THE Irish cricket selectors meet in Dundalk tomorrow, their main task being to whittle down their original winter training squad to a more manageable size.
Thirty players were invited to partake in the weekly sessions that have taken place in Belfast, Dublin and Derry since early January and according to national coach Mike Hendrick, about 20 will be retained for the full squad sessions that begin next month.
Hendrick has been kept fairly busy since returning to his Belfast base in the New Year. Whether working with senior or under-age squads, he's been clocking up the road-miles while also trying to formulate Ireland's strategy for the next ICC Trophy competition in Malaysia early next year. His preparations include a reconnaissance mission to Kuala Lumpur in April.
Unfortunately, Hendrick was unable to comment on the performances of Kenya, Holland or the UAE during the current World Cup - "I've usually been somewhere between Dublin and Derry whenever the highlights have been on television!" - but he was obviously interested in Kenya's shock victory over the West Indies on Thursday. For the record, Ireland has played Kenya once, in a warmup friendly before the last ICC tournament in Nairobi, and lost by seven wickets.
ICU Honorary Secretary, Derek Scott, is also heading towards the sun in the near future. As Ireland's delegate in the International Cricket Council, he has been invited to India and Pakistan for the final stages of the World Cup, during which he will attend two ICC meetings arranged to decide the format of the Malaysia tournament.
Eddie Moore and Conor Hoey, team-mates for CYM and regular members of the senior international panel for the past few seasons, have made themselves unavailable for selection for 1996. Hoey has also decided to play his club cricket for Trinity, operating as player/coach.
Michael Rea, whose availability was limited last season, is apparently back in the frame. Based in London, Rea has given a commitment to travel for interprovincials and full squad sessions.
The number of teams in this year's senior interprovincial tournament has been reduced. Leinster and the Northern Cricket Union will now be represented by just one team each, while a Development Squad has been included in the competition. The other participating teams are Munster and the North West.
At their agm earlier this month, the Irish Cricket Union were delighted to announce that Royal Liver Assurance have agreed to sponsor the Irish Senior Cup for the next three seasons. Having taken over as sponsors in 1995, the company has made a significant contribution to the success and development of the competition and the decision to make a three-year commitment is very good news for Irish cricket.
