The Cricket Ireland team has been magnificent in South Africa to date and apart from Eoin Morgan’s untimely selection for the England Twenty20 squad, there’s been very little to distract them. Well done to the management for keeping such a clear focus and marshalling a dedicated squad. Ireland has set the pace with five wins in the opening stages, but the real work starts now, and if the team is to show the international cricket world that it has the credentials to aspire to test status, then there won’t be a better opportunity to qualify unbeaten. That’s a tall order, and while publicly Cricket Ireland players and officials will set a top four finish and qualification for the World Cup as their main priority, privately they’ll want to do it in style by winning this tournament unbeaten.
It’s a tall order, but well within their capability, and if we can’t see off countries like Afghanistan and United Arab Emirates, then we can’t surely be talking about test status and a place at the ‘masters’ table.’ That’s not to say there aren’t a few banana skins around as Scotland found out against Canada, but if Ireland is to assert itself as the premier associate country, then they have to do it emphatically and impress the powers than be that our evolvement as a potential cricket force is real, and backed by results. Unfortunately that means that the bar has been raised, and although Ireland has performed brilliantly to date, they have to keep up the momentum and show everyone that not only are we top of the associate pack, but we have won that status on merit.
Irish cricket has come a long way in a short space of time, but not far enough for a lot of people who feel that the ICC hierarchy is denying us opportunity. But in truth we are a long way short of the infrastructure needed to sustain a test team, and although a lot of work is going on to bridge the gap, we can’t survive at the highest level without a strong senior squad, a well-structured youth programme, top playing facilities, sound professional management and administration, spectator support, and finance. All these components make a top cricket nation, and while the players are doing the business on the field, and the administration has structured an excellent youth development system, we don’t seem to be able to attract enough spectator support, sponsors, and perhaps of more importance, a higher level of development finance from the ICC. Realistically we are miles away from India,Australia,South Africa, Pakistan, andEngland in the dollars league, but within touching distance of Sri Lanka, New Zealand, Bangladesh,Zimbabwe and the once mighty West Indies, in so many other facets of cricket strength. But therein lies the root of the problem, as we can compete with the test minnows in many areas, but we will only make the big bucks and attract the big sponsors and spectators when we play the bigger test nations. Unfortunately that’s not going to happen. Money rules the sporting world these days, and cricket is no exception. The top cricket nations won’t see any incentive playing against the minnows unless there’s huge revenue from television, sponsorship and gate receipts. The whole situation smacks of nepotism and insularity, but that’s the crux of the problem and while some forumites rant and rave about demanding test status, we aren’t in a position to demand anything. Get real. After all, we can’t even hold our own players, as the best will be lured by the incentives offered by England, and with sporting careers so short, who can blame them?
Ireland can’t compete in the dollars league, as was evidenced by the financial deficit in last year’s accounts, so what chance have we of paying players on a comparable level to England, or indeed the counties? It’s not a problem limited to Ireland, as despite the high profile of West Indiescricket and the millions of dollars that has poured through its coffers in the last five years, the West Indies Cricket Board is a shambles and can’t even pay its players!
Cricket Ireland may not have, and may never have, all the requisites required to compete with the big guns in the cricket world, but we have many assets that some of the test nations would love to possess. If the ICC is a world governing body worth its salt, it should recognize the strengths and weaknesses of the current structure and put in place a better strategy to take the game forward. For a start they should have a promotion and relegation structure at the top of the ladder and ensure the best teams are there on merit, they should financially compensate associate countries for competing in expensive international tournaments, and they should divide the World Cup revenue in a more equitable manner that simply lining the coffers of the top countries.
How close are we to that? Miles away.
In the meantime good luck to the squad in South Africaon the second phase of a mission that may not produce test status, but it could enlighten a lot of people that we are a cricket nation on the rise.
Happy Easter everyone.
Clarence Hiles
Editor
