No official response has been forthcoming, but it has to be assumed that Cricket Ireland officials will also be aghast at any attempt to pull their player from the squad and understandably so given the lack of quality fast bowlers in both Ireland and England.
But are Warwickshire being selfish or simply looking after their interests?
It is no secret the English counties have no interest in furthering the cause of Irish cricket at their own expense and Rankin’s dilemma is not the first time there has been a clash of Country versus County. The big difference nowadays is that Ireland has more international fixtures and players on international duty run a higher risk of injury. That’s one of the main problems with Rankin, who has had more than his fair share of injuries and is currently just back into the county team after missing most of the season due to an injury picked up on international duty. At one stage the big Bready man was tipped as a possible England player and the irony of this scenario is that a defection from Ireland could improve his chances for England. One wonders would Warwickshire still feel as strongly if their pace bowler was on England duty rather than Ireland duty?
Professional careers are short and although a number of players in the Ireland squad are on the books of English counties, their positions are seriously marginalized by international call-ups. It is an unfortunate set of circumstances, but we have to work with it, as the experience gained in county cricket is invaluable to the development of our top players. The idea of offering our best players exclusive Ireland contracts might secure their services 24/7, but we don’t have enough cricket to occupy them on a full-time basis, and it certainly won’t enhance their development playing in Ireland when not on international duty. The dilemma is not dissimilar to the West Indies who inadvertently used county cricket for many years for the development of their best players and as a result they became unbeatable at the highest level. When the counties limited overseas players the number of West Indian players going to England slumped and this is one of the main reasons why West Indies cricket has declined in the last two decades. Admittedly the avenue into the county scene is a lot easier for Ireland players because of their nationality, but the threat remains. It would be a disaster for Irish cricket to see the number of players in the county scene reduce after reaching the peak it has achieved in recent times.
Rankin’s county dilemma may not be the only problem on the horizon. Niall O’Brien looks out of favour at Northants and Ed Joyce has just taken over the Sussex captaincy. O’Brien’s future is uncertain and a return to Irish cricket may be an option, while Joyce will be under a lot more pressure as skipper to commit to Sussex going forward. William Porterfield has had a dreadful run of form for Warwickshire in recent times and needs a few big scores to consolidate his position. George Dockrell is in Australia captaining the Ireland Under-19 team but I’m sure there are many Somerset supporters who feel he should be in their county team instead.
National Coach Phil Simmons is fully aware of the county demands on his players and the restrictions placed on him because of their unavailability. If he needs to see how bad this could become he just has to look at the Northern Ireland football set up to see the pressure put on players by their clubs when international matches come around. Big clubs like Manchester United and Liverpool have ended more international careers than national coaches so if Ashley Giles at Warwickshire is operating along the same lines, then the pressure will mount on big Boyd.
Clarence Hiles,
Editor
