The continuing criticism of Cricket Ireland’s use of qualified overseas players comes from a small minority of people but it is a negative that should be put to bed. Cricket Ireland has moved miles from its traditional culture of qualification by birth, and playing annual meaningless matches against Scotland, Wales and a bunch of nobodies sporting an MCC tie. Quite simply, there is no comparison with the Ireland of old, and the Ireland team in the modern world that competes with fulltime professionals on the county circuit, and against the full might of test teams in ODI action and Twenty20 competition. Yes, it would be lovely in a perfect world to produce an Irish test team from within; capable of competing with the top cricket nations of the world, but that is pure fantasy no matter how brilliant our youth teams perform year after year. We have to use all the resources available to compete with the bigger nations, and that includes qualified players. England have been doing it for years, and just to emphasise how mercenary top cricket can be, look at our best two batsmen in the last decade and see who has secured their allegiance!
In sharp contrast to football, some Irish cricket people can’t get their head around the qualification lifeline. Jack Charlton produced an Ireland football team that performed heroics in the World Cup with a “Does your Granny come from Ireland?” culture, and current Northern Ireland manager Nigel Worthington would give a fortune to find a top international player from anywhere that had Irish origins. Cricket makes it easy with a four-year qualification period, so if England can lift the mighty Kevin Pedersen from South Africa and call him one of their own, then why should anyone who genuinely supports Irish cricket have a problem with Messrs. Johnston, Bray, Langfield-Smith, Botha, Connell, West, Jones et al? If it improves Irish cricket and allows us to compete at the highest level, then it has to be the right strategy. To think otherwise is insane.
The negative thinkers have to appreciate that there are two Cricket Irelands in the modern game. One completes in ICC tournaments like ODI and Twenty20 competitions, while the other competes in ECB competitions much like a county. That means until Ireland can offer the type of contracts that compete with the counties, then they will lose their top players as they look for better remuneration packages, and possibly test recognition for the very best players. In that scenario it would be naïve to think we could produce 7-10 county players that form the nucleus of our squad for ICC competitions, then see them return to their main employers, and still expect to compete with the top county sides, strengthened with brilliant overseas players and ironically the best Irish players!
Little wonder the Irish officials take no notice armchair website critics. After all, what knowledge would anyone outside the official coaching team have of Ireland’s strategy in Twenty20 competition, fitness issues and team tactics? Certainly not the morons who had the audacity to question team selection and batting orders in the recent competition. The entire squad and its management could not have performed any better and deserve the highest praise. In a similar vein, how could anyone seriously criticise the appointment of Nigel Jones as captain of the Ireland A team? This guy has excellent leadership credentials and has played for the full Ireland team and could well figure in future matches. To suggest Ireland should only pick captains that were born in Ireland is a step back into the past, and an insult to a former captain like Trent Johnston who has led our team with as much passion and commitment as any captain in our history. Indeed, perhaps with a lot more!
Everyone is entitled to their views, but real enthusiasts of Irish cricket should be looking forward and not backward in their support of Cricket Ireland as we have moved miles from the old Irish cricket regime, and while we should never forget our past, there’s no place for dinosaurs in the modern game.
Clarence Hiles
Editor
