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I see the Newsletter is carrying the story about the soil! Remember where you read it first!!

I understand that it’s to do with this “border down the Irish Sea” protocol. I don’t understand it all but there was a statement issued by one of the agriculture departments at Dundonald House that explained(?) the matter. To be frank I’ve given up listening to any news because it was frying my head.

English soil aka Surrey Loam not permitted to be imported into Northern Ireland according to Dept of Agriculture! This just gets more & more of a farce!!

DUBLIN – Paul Stirling and Kim Garth were announced the men’s and women’s International Player of the Decade respectively amongst the 14 categories of awards handed out at the ITW Irish Cricket Awards 2021.
The event was broadcast via Youtube and was hosted by sports journalist and broadcaster Marie Crowe, supported by RTE’s John Kenny and former Ireland Men’s captain Kyle McCallan. Viewers were treated with interviews with each winner, and a heartfelt tribute to the late Roy Torrens, which featured contributions from former Irish coaches Adi Birrell and Phil Simmons.
Each winner will receive an engraved award designed to the iconic Irish brand, Waterford – an organisation that is proudly extending its generational links with cricket
THE WINNERS
ITW International Player of the Decade – Men
Winner: Paul Stirling
Shortlist: Ed Joyce, Tim Murtagh, Kevin O’Brien, William Porterfield, Paul Stirling
Quote from judging panel: “Paul’s consistency over the decade, improving year by year, was world-class. He has an amazing natural talent with power and match winning qualities. Opening the batting against top quality bowling attacks, he has an outstanding strike rate which gives the team the best chance of being successful against the top nations.”
Hanley Energy International Player of the Decade – Women
Winner: Kim Garth
Shortlist: Laura Delany, Kim Garth, Cecelia Joyce, Isobel Joyce, Clare Shillington
Quote from judging panel: “Kim debuted at 14 years of age, and finished the decade with the highest batting average by an Irish player in T20Is, and the best bowling average over the past decade in ODIs for Ireland Women. With the ball, she’s not only a wicket-taker, but economical too. She was named as the standout player in the Irish team by the International Cricket Council at the T20 World Cup in 2018, was one of the 6 players awarded a professional contract in 2019, and finished that year as the leading run-scorer for Ireland in the T20 World Cup Qualifier. She has also extensive WBBL experience with two winners medals with Sydney Sixers.”
ITW International Men’s Player of the Year
Winner: Paul Stirling
Runners-up: Andrew Balbirnie, Craig Young
Process: This was a peer-nominated award, with players all awarding 3-2-1 rankings to their teammates after each game. Of the total ranking votes available: Paul Stirling received 42%, Andrew Balbirnie 20% and Craig Young 14% – making them the three highest-ranked players in 2020.
Test Triangle Inter-Provincial Player of the Year
Winner: Simi Singh
Quote from judging panel: “Simi had an excellent season at inter-provincial level, showing his significant all-round value. In the IP50 competition Simi scored 104 runs at a strike rate of 104, and took 10 wickets, topping the averages at 13.70 per wicket. He took a wicket every 20 balls and had an economy rate of just over 4 runs per over. In the IP20 competition, Simi was never dismissed and scored 64 runs at a strike rate of 108.47, while also being leading wicket taker in the competition with 8 wickets at an average of 6.62 per wicket. He took a wicket every 9.75 balls and had an economy rate of just over 4 runs per over.”
Arachas Super Series Player of the Year
Winner: Laura Delany
Quote from judging panel: “Laura had an excellent season at Super Series level captaining the Typhoons to their first-ever title win. She was the highest ranked Typhoons batter, scoring 219 runs at an average of 43.80 with a strike rate of 74.2 and 2 half centuries; and claimed 7 wickets at an average of 22.29 with an economy of 3.39 - consistently taking wickets at crucial times, whilst being extremely economical.”
