It was another set of stirring performances and although Phil Simmons blasted the schedule that forced the Irish players back onto the pitch for the final, barely an hour after the semi-final, let’s be honest, Twenty20 matches don’t exactly drain the body irrespective of the pressure and excitement of “Smash, Wallop and Bang” cricket. Ireland didn’t lose the final because of the semi-final; they lost it because the Afghans played better.
Afghanistanhas worked hard to earn the respect of the cricket fraternity. There are many people who feel they should be a walkover because they don’t have a known cricket pedigree, but their dominance over Ireland in five outings should be enough proof that their credentials are as good as any aspiring Associate Member nation.
Having just returned from a weekend in St Lucia I was intrigued that some members of the Irish establishment would regard a return to Guyana as preferable to playing at Beausejour and enjoying all the attributes of the beautiful holiday island ofSt Lucia. Even more so, when you read that England andWest Indiesmatches are “easier” games than South Africaand India, because of their current world ratings. It says much for the confidence in the Irish ranks that they feel both the West Indians and the English are vulnerable, but it also smacks of bravado. Let’s get a win under our belts against the big boys in Twenty20 competition before we start the swagger, and while the West Indiesand Englandare having their cricket challenges, they are teams packed with talent at a much higher level than us. The big leveller is that the matches will be twenty overs-a side, and in this format anything can happen. Certainly don’t write off the West Indies because they got a drumming in Australia in 50-overs cricket, as these guys love nothing better than Twenty20 cricket and they are good at it. On home soil, they could win the competition or they could flop! That’s the nature of West Indiescricket these days. You don’t know which team is going to turn up.
It would be unfair to judge any individual performances in Dubai negatively from a distance, as so much of Twenty20 cricket is spontaneous and unpredictable. The margin between good and bad is so narrow, and the ability to quickly adapt to every situation is paramount. The hero one day can be the fall guy the next day, or even the next ball, such is the intensity of the format. CertainlyIreland did well to recover from a first match defeat against the Afghans, and while they lost the final, their undefeated run in between achieved the objective of qualifying for the Twenty20 World Cup. Winning would have been a bonus, but it is hardly of much consequence in the wider scheme of things. However, Alex Cusack’s Player-of-the-Tournament Award was very special and richly deserved, given his outstanding performance in the semi-final.
Dubai is now history, and while the unfortunate Scots will lick their wounds, we have the exciting prospect of competing with the big guns once again in the beautiful Caribbean. OK, so Guyana may not appeal as much to the supporters as it does to the Irish captain, but here’s an opportunity to follow your team in beautiful surrounds where cricket is still loved with a passion. And if one of the two big guns can be toppled, then Barbados awaits on the horizon.
Let’s get behind Cricket Ireland and make this another Caribbean fairytale. We may not have the best team in the competition, but we have the best supporters!
See you inGeorgetown.
Clarence Hiles
Editor
