There was some mention on Newstalk this evening that Ireland’s imrpoved full one-day status (we must be so grateful to the custodians of the game that they let us play at all) means that an Irish player who now wants to play for England will have to wait 4 years because we are no longer associate members. Anyone (Bandage) know if that’s true?
I don’t know to be honest, rocko.
I’m going to send an email to Gerard Siggins of The Sunday Tribune tomorrow and I’ll raise it in the mail. I’ll outline your concerns about the development of the game in the country and where we go from gere after the fantastic achievements of the bhoys in the WC. Just gonna do it as I’m interested to see what those ‘in the game in Ireland’ think of the current player situation and might cite your Brian Carney example.
Feel free to email him yourself. I’m going for the whole ‘new to the game angle’ as I think he might respond to that. His address is gsiggins@tribune.ie
Here’s my lick arse email to the Tribune guy. Wonder will he reply:
Hi Gerard,
As a relative newcomer to cricket I have been enjoying your columns in the Tribune over the past few months and I was delighted to see the team play so excellently in the World Cup too even though I suppose there is an element of ‘jumping on the bandwagon’ about my interest in the sport.
I’m dropping you a line to see where you think Irish cricket progresses from here after the guys have done so much to raise the profile of the game back here in Ireland. I have been doing some reading on the game and its player qualification rules etc (correct me if I’m wrong by the way) and I worry that, even despite our result the other day giving us official ODI status for the next 2 years, that we’re destined to always be a feeder team for England.
I suppose what I’m getting at is the fact that Ed Joyce’s runs helped us to qualify for the WC but now he’s representing England in the tournament itself. I don’t begrudge Ed his decision to qualify for England at all and I admire his ambition in trying to ultimately force his way into their test side but I was surprised that nobody in Irish cricket appears to lobbying the ICC for a change in its rules and procedures.
If we want to develop cricket in countries like Ireland then would it not be more logical to allow the likes of Ed to continue to play ODIs for Ireland while playing tests with England? I point to the example of Brian Carney’s Rubgy League career as an example of a sportsman who was able to play in the Rugby League World Cup for Ireland but in the Tri Nations Test Series against Australia and New Zealand for the British and Irish Lions. Surely something like this would be workable for Irish cricket or am I looking at this too simplistically?
It seems that we are happy to allow our players to move on up the ladder and accept the status quo but if things remain the same then Niall O’Brien could be playing for England shortly and the circle will continue on as before. Instead of merely being satisfied that our players are of a sufficient standard to represent England and happily allowing them to fly the nest should we not be campaigning for a change in the rules to allow us to keep them while they pursue their test ambitions? How is the team going to keep improving if we keep shipping players? It also doesn’t make any sense to me that while Ed was qualifying to represent England he was able to play for Ireland but now if he was to be discarded by England he would have to wait 4 years to come back and represent Ireland. Again, from the outside it looks like another decision by the guardians of the game that has negative consequences for smaller cricketing nations.
I know the likes of Ed has done a significant amount for Irish cricket but it does really disappoint me that nobody appears to have taken a stand against what I see as rules that, instead of promoting the game in Ireland, go the other way and make it difficult to retain our best players. I know the game in Ireland doesn’t have the financial backing to develop and sustain a professional game with the facilities, coaches, resources etc that are required but if we were in a position to hold onto our best players and build on the fantastic achievements of this World Cup, through investment from the ICU, ICC and the Irish Sports Council, then maybe we’ll become a force a few decades down the line. As it is if we continue to lose our players then I fear this may be a false dawn for Irish cricket and in a few years we’ll be back at associate level in a stagnant environment where there is no real possibility of advancing Irish cricket.
As I say, you’ll probably shoot down all of my points but I just think we should be campaigning for change and doing more to improve and develop the Irish team rather than sitting by as more players go off to qualify for England and are lost to the Irish game as a result.
Sorry for the lengthy and rambling email but I’d be interested to hear your thoughts on this in the paper if time and space allow.
Again, thanks for the columns and enjoy the rest of the WC.
Best regards,
Bandage
The legend that is Ger Siggins replies:
Bandage,
Many thanks for your thought-provoking letter. I confess to having changed my views over the world cup. I had the utmost sympathy for Ed at the time, but am less sure about Eoin and Niall now.
I’ll digest your letter again and definitely write about it in the next few weeks; the rugby league analogy came up in a Jamaican bar but I don’t think it fits. Joyce is playing one-day for England because he wants to really play five-day. He would still be with Ireland if he could switch. But England use their one-day squad as a way of bringing players into the test set up – and I hope they don’t hold this CWC against him because he’d be a far better player over the five day game.
The relationship between Ireland and England is in danger of turning into that between Aus/NZ rugby and the Pacific Islands.
Ger
PS: Eoin can play for England whenever he wants – his mother is English
Good mail Bandage - and a decent response from Ger. The pacific islands analogy is a decent one.
Interesting correspondance. I too have changed my views somewhat over the World Cup. The solution is simple in my view. Allow Irish players to play test cricket for ‘England’ while continuing to represent Ireland in ODI’s.
It’d be silly to allow a player play for two different countries.