Tildenet Club of the Year
Winner: Limerick Cricket Club
Shortlist: Limerick Cricket Club, Newbuildings Cricket Club, North Down Cricket Club, YMCA Cricket Club
Quote from judging panel: “In 2020, Limerick cleaned up titles and saw significant membership growth – now having a vibrant youth section. They continued to develop their new home ground in Adare and 2021 will see excellent new clubhouse opened. In a significant advance for the club and cricket in Limerick generally, the club has entered into partnership with Limerick City Council on the development of a city centre venue which will provide training facilities for both youth and adult players and a venue for youth games.”
O’Neill’s Club Male Player of the Year
Winner: John Anderson
Shortlist: John Anderson, Chris Dougherty, Gareth McKeegan, Swaroop Burra
Quote from judging panel: “John had an excellent season. He played in all six matches of the Merrion campaign, scoring 364 runs over 6 innings, with one not out. His average of 72.8 was twenty runs higher than the next challenger. He passed the half-century mark on no fewer than four occasions, with his highest score of 81 coming against North Kildare at The Maws. His other two scores were 49 and 23. Looking down the list, John’s season is even more remarkable when it’s considered that the next man, in terms of aggregate runs, Kenny Carroll, took 9 games to reach 326 at an average of 40.75.”
O’Neiil’s Club Female Player of the Year
Winner: Alana Dalzell
Shortlist: Alana Dalzell, Charlotte Lyons, Rebecca Stokell
Quote from judging panel: “In a difficult year Alana was a stand-out player within the North West region. She plays her cricket for Bready CC where she is captain of the Women’s team, in 2020 this was a very youthful side, with several of the usual team being unavailable due to the Covid 19 pandemic. Alana also plays regularly for the Bready CC Men’s 3rd XI side, fulfilling a role in the side as one of the seam attack in what is also generally a youthful side. Late in the season she was called into the Bready CC Men’s 1st XI, making her ‘Senior’ debut against Strabane. She returned respectable figures of 0-9 from two overs. Alana also made several appearances during the season at Women’s representative level, both for the NW side against the NCU, but also in the Super Series/”
Cricket Writers of Ireland Hall of Fame
Inductee 1: Caitriona Beggs
Citation: Caitriona played 66 times for Ireland Women from 1995 to 2008. She scored 1,450 runs (at an average 27.88), including nine fifties. She played her first women’s league match aged 8, and was on the Leinster Under-19s squad at age 11. She was a top order batter and played in three World Cups - her 68 against Pakistan is also the highest score by an Irishwoman in Test cricket. Additionally, she was top-scorer against England in 2001, when her 35 helped Ireland to a memorable win in the European Championship. And when the ICC unveiled their ODI world rankings in 2008 she was the only player from an Associate nation to make the top 20.
Inductee 2: Peter Gillespie
Citation: When Peter retired in 2007, he was Ireland’s most capped player – 124 games from 1995 until just after the World Cup in the Caribbean. First picked as a fast bowler, he found his feet as a middle-order batsman. In all he made 2,774 runs at an average of 27.47, but those figures do not reflect some important innings. One such came at the Lawn in 1998, when his 94 drove Ireland to a notable win over Bangladesh. He will be best remembered for his 47-ball century at Bangor in 2005, still the fastest for Ireland despite some challengers in the last decade. In 2007, Adi Birrell described him as the "heartbeat of the team”, but his team-mates knew him only as "PG" or “Polish”.
Inductee 3 (posthumous): Jimmy Boucher
