...but our prodigal son Eoin Morgan revelled amongst some of the best players in world of instant cricket. Fair play to Eoin as he has followed his dream to play at the highest level, and after three productive weeks in this tournament, the young Dubliner has finally established himself as a world-class player in this form of cricket.
England outplayed the awesome Aussies when it mattered most, and although the Pakistan team might feel they were in the wrong place on the wrong day on their semi-final demise, everyone in the Caribbean wanted an England versus Australia final. Both teams were impressive throughout the earlier matches, and although we will always feel thwarted by the weather in Guyana, the fact that the match was never resolved on the cricket field means that we can now say with authority that we had the champions at our mercy. Irish cricket is packed with folklore, so perhaps the Georgetown debacle may now attain the same historical notoriety as that unforgettable win over the West Indies at Sion Mills in 1969?
Overall Kevin Pietersen was England’s jewel in the crown, and deservedly named Player of the Tournament, but somehow the presence of four South Africans and one Irishman in the wining English national team doesn’t sit comfortably with me. Their presence may be within the ICC rules, but is four years residence or some obscure lineage enough to establish nationality? And why should England have an advantage over other countries in this respect?
The international cricket hierarchy smacks of elitism and insularity, and although Twenty20 cricket affords minnows like Ireland and Afghanistan an opportunity to mix it with the big boys, we will never be treated as equals by their travelling media support teams until we start beating them. Ireland received begrudging compliments from so-called experts after our heroics in the 2007 World Cup, and although we performed superbly in the field against both the West Indies and England in Guyana, many of the travelling English media felt England would still have bowled Ireland out and comfortably won the match. Unfortunately, that’s the way Ireland is seen by some media pundits, although Eoin Morgan’s rise to the top of English limited overs cricket, and the presence of several of our young players in the county teams, might win some credibility with a few of these dinosaurs. However, we have a mountain to climb to get into the big league, let alone compete in it.
The ICC could open the door by creating two divisions of test cricket with promotion and relegation, and it could provide meaningful funds to allow professionalism to develop in the top Associate countries so that we can retain our best players. This may require an internal first-class competition, which also needs to be funded, and therein lies the main obstacle to test cricket, as that won’t happen overnight.
In the meantime let’s savour the progress of Eoin Morgan, get Ed Joyce and Hamish Marshall into our current squad, and support big Phil and our team during the rest of the 2010 season.
Clarence Hiles
Editor
