It seems the players need a rest after an arduous three months of cricket despite one of the easiest Ashes Series wins in history.
England have little interest in promoting themselves or Irish cricket as the 'peeing incident" at the Oval highlights. All very conveniently swept under the table and let's move on. But former skipper Michael Vaughan is not alone in criticising the selectors for resting so many of the top players and has even suggested refunding money to fans that pre-paid. His comments were directed at the upcoming ODI Series against Australia and the Aussie selectors have not helped the situation by retaining only seven players from their Ashes Squad. It now looks like the 2nd XI of both countries, or is it the specialist ODI squad's turn to showcase their wares?
Cricket Ireland will introduce the new look Malahide ground to the cricket world next week and the prospect of playing England captured the imagination of a wider audience than traditional cricket supporters. Many people have enthusiastically followed the Ashes Series in the belief that Cook, Anderson, Bell, Swann, Broad, Pietersen, Trott and Root may be coming to Ireland, but the selected squad is a long way short of glamour and high profile players. It does include former Ireland players Boyd Rankin and Eoin Morgan, but their Irish Fan Club disintegrated a long time ago after they opted to play for England.
How ironic that big Boyd will be playing for an England career against the players with whom he has shared so many great achievements over the past decade. To date the Bready man has two England Twenty20 appearances under his belt and although called up by the England selectors on the fringe of the test squad, he was by-passed when it came to the actual selection. Rankin is a fine bowler, but if he wins selection at test level it will be a major surprise to many people as his record hasn't set him apart from his rivals and at 29 he hasn't a lot of time left at this level. The rest of the England team is highly talented, but light on profile. Even the most interested of cricket followers would struggle to identify them on the county circuit, albeit they will still be strong favourites to beat Ireland. Let's face it, with the pool of players England has at its disposal, they could field five teams that are stronger than Ireland on paper.
And therein lies the great enigma of sport. Matches are not won on paper and the fighting Irish will give their best on Tuesday because they play with passion and commitment. Whether it wins the day remains to be seen, but one winner has already been identified. Malahide Cricket Club has given a lot to be the national cricket venue and with a record 10,000 spectators anticipated the club has every reason to be proud.
Cricket has come a long way since the MCC 'gin and tonic brigade' that used to come to Ireland with teams of 'has-beens, never-beens and wannabees." England now see Ireland as formidable opponents, but their selectors could have recognized the occasion and done a little PR by including more high profile players. After all, they aren't exactly overworked and they have two months off before they go to Australia!
Clarence Hiles
Editor