Citation: The first of our posthumous inductees is probably the greatest spin bowler Ireland has produced. First capped as a schoolboy in 1929, he soon became a key member of the Irish side and enjoyed a 25-year international career interrupted only by the Second World War. He won sixty caps for Ireland, and took 307 wickets, averaging 15.26, including 31 five-fors and 10 wickets in a match on 7 occasions. His best bowling, 7-13, was against New Zealand at Rathmines. After retirement he became an Irish selector and served as Hon Secretary of the Irish Cricket Union for more than 20 years..
See previous Hall of Fame inductees
Gibney’s Outstanding Contribution and Service to Irish Cricket
Winner: Roy Torrens
Quote from Robin Walsh: “Roy was an icon, there was no doubt he was one of the greatest figures in Irish cricket – in fact, I could give you an argument why he was the greatest all-round figure in Irish cricket.”
Clear Currency Volunteering Excellence Award
Winner: Michael Hickey
Quote from judging panel: “Michael had a long playing career with Lismore Cricket Club and following retirement he took up umpiring, and became an umpiring instructor. He has served on the Executive and Board of Munster Cricket since 2006, was President of the Union in 2016 and 2017, and acted as secretary for the Union since 2018 - retiring from that role this January. He played a very significant part in the work carried out in recent years to modernise the governance structures of Munster Cricket which culminated in the incorporation of the Union from 1 January 2020.”
Techfynder Cricket Official of the Year
Winner: Ian Houston
Quote from judging panel: “Ian has been the Appointments Secretary for NIACUS for 25 years. He’s appointed for well over 30,000 fixtures during his tenure and has never failed to have a fixture covered. Despite Covid-19, in 2020 Ian kept the show on the road during a very taxing time. Ian also mentors newly qualified officials, passing on his vast experience and advice. Many of today’s top officials owe Ian a huge debt of gratitude in mastering the umpiring arts.”
Shapoorji Pallonji Outstanding Contribution to Coaching
Winner: Brían O’Rourke
Quote from judging panel: “Brían is an Irish coaching legend and has been instrumental in the growth and development of countless inter-provincial and international cricketers over the past 25 years. He has fulfilled a variety of roles since 1995, coaching Ireland teams from Under-15 through to Under-19 level, taking charge of Under-19 World Cup campaigns in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Malaysia. Brían has also been heavily involved at inter-provincial level, leading Leinster Under 15's at every tournament since 1997 enjoying an unprecedented and unrivalled level of success over that period.”
Turkish Airlines Special Jury Award – Spirit of Cricket Award
Winner: Bready Cricket Club
Shortlist: Bready Cricket Club, Kerry Cricket Club, North Down Cricket Club, Pembroke Cricket Club
Quote from judging panel: “At the start of lockdown, Bready Cricket Club’s General Committee made the decision to proactively support elderly and vulnerable residents in the area who were self-isolating. Initially planned for 1 week, and to cover 60 people, the Club realised a longer term need existed for the popular service. Since then, the team of volunteers - made up mostly of players and members of the club - have been known as the 'Cricketing Cooks'. By the end of this month, they will have provided over 3,000 meals to the elderly & vulnerable in the community. On top of this, players have also been carrying Pharmacy / Grocery deliveries for families who have been housebound. And when lockdown eased during the Summer, the club ran a pilot fitness programme for community residents, which saw up to 60 men & women of all ages take part in a Circuit Training programme.”
JUDGING PANELS
General Award Judging Panel:
Aideen Rice, Ger Siggins, Ian Callender, Peter McCartney, Angela Platt, Philip Smith, Joe Moynihan
Expert Juries – Players of the Decade:
Men’s Award: Peter Gillespie, Alan Lewis, Kyle McCallan, Andrew White
Women’s Award: Carrie Archer, Miriam Grealey, Barbara McDonald, Rob O’Connor

