Cork, the All-Ireland hurling champions, dominate the 1999 Eircell All Star nominations, with 13 of the side included in the preliminary list.

The two omissions are, curiously, the midfield pairing of Mickey O'Connell and Mark Landers, who captained the Cork team.

While O'Connell, in particular, ignited Cork's emergence from Munster, they were both ultimately squeezed out of contention by the resounding strength of other county pairings such as Clare's Ollie Baker and Colin Lynch and the Kilkenny duo Denis Byrne and Andy Comerford. The Offaly partnership of Johnny Dooley and Johnny Pilkington are also represented.

Brian Corcoran, a candidate for the hurler of the year, would appear to be a virtual certainty when it comes to choosing the final 15 and at least two of his Cork defensive colleagues seem destined to make the grade this year also. The presence of the six Cork forwards gives a nod to a set of young players who persistently defied general expectation from the Munster final onwards, with Seanie McGrath and Joe Deane particularly illuminating.

In general, the nominations are dominated by players who featured in the latter stages of the All-Ireland championship. The entire Cork back and forward lines have been put forward and Brian Quinn is - perhaps unluckily - the sole omission from the Clare back lines. Both Simon and Brian Whelahan from Offaly have, as expected, made the preliminary list and each has made a strong case for inclusion in the All Star team, which will be announced in December.

Kilkenny, beaten in the All-Ireland final, have 11 nominations, including wunderkind Henry Shefflin, who constantly impressed in the face of spiralling hype.

The representation from Offaly, last year's champions, has been slashed to six but both Kevin Kinahan and Brian Whelahan are in contention for a consecutive All Star award. The only Offaly forward included is John Troy, whose display in the semi-final loss to Cork was one of the most memorable aspects of the summer fare.

Galway's fairly slim return of three nominations is scarcely an accurate reflection of the abundance of hurling talent in the county but does highlight their inability to make an impact at championship level in recent years. Cathal Moore has been chosen from the defenders - Paul Hardiman can consider himself unlucky not to be keeping him company - while Alan Kerins accompanies marksman Eugene Cloonan as the flag-bearers for the Galway forwards.

The obvious absentee would appear to be Joe Rabbitte, who had a magnificent game in the drawn All-Ireland semi-final against Clare.

While the nominations are almost totally dictated by the semi-final stages of the championship, there are a few notable exceptions. Niall Rigney, the Laois defender who starred at centre forward in the Leinster semi-final against Kilkenny, wins a place in the forwards list while Thomas Dunne, who fired Tipperary to the National League title this year, also appears. It will be interesting to see if either of these pair feature in the real shake-up.

Seven of the 1998 All Star team, just recently returned from Boston, have earned nominations. They are Willie O'Connor of Kilkenny, the Clare quartet of Anthony Daly, Jamesie O'Connor, Ollie Baker and Sean McMahon, and Kinahan and Brian Whelahan of Offaly.

The All Star team will be announced at the annual banquet in December; the only certainty is that the relative strongholds of Waterford, Limerick and Wexford will have little to cheer about, something which will serve as a mid-winter reminder of their joyless summer.