...in the just-announced Ireland squad to tour Australia and New Zealand might upset a few partisans around Leinster cricket, but it is fully justified when you look at his pedigree.
With over 200 appearances for Ireland "Whitey" has the experience and the background to fit comfortably into the Ireland set-up for this challenging eight-match tour that will give the squad useful experience and preparation for next year's World Cup. He may not be in the prime of youth these days, but his fitness and focus have always been big assets and when the chips are down he's the sort of player who can produce the goods with either bat or ball. His Ireland career is littered with cameo performances, many times against all odds and against the best teams. At interprovincial and club level he has been outstanding and his abrasive and at times selfish pursuit of excellence fit comfortably into the modern competitive ethic where winning is not all about smiles and handshakes.
The Ireland Squad pretty much picked itself and in reality there were only a few positions in question. With nine players on the county books the nucleus of the squad was already established and while National Coach Phil Simmons was cordial in his remarks about the unlucky players, the big West Indian makes his own decisions and isn't influenced by media or partisan website posters.
The inclusion of the recovering Alex Cusack (Clontarf) shows remarkable loyalty given he has been rehabilitating all season after injury, but Cusack's track record in big matches is impressive and the Coach's loyalty is well placed. The same might be said for the controversial John Mooney who has earned as much publicity off the pitch as on it, but if the North Dublin all-rounder keeps his focus on the pitch he'll be an automatic selection on most teams. Stuart Poynter and Peter Chase are on the Durham books and several outstanding performances at the right time won them selection over a couple of more fancied players. It's particularly pleasing to see North-West spinner Andy McBrine and all-rounder Stuart Thompson in the tour party as they have great potential to go far in the game and need as much exposure as they can get.
Although we don't talk as much about interprovincial representation in these days of county cricket players, only three players with NCU roots are in the 18-member squad and with another four from the North-West the northern representation lags a long way behind our southern peers. The saddest part of this statistic is that few others were in contention bar perhaps an in-form James Shannon.
That doesn't augur well for the future.
Clarence Hiles
Editor