DUBLIN – The Board of Cricket Ireland has approved 12 fixtures, and the venues they will be played at, as part of the Ireland Men’s home season in 2021.
The 12 white-ball fixtures are to be played across three Irish venues, with Clontarf – Ireland’s fourth international venue – still unavailable in 2021.
Ireland v South Africa series
11 July: Ireland v South Africa, 1st ODI (Malahide)*
13 July: Ireland v South Africa, 2nd ODI (Malahide)*
16 July: Ireland v South Africa, 3rd ODI (Malahide)*
20 July: Ireland v South Africa, 1st T20I (Malahide)
22 July: Ireland v South Africa, 2nd T20I (Stormont)
25 July: Ireland v South Africa, 3rd T20I (Stormont)
Ireland v Zimbabwe series
6 August: Ireland v Zimbabwe, 1st ODI (Stormont)*
8 August: Ireland v Zimbabwe, 2nd ODI (Stormont)*
11 August: Ireland v Zimbabwe, 3rd ODI (Stormont)*
15 August: Ireland v Zimbabwe, 1st T20I (Bready)
17 August: Ireland v Zimbabwe, 2nd T20I (Bready)
20 August: Ireland v Zimbabwe, 3rd T20I (Bready)
* Matches form part of the ICC World Cup Super League
A further two-match T20 International series against Pakistan is still in discussion with the Pakistan Cricket Board and England & Wales Cricket Board, with an announcement to be made in due course.
Cricket Ireland will work with Sport Ireland, Sport Northern Ireland and the Sport Expert Group to ensure all fixtures comply with the COVID-19 protocols in place as the season rolls out.
AWAY SERIES CONFIRMED
Cricket Ireland can also confirm a three-match men’s ODI series against Netherlands will precede the home calenda. The fixtures will also be part of the World Cup Super League
4 June: Netherlands v Ireland, 1st ODI
7 June: Netherlands v Ireland, 2nd ODI
9 June: Netherlands v Ireland, 3rd ODI

