace Road is like my second home," said Simmons who took over as Ireland coach after the recent World Cup.

"When I heard we were to play the final there I was a very happy man."

Simmons, who is hoping to build on the tremendous work done by previous coach Adrian Birrell, says he is optimistic that Ireland can retain the Intercontinental Cup title.

"I know the ground really well. I am very comfortable there and I will try to pass on that feeling to the players when we get there. There could not be a better venue for this match as far as I'm concerned," he said.

It has been a busy time for the Ireland team this year, playing almost non-stop since January.

After a warm-up tour to Eastern Province, South Africa, they headed straight to the ICC World Cricket League Division 1 in Nairobi.

There is a lot of tiredness involved at the moment but the players will be up for this match Ireland coach Phil Simmons

On the way home from that they stopped off in Abu Dhabi for an ICC Intercontinental Cup match, beating the United Arab Emirates in Sheikh Zayed Stadium to secure qualification for next week's final.

After a brief break, they embarked on their remarkable World Cup Odyssey that lasted nearly two months.

Then it was straight into the Friends Provident Trophy which has seen the tired and understrength Irish lose their opening four games - including an embarrassing thrashing by Gloucestershire.

"There is a lot of tiredness involved at the moment but they'll be up for this match," insists Simmons.

"I think the fact it is a four-day game will help. It is a little easier on the body playing the longer form of the game as opposed to the constant barrage of ODIs.

"As defending champions we will be anxious to retain the title and also they will want to win it for Adrian because he is the one who led them to this stage."

Simmons acknowledges that since taking over he has tapped into Birrell's knowledge and experience.

I have struggled a little bit with the fact that I can't have players available to me as much as I want Phil Simmons

"He did most of his helping me when we were in the Caribbean and now he is trying to make a new beginning and step back from things.

"But he has made it clear that he is always on the end of a phone and I have made that call a couple of times. He has been a great help to me."

The West Indian does not know a great deal about next week's opposition although he did see the Irish beat the Canadians in a World Cup warm-up game in his native Trinidad.

Simmons will minus county-tied Niall O'Brien and Boyd Rankin and injured Andre Botha in next week's decider.

O'Brien will be replaced by young Civil Service wicket-keeper Gary Wilson while Rankin's place will be taken by 27-year-old South African-born all-rounder Thinus Fourie.

"I have struggled a little bit with the fact that I can't have players available to me as much as I want but I have come to terms with that now and I have every confidence in the players coming into the team.

"Andre is a big loss to us. He bats and bowls very well and it's always going to be a disappointment to lose someone of his ability but there is nothing we can do about it."

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Ireland: Trent Johnston (captain), Jeremy Bray, William Porterfield, Eoin Morgan, Kevin O'Brien, Gary Wilson, Peter Gillespie, Andrew White, Kyle McCallan, David Langford-Smith, Thinus Fourie, Kenny Carroll, Roger Whelan. Coach: Phil Simmons.