Madam, – I was on the Irish team that played a three-day match against Sri Lanka at Eglinton CC in 1979. The game was drawn. Ivan Anderson scored a fine century, 80 runs coming in boundaries. What is interesting about that? Well, Sri Lanka were not yet a test-playing nation. They were allowed into the hallowed group soon afterwards. A number of their future stars were on show.
In 1996 Sri Lanka won the World Cup, easily chasing 241 against Australia in the final. Two weeks ago they came close to repeating that feat against India. This is the primary window for world cricket. Except for plum fixtures the majority of test matches struggle for spectators despite this format being the purest form of the game.
Ireland is now denied that primary window and the boost of interest in the game engendered by the heroics in Jamaica and Bangalore is seriously threatened. Disgraceful! We were a selection of amateur club cricketers in 1979 and were looking forward to playing our first competitive game in a tournament, the Gillette Cup, the following year, but these Irish players of today are professionals, successfully competing against the best.
I encourage all interested parties to continue complaining about this decision until the International Cricket Council is shamed enough to rethink. We may never have the resources to win the World Cup like our opponents in 1979, but we should have the chance to do so.
Interestingly, “Ginger” O’Brien, father of Niall and Kevin was on that team and he could have been a professional too, if that avenue had been available in those days. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – I wonder how the cricket and broader Australian community feels about being robbed of hosting the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup? Whichever of the invited countries wins the 2015 ICC Colonies Cup to be held in Australia/New Zealand, they will definitely not be world champions.
The decision by Cricket Australia to vote in favour of the outrageous decision to exclude 95 developing cricket nations such as Canada, Holland and Ireland is an insult to the very Australian concept of giving everyone a “fair go”.
This 2015 tainted tournament will leave a sour taste in the mouth for all genuine sports fans for a long, long time.
Does the sporting public in Australia want to see a really inclusive Cricket World Cup where the winners will be real world champions or a second-rate Colonies Cup where the winners will be forever not world champions. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Four years ago I stood in a full bar on St Patrick’s Day, with music playing in the background and watched with other revellers as, on a muted television, Ireland beat Pakistan. In March of this year I ran from my office to St Stephen’s Green to catch the last two overs of Ireland’s historic victory over England. I stood and cheered with 60 strangers; up the road, outside Sinnotts, I saw a crowd of nearly 50 glued to every ball.
That the International Cricket Council can see fit to restrict the next “Cricket World-Cup” to 10 teams excluding Ireland is outrageous, disgraceful and shameful. The fact that this charade won’t even include the top 10 cricketing nations shows up this selfish and discriminatory decision for what it is. Ireland is the 10th ranked team in the world ahead of Zimbabwe, but due to our associate status we are to be excluded.
It is abundantly clear that the ICC feels everyone who wants to play cricket in the world already does. It feels the sport is big enough and just doesn’t want anybody else getting involved. For what does an associate team have to strive if it doesn’t have the world cup? On a budget a fraction of any test-nation and with all the prejudices that entails, Ireland and the other associates have struggled to bring cricket to new frontiers. The associate countries are the future of this sport: if a sport isn’t growing then it is in decline.
I am not a fan of rash or wild actions, however this decision by the ICC cannot be taken lying down. I would propose therefore that Ireland at least consider boycotting the next Twenty20 World Cup by way of protest.
We are not a big cricketing nation, but we are a proud one. We have toppled the best countries in the world and batted far above our weight. For the sacrifices the stars of this Irish team have made and for the future of the sport in Ireland, this decision must be overturned. – Yours, etc,