Venue and match details will be released shortly.

New men's Inter-Provincial Series structure unveiled, creation of new coaching hubs,
new emerging competition and investment in Munster
Photos to download for editorial use
DUBLIN – Cricket Ireland has today unveiled a new structure for the men’s domestic Inter-Provincial Series, which includes Munster Reds becoming a fourth team in the 50-over Cup competition, creation of new performance coaching hubs, a revised squad selection process and the creation of a new emerging team competition.
The improvements endeavour to create a true best v best system for Irish cricket, which will benefit the international pathway and increase top-level opportunities at this level for a wider pool of players.
The change will also see a future increase in investment in the Munster pathway system to support growth and opportunity for players coming through the province’s youth ranks.
The announcement today outlines five key improvements:
NEW STRUCTURE
The new structure includes the four teams of North West Warriors, Northern Knights, Leinster Lightning and the Munster Reds in both formats competing in the two white-ball competitions as follows:
· Inter-Provincial Cup competition (50-over format): a four-team league comprising a two round-robin series, allowing each team a total of six matches each.
· Inter-Provincial Trophy competition (T20 format): a four-team league comprising a series of three-day festivals.
With regards to the red-ball format, with no summer Test scheduled in 2021, Cricket Ireland has prioritised white ball cricket due to there being three white ball world cups over the next three years, however, will be exploring ways to reintroduce the Inter-Provincial Championship when both the pandemic and consequential financial situation permits.
SELECTION OF SQUADS
The selection process for the four squads will be refined to seek a best v best outcome that will raise the quality and competitiveness of the competition. Under the approved changes, the Chair of National Men’s Selectors and National Head Coach will work closely with the Provincial Union Head Coaches to select a core squad of 12 players for each team. Provincial Unions will then add additional local players as and when they see fit. Match day squads will continue to be selected by local Provincial Unions selectors.
The selectors will adopt a selection policy that, as far as possible, balances the need to strengthen the tournament via best v best against ensuring the strength of Provincial Union identity.
A new player loan system will be put in place for 2021, allowing for teams who have injuries and exceptional circumstances around player availability, to take on loan a player of suitable quality and skill-set which they may not have locally.
INTRODUCTION OF NEW PERFORMANCE COACHING HUBS
New Provincial Union-based Performance Coaching Hubs will be established, which will replace the previous coaching regime that was arranged and led by the national head coach out of the High Performance Centre in Dublin. The new system will see additional Performance Hubs in Belfast and Bready. In the short-term, the Munster performance coaching hub will be based in Dublin (see below).
Following squad selections, the Head Coaches of each team will meet with the National Coaches to design a coaching programme throughout the year, taking into account the International, Ireland Wolves and Inter-Provincial fixtures schedule.
The national coaches will plan their attendance at the Provincial Union’s hub sessions throughout each week to assist and complement the head coaches for each team. This will come as an additional investment by Cricket Ireland, but one seen as critical to ensuring the success of the new model, and similar to the operations in other full member countries.
NEW EMERGING INTER-PROVINCIAL COMPETITION
To complement work being undertaken at the top-level, Cricket Ireland and the Provincial Unions have agreed to create a new tournament that will be played out by all four Provincial Union Emerging teams. The tournament will involve the four province’s emerging teams, and will be managed under the auspices of Cricket Ireland’s National Talent Pathway Manager.
A further announcement about this will be made in coming weeks.
STRATEGIC REFOCUS FOR MUNSTER REDS
While the new structure will see the Munster Reds team increasing their fixtures each year and entering the 50-over competition, there has been a need to take several actions in order to improve the progress of Munster Cricket in developing its own talent pipeline.
The team will continue to be managed by the Munster Cricket Union, however, in the short term the Munster performance coaching hub will be based in Dublin.
Over the next three years, Cricket Ireland and Munster Cricket Union have agreed the strategic need to invest time and resources into youth cricket, talent pathway and the Munster (Heat) Emerging squad, while re-focussing the Munster Reds to meet the wider needs of Irish cricket. In addition, Munster will also focus on developing revenue streams to enable them to invest in local player development and emerging players based in Munster.
The longer-term plan is for the Munster performance coaching hub to return to Munster, and a significant increase in squad player representation of Munster-based players in the Munster Reds senior side.

