Welcome return: AB de Villiers has fond memories of playing in Ireland © Getty Images

The links between Ireland and South Africa go back a long way. During the match on Sunday, Alan, a young man from Cape Town, who now lives in Cork (Southern Ireland), had spent fours on a train getting to Dublin then another three on a coach getting to Belfast to come and watch South Africa.

He wasn’t amused to see the rain fall for five hours. “If I don’t see anything, I’ll be a bit miffed,” he said. In the end the weather relented in time for a 31-over match, but Alan had to leave to catch his return journey back to Cork where he works as a newspaper sub.

On the field there were two more South Africans with strong Irish connections. The opening partnership of AB de Villiers and Morne van Wyk will have felt right at home in the cold, blustery Stormont weather. de Villiers filled his boots while playing for Carrickfergus in the Irish leagues – once striking back-to-back double centuries (233 and 208) over a weekend – while van Wyk churned out the runs for Instonians.

"I shall never forget my experience with Carrickfergus,” de Villiers said before arriving in Belfast. “It was really the first time I had left home and although it was for a short period it gave me an independence and self confidence that helped me a lot in my cricket career."

Vernon Philander, who took 4 for 12 on his ODI debut on Sunday, was due to keep the Irish-South African connection going by playing in their Friends Provident campaign before a stress fracture of the back ruled him out. It is a situation where both sides can benefit because it’s a vital boost for Irish cricket to attract young, upcoming players as it will improve the standard of cricket, while the players themselves learn valuable lessons.

	Plenty of hand-clapping was needed in Belfast...to keep warm © Getty Images

Scores level

Two of the umpires on duty in Ireland this weekend are Billy Bowden and Aleem Dar, who have been punished for their role in the World Cup fiasco by not being considered for the Twenty20 World Championships in South Africa. And, for a while, at the end of the India’s nine-wicket win over Ireland, it appeared Bowden may have cocked up again.

Thinus Fourie bowled a wide that, according to the TV, took India to their Duckworth-Lewis target of 171. However, the match went on for another delivery, which Ganguly guided to third man and ran two. Bowden then signalled the end of the match and everyone shook hands.

Initially there was confusion as the scoreboard and TV totals didn't add up. Then it came to light that Billy had been right all along it had been TV which had caused the confusion. Should we ever have doubted him?

Wonderful weather

Summer has taken its annual leave across the UK and the Indians certainly felt the cold snap during their first match. Sweaters, and plenty of them, were the order of the day for the fielders while the slips prayed that nothing too quick flew their way.

Sourav Ganguly did well to cling onto a hot chance off Dominick Joyce’s edge but, between the innings, Ramesh Powar, one of the non-playing squad members, was less impressive during some fielding drills. Three times he failed to get underneath a high catch and he won’t be auditioning for backward point any time soon.

When India batted the team huddled in their pitch-side tent, clapping each boundary probably more in an attempt to keep warm than anything else. Rahul Dravid and Yuvraj Singh were glad they were the next two men in as it meant they could sit with their pads on.

Taxi knowledge

It’s always a useful sign to gauge how big an event is by what the taxi drivers know. The journey from the airport on Saturday wasn’t too inspiring as a request to go to “the cricket ground at Stormont” elicited a response of “who’s playing today.” The signs didn’t improve when he couldn’t find the right entrance to the ground.

So it was pleasing on Sunday morning to have a conversation about Irish cricket with another cab driver on the way to the match involving South Africa. His father had played club cricket for 40 years and the driver’s dream was “to go to Australia and watch a Test at the MCG.”