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June 24, 2007
Sunny days aren't here again
Posted on 06/24/2007 in Irish cricket
Ireland were, in many ways, the story of the World Cup. But now back in gloomier climes, a defeat to India and half the side missing, reality is beginning to sink in. It isn't, as Kevin Mitchell notes in The Observer, as glamorous as their Caribbean adventures.
This was colder, more familiar, more fundamentally an old-fashioned struggle against a world-class team than their Caribbean odyssey. Shorn of nearly half of that team, through injury and the demands of the County Championship, Ireland have been reacquainted with the realities of trying to master a summer game on an often wet island with limited resources. In that context, they did well again in grinding out 193 runs and using up all their wickets and all the deliveries sent down by India on a two-paced pitch before the rain came. They are never found wanting for effort.
June 20, 2007
Irish game on a sticky wicket
Posted on 06/20/2007 in Irish cricket
In The Daily Telegraph Tony Francis travels to Ireland to see if the World Cup was a flash in the pan or something more significant. The findings are not that encouraging, but he does flag an interesting point when he talks to some players from Derry. They believe that:-
“The authorities should encourage indigenous cricketers and scale down their dependency on Australians, South Africans and Asians who migrated to Dublin when the economy took off in the Nineties. Unless they can block the drain of talent to England by contracting Ireland's young elite such as Boyd Rankin, Niall O'Brien and Eoin Morgan, who all play county cricket, they'll need more Johnstons and Bothas if they're to have any chance of building on their international success.”
The issue will continue to dominate as a number of players refuse to play for Ireland because of their count commitments.
“The Irish Cricket Union would rather avoid a repeat of the Ed Joyce scenario. While understanding his career decision and wishing him well at Middlesex, most followers were hurt to see an Irishman representing England in the World Cup. It was like watching Roy Keane sing God Save the Queen.”
May 26, 2007
To London by police car
Posted on 05/26/2007 in Irish cricket
Ireland aren't having much luck with coaches - the four-wheeled, not two-legged variety. Their vehicle to take them to Grace Road for their Intercontinental Cup final against Canada was delayed...and yesterday, en route to London, their team bus broke down. Fortunately, the local constabulary were nearby.
The Ireland squad arrived in London yesterday afternoon on a police bus, after their coach from Leicester was impounded at a service station just north of the capital.
Instead, they were guided into the London Gateway service station where the police told us they were carrying out a vehicle inspection check. This took place while the squad had an impromptu lunch. However, on their return, they were told the driver was "over his hours" and would not be allowed to drive for another 24 hours and the two rear wheels on the coach were found to be defective.
So much for a day off. Ireland play Surrey in a Friends Provident Cup match at The Oval on Sunday.
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