CRICKET: Anyone who has been following the Irish cricket team of late knows that the sport is very much on the up here, particularly at the elite level. The national side will take part in the 2007 World Cup and over the next five years the ICC will be handing over US$500,000 (€414,752) to develop the game on this island.
But there is also another reason to be optimistic in the short-term development of Irish cricket. John Wright, the Irish Cricket Union honorary secretary, was recently elected to sit on the powerful ICC Chief Executives' Committee, the body that decides all operational matters of the world game, from the size of bats to the introduction of substitutions in international matches.
Wright will also represent the ICC Associate Members on a sub-committee that will draw up the full Test programme for the next six years. The implications of this for Ireland could be significant and Wright makes no secret of the fact that he will be looking to organise that programme with maximum benefit to Ireland.
"We are trying to get in on those fixtures," he said yesterday. "For example, when South Africa come over to play England it is important that we organise it so that they will play at least once against us, and maybe more," he said.
Also, he will be pushing for a one-day international match or matches against our nearest Test-playing nation, England, something that has never happened before.
The chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) David Morgan and the ECB chief executive David Collier were both present at last Wednesday's ICC Trophy final in Clontarf. By all accounts, they were very impressed with what they saw, leading to speculation that the first game against a full England side cannot be far away, maybe as early as next season.
Test nations are meant to act as mentors for their Associate Member neighbours so surely there couldn't be a better way for England to do that than for the ECB to provide top class opposition against our national side in preparation for the World Cup less than two years from now.
Wright (62) has been hanging around Malahide Cricket Club since the 1950s, when it was the only sports club with its own grounds in the village. While he was not renowned for his on-field prowess, he did turn out for the club's junior teams for many years.
"There is a photo of me captaining a Minor Cup team, which gives an idea of how good I was," he said.
Wright took over as secretary of the ICU in 1998 from Derek Scott, who had spent 24 years in the job. Although it is not a paid position, it is practically full-time. In the last seven years, Wright has attended hundreds of meetings from Dundalk to Dubai and with Ireland's qualification for 2007, he feels the time is right to push Irish cricket forward at administrative level.
"The next big one is to secure more funding for the five Associate Members who qualified. At the moment, Ireland and Scotland receive the same ICC funding as the likes of Kuwait, Belgium and Japan. There really needs to be a streaming of that funding so that the better teams get more," he said.
With Wright's affable nature and legendary lobbying skills - honed at many Fianna Fáil ard fheiseanna over the years - don't be surprised if Irish cricket continues to pull off victories in the meeting rooms as well as the on the pitch.
