But there’s nothing simple in Irish club cricket and the movement of players for ‘expenses’ or straightforward payment, or if you were good enough for both, once again distorted the playing strengths and drew shouts of foul. But that was nothing compared to the emergence of the ‘qualifying Irish,’ the Leinster overseas pros that found work and love outside the cricket season, and qualified to play in the Irish Senior Cup through a few years residence. Most of these players were based in the greater Dublin area and being markedly better than their Irish contemporaries, they very quickly established ascendancy not only in club cricket, but also at national level where they were welcomed with open arms.
And that’s where this dilemma really exists because the ‘powers that be’ still see the Irish Senior Cup as an extension of the Ireland team’s development and that won’t include overseas professionals unless there is a massive shift in policy.
So that’s where this debate sits at present because the northern clubs can’t use their club pros but have to face the ‘qualified Irish’ in the Leinster teams and they feel hard done by. The seeds of unrest have been simmering for a number of years, because not only are the Leinster clubs winning the competition, but by the semi-final stage every year they have eliminated most of the northern opposition. It’s a situation that isn’t healthy in any sport, but the ‘Suits’ didn’t exactly revolutionize the competition by declaring that all teams should have coloured outfits this year. Something of a red rag to a bull perhaps, and not surprisingly some North-West clubs were soon up in arms.
But there’s no point in northern teams throwing their toys out of the pram on this issue, because they should really get their ICU delegates to vote for the pros to be allowed to play and in one fell swoop bring some level of ‘equality.’
Much is made of the best players playing the best players in Irish cricket to improve the standard and provide a platform for higher honours, but excluding the overseas professionals contradicts this strategy. The involvement of overseas professionals in club cricket has been a hot topic for nearly 30 years but despite what some critics would have us believe, they have made a huge contribution to the overall development of the game. It may have happened naturally, and the money spent on them might have been better spent on grounds or local coaches, but that’s conjecture and doesn’t really take the game forward. If Irish cricket seriously wants to compete at the highest level, then the legislators have to make more use of overseas professionals already integrated into the game at club level, and where better to start than in the ailing Irish Senior Cup?
