…might seem self destructive, but it is a bold decision that sends out the right message as to where the Ireland team is at present, and where it wants to be. Positioning rather than posturing, is what Cricket Ireland is all about these days, if we are to become a serious player in the big arena. There’s no point playing with an understrength national team against fulltime county professionals, some of whom are Ireland players, and get hammered for the privilege. Countries that have international ambitions should focus on international competitions, and the annual mismatches against the counties do little to promote Cricket Ireland on the world stage. We have a long way to go to climb up the ladder, but playing in the Pro40 doesn’t achieve anything other than exposure to a high standard of competitive cricket. That has a benefit with your strongest team, but this can’t happen, so boxing with your hands tied behind your back is not a smart approach.
The invitation to play in the Pro40 might have seemed a straightforward replacement for the loss of the exposure and experience of the Friend’s Provident games, but as National Coach Phil Simmons has said, there are plenty of games in the 2010 itinerary to fill the gap and achieve the cricket objectives he has planned for the future of Irish cricket. Obviously there is a high emphasis on the A team and the Under 19 team, so we have to assume the need for interprovincials has all but disappeared. Looking inside the box, big Phil is really saying that the two stepping stones into the full Cricket Ireland squad will be either through the youth structure up to and including Under 19 team, and then through the A team. This is already working well, as evidenced by the A team and Under 19 team performances, and especially the calibre of the players who have broken into the full squad from these teams.
Obviously there will still be some people who still feel there is a role for interprovincial cricket and there should be a stepping stone from club cricket to representative honours, but if Phil and his regional selectors are on the ball, then that route will be through the A team.
Long gone are the days when performances in the interprovincial matches effectively picked the Ireland team, and long gone are the bragging rights that winning the series gave to each region. These days the A Team is the selection stepping stone, and the Irish Senior Cup seems to have inherited the bragging rights!
Looking forward the full Cricket Ireland team now has a clear focus on playing countries rather than professional teams, and it has a strategy that fits comfortably into the global stage. It would be great if the ICC had the same vision and created a two-tier international structure with promotion and relegation, that pitched the best test countries against each other, and allowed those in the next tier to play against countries of comparable strength. Ultimately, if they are good enough then they will rise to the premier division. That has to happen sometime in the future, and if Cricket Ireland continues its upward learning curve at every level of its development, then we will be well positioned to move up another notch in the pecking order.
Clarence Hiles
Editor