John Law
We are sad to hear John Law has passed away.
A stalwart of many years at North of Ireland Cricket Club and the Union, we knew he was ailing for some time, but it remains a sad time for his son Peter and all the NICC fraternity. He was always a friendly man, but had strong views without any acrimony, as he loved cricket first and foremost. He represented North for many years at NCU Committees. He captained North to league success in 1961 and was retained in 1962. He was also NCU President in 1995-97.
To all the family heartfelt condolences.
Rest in Peace John

JCH
JK

I am happy to announce the Christmas Quiz winner was Des McCall from Holywood fame. He scored 19 out of 20. Very impressive! Well done Des. The prize will follow in due course.
And here are the answers..
1 WOODVALE-Who was the dual international cricketer and Linfield footballer in the Thirties?-BILLY McCLEERY
2 BRIGADE-Who was the captain for 30 successive seasons and then Secretary/Treasurer for the North-West Union for 23 years.-WILLIE McGARVEY
3 NORTH OF IRELAND-when was ‘Headquarters’ finally closed?-2001
4 CITY OF DERRY-A former captain of City of Derry later wrote over 15 books on the history of North-West clubs. Name him?-BILLY PLATT
5 LISBURN-A dual international cricketer and hockey that won an Olympic medal. Name him?-JIMMY KIRKWOOD
6 DONEMANA-A former Donemana player, who later played at Phoenix when he was capped by Ireland. Who?-STAN MITCHELL
7 CIYMS-Who was the former New Zealand all-rounder that played for CI against North Down in the NCU Senior Cup final in 2010?-CRAIG McMILLAN
8 EGLINTON-A Legend in Irish cricket who topped the 1st Class county bowling figures in 1953. Name him?-SCOTT HUEY
9 WARINGSTOWN-Another dual Ireland International with a difference. Father and son- One a batsman and the second an Umpire. Who were they?-PETER AND MICHAEL REITH
10 STRABANE-Four brothers played regularly in the 1990s. Which family?-GILLESPIE
11 INSTONIANS-Three members became Irish Cricket Presidents. Who were they?DIXON ROSE/RICHARD JOHNSON/BRIAN WALSH
12 SION MILLS-Which river flows alongside the ground?-MOURNE
13 ARMAGH-Often referred the ‘Doyen of Umpires.’ Name him?-JOE VAUGHAN
14 LIMAVADY-He scored two centuries in the Irish Senior Cup final. Who?-DEKKER CURRY
15 LURGAN-He played for the British Lions in 1962 and was also a dual international player at cricket and rugby. Name him?-RAYMOND HUNTER
16 BREADY-Where is Bready?-MAGHERAMASON
17 DOWNPATRICK-The club play at Strangford Road, but what is the name of the ground?-THE MEADOW
18-ARDMORE-A former player distinguished him as a Lord Justice and was knighted. Who?-SIR MICHAEL NICHOLSON
19 HOLYWOOD-A former player Ricky Adair played at Holywood, but won fame as a goalkeeper in a Belfast football team. Which club-GLENTORAN?
20 ST. JOHNSTON-Which county is in St Johnston?-DONEGAL

When can we expect to see the answers and prize winners of the Christmas Quiz. Or have I already missed it.

Folks, I’m gradually trying to rationalise a big collection of cricket books and magazines. I have several complete years of The Cricketer magazine running from around 1971 to early 80s. Also, around 20 copies of the Ulster Cricketer magazine 80s/90s. If anyone is interested in some reading to get through lockdown then they’re free to a good home. The only alternative would seem to be the dump, which seems a bit of a sin. Anyway, thought it worth trying on here to see whether any local cricketing buffs might be interested, assuming Hiler/JK allow such messages on here. We’re having a pitch inspection at 3, but it doesn’t look good.............

ABU DHABI – A sublime all-round performance from Rashid Khan trumped a second consecutive Paul Stirling hundred as Afghanistan sealed a 3-0 series win over Ireland in Abu Dhabi.
Ireland took wickets at regular intervals after Andrew Balbirnie won the toss and opted to field first - and were it not for Rashid Khan’s second late-innings intervention with the bat this series, they would have been chasing a much more manageable total.
Craig Young set the tone for Ireland and despite Afghanistan openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Javed Ahmadi coming out all guns blazing, Young took three new ball wickets, accounting for both openers and Rahmat Shah – Afghanistan’s centurion in the second ODI of the series.
After Andy McBrine picked up a fourth Afghanistan wicket – that of Hashmatullah Shahidi – with the score on 66, Afghanistan skipper Asghar Afghan underwent a rebuilding job for his team. Afghan’s 41 was well supported by his experienced middle-order partner Mohammad Nabi, who between them and Gulbadin Naib, got Afghanistan up to 162-5.
The excellent Simi Singh, who finished with figures of 3-37, then struck to remove Afghan shortly before Harry Tector claimed his maiden international wicket as Najibullah Zadrarn looked to reverse sweep, but could only glove one to a grateful Stirling at slip.
With their opponents 163-7, Ireland were in the driving seat before Rashid rallied alongside Gulbadin and Mujeeb Ur Rahman to take Afghanistan to a final score of 266-9. Against a bowling attack as strong as Afghanistan’s, chasing anything in excess of 250 was always going to be a tough ask.
Stirling picked up where he left off in the second ODI, taking the attack to Afghanistan as his partners, at times, struggled for similar fluency at the crease. Like Ireland did in the first innings, Afghanistan were able to pick up regular wickets with none of the Irish batsmen – Stirling aside – passing 25.
But with Stirling at the crease, the chase was very much on. Finding the boundary with impressive regularity, the highlight of Stirling’s knock was arguably a pair of sixes struck within three balls of each other off the off-spin of Mohammad Nabi. Such was Stirling’s dominance, he reached his half-century with his team’s total on just 58.
Unflustered by wickets falling at the other end and with ample support via cameos from Harry Tector and Lorcan Tucker, Stirling reached his 12th ODI century – an Ireland record and his fourth in six ODIs. His tally of 12 ODI hundreds drew him level with ODI behemoths Marcus Trescothick, Babar Azam, Faf du Plessis and Rahul Dravid.
When he eventually fell for 118 with the score 187-5, Ireland were still in the game. But unfortunately for Ireland, Tucker fell soon after, succumbing to a Rashid googly while Mark Adair was run out an over later, sucking out the momentum gathered by the Ireland batsmen earlier in the innings. McBrine and Singh batted valiantly for the eighth wicket but the asking rate climbed out of their control with Afghanistan eventually sealing victory by 36 runs as Rashid finished with figures of 4-29 to cap off a world class all-round display.
After the match, captain Andrew Balbirnie said:
“Paul has played superbly in the last couple of games - you run out of words to describe how he's playing, but no one could really back him up and get that big score with him that could potentially won us a game the other day or today. He's played brilliantly and we've just got to be there to support him.”
“Today we just needed someone to stick with him and get a 50 or 60, but it didn't happen and hasn't happened this week - we probably haven't been up to our usual standards. There's a few guys who will go away to Bangladesh with the Wolves shortly, which is a great opportunity - and for the guys at home we have a lot to work on because there's a lot of cricket coming up and we've got to be better than what we've shown in the last few games.”
After the match, Player of the Series Paul Stirling said:
“There were big points up for this series, but we didn't come up where we wanted to be. We felt in good positions today to take advantage of, but we couldn't quite do it.”
Asked about Roy Torrens' passing, he said:
“[Roy Torrens] was an absolute hero to me, it was nice to get a few runs for him. Unfortunately, we couldn't get across the line, but he was a huge hero in Irish cricket and our thoughts go to Joan and the whole family. A lot of people will miss him.”
MATCH SUMMARY
Afghanistan Men v Ireland Men, 3rd ODI, Abu Dhabi, 26 January
Afghanistan 266-9 (50 overs; R Khan 48, A Afghan 42; S Singh 3-37, C Young 3-61)
Ireland 230 (47.1 overs; P Stirling 118; R Khan 4-29)
Afghanistan won by 36 runs

Just read the john mooney interview.Sad to see political views by this man being aired cricket websites.

Record-breaking Stirling’s splendid century can’t stop Afghanistan sealing ODI series
ABU DHABI – Paul Stirling hit an excellent hundred to push Ireland past 250 in the second ODI against Afghanistan, but an unbeaten ton from Rahmat Shah saw the hosts to a series-sealing victory.
Having fallen just 16 runs short of victory in the opening game of the series, it was another case of nearly but not quite for Ireland at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. Having won the toss and elected to bat, captain Andrew Balbirnie saw his side get off to a tricky start, with his the second of two wickets to fall to Mujeeb Ur Rahman inside the first four overs.
From 20-2, Stirling set about repairing the damage, constructing a succession of valuable middle-order stands. Harry Tector made his second start of the series, taking the team score beyond three figures before chipping Naveen-ul-Haq to midwicket, while Curtis Campher contributed another invaluable hand, notching 47 in quick time as part of a century stand.
From 208-3 in the 41st over, with Stirling well past his century, Ireland would have been hoping for a strong finish. But Afghanistan bounced back, taking 6-51 from that point onwards. Naveen claimed three of those, striking with the last two balls of his spell after Stirling had picked out the man in the ring on 128.
That brought to an end a truly special knock, with the opener racing along at close to a run a ball. He plundered 12 fours and four sixes, each four more than his teammates could muster combined, and, in the course of his innings, overtook William Porterfield as Ireland’s leading international run-scorer. With the hundred his 11th in ODIs, he equalled Porterfield for the most tons by an Irishman in the format.
Yesterday, Stirling had been one of the many to pay tribute to Irish cricketing legend Roy Torrens after his passing. “Irish cricket to the very core but an even better man,” Stirling had written, and he signalled to the sky after removing his helmet to celebrate three figures.
The reply started strongly for Afghanistan, with opening pair Javed Ahmadi and Rahmanullah Gurbaz moved swiftly to within one blow of a half-century partnership. But in the eighth over, hope sprung anew as Barry McCarthy removed the former lbw, getting the ball to jag back in from outside off-stump. Then Rahmanullah, fresh off a century on debut in the first ODI and having raced to 31, was dismissed by a full ball from Campher, missing a flick and remaining out despite a review.
It was at this point that Rahmat and Hashmatullah Shahidi combined to put on the game’s defining stand. Runs flowed freely at first, and at the halfway stage the hosts were well over halfway to their target. However, Gareth Delany, Craig Young and Andy McBrine then combined to peg Afghanistan back, and the next eight overs passed by without a boundary. The rate required neared a run a ball.
It was then that the tempo shifted. Rahmat began to use his feet to attack the spinners, striking a four and a six in successive overs, and Shahidi soon got in on the act, striking two consecutive Young short balls for four, and the rate started decreasing again.
By the time Simi Singh broke through, deceiving Shahidi in the flight and enticing him to hole out to long-off, Ireland’s chances were slim. Singh’s next over went for just one run, but Asghar Afghan soon made up for any sluggishness, striking McCarthy for six, six and four to bring his side to within one run of Ireland’s total, and victory was achieved soon after.
The two sides will return on Tuesday to battle it out for the final points towards the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League.
After the match, captain Balbirnie said:
“At the halfway stage we were in the game, but would have liked a few more having batted so well – particularly Paul again playing so beautifully to set us up. We probably lost a bit of momentum there at the back end. With 260 we felt in the game, but we didn’t have enough on a pitch that played a bit slower and deader as the day went on.”
“We definitely expected the pitch to turn a bit more in the second innings, but it probably didn’t turn as much as we would have liked.”
“I still think we can do better with the bat – apart from Paul and Curtis, there weren’t a lot of positives to take. We played well the other day getting 270, and we set ourselves up to mount a good total here today, but we weren’t able to do that, and against this Afghan side that has a lot of power we were up against it.”
“Paul seems to have a fantastic tour every time we go away – he was very close to the late Roy Torrens who we unfortunately lost yesterday, and you could see that that innings today was for him.”
“There are definitely players ready to go in the wings, and that’s the beauty of this squad that there are a number of players knocking on the door. We picked the guys for these two games that we thought could win some games, and they have been trying – particularly the bowlers who have been battling hard on a wicket not conducive to our style of bowling. The lads are hard on themselves, they’ll be really disappointed with the last two games, but as a squad we’ve got to be ready to rebound and ready to go – we’ve only a day between games, and we’ve got to pick ourselves up and get some points towards this World Cup Super League.”
MATCH SUMMARY
Afghanistan Men v Ireland Men, 2nd ODI, Abu Dhabi, 24 January 2021
Ireland 259-9 (50 overs; P Stirling 128, C Campher 47; Naveen-ul-Haq 4-42)
Afghanistan 260-3 (45.2 overs; R Shah 103, H Shahidi 82; C Campher 1-28, S Singh 1-44)

Afghanistan won by 7 wickets

I would to place my deepest sorrow on the loss of a dear friend of 20 years or so his a long with Mr c walker Mr r Harrison the late Mr a linehanin as an ICC tournament liaison roles at under17 and under19 European tournaments between 2006 to 2013 within the north west and northern cricket union area he like myself loved his cricket as our Ireland team manager and 30 caps and see Ireland do so well in 2007 2011 2015 world cups to Mrs Joan Torrens and family also to my beloved friends at his beloved brigade cricket club as chairman please know of my love thoughts and prayers Jason McCullough life member north down cricket Ireland member Yorkshire country cricket club member MCC associate member

Roy Torrens
It is with great sorrow for everyone that I have to say Roy Torrens passed away this morning, a victim of Covid-19.
He was a wonderful character throughout his life, and a Legend in every way. Who could forget his cricket exploits when Ireland Team Manager, or his "Roy Tours" traveling around the world with fellow cricketers? All that after an illustrious career in cricket and football. He was President of the Irish Cricket Union and later Chairman at Brigade CC, a homeboy that gave him sterling service. Above all, he was a great friend to many.
Rest in Peace big Man.
JCH
JK