CRICKET/Weekly Column: The match is about as relevant to the future of Irish cricket as the annual Puc Fada competitions in the Cooley peninsula, of course, but no doubt the purists will rejoice in the "traditional" three-day game against the MCC which begins at The Mardyke this morning.
This is Ireland's last outing before the away C & G match against Berkshire at the end of the month, but whether or not it is useful preparation for the national team players before that infinitely more important engagement is, at the very least, arguable.
Undoubtedly, the matches being played by the Ireland Under-18 squad at Oakham College in Leicestershire this week will have far more bearing on the future welfare and development of Irish cricket than the events at The Mardyke.
Captained by William Porterfield of Donemana, the under-18s are playing two one-day and one two-day internationals against the England Cricket Board (ECB) Under-17 side and are competing there by invitation, which in itself is a recognition of the standard of Irish under-age cricket, says Donal O'Sullivan, the honorary secretary of the Club Youth Branch of the Leinster Cricket Union and who also serves on the Youth Committee of the Irish Cricket Union.
"Last year, our Under-17 side beat the ECB's Under-15. That victory greatly impressed the ECB, so hence the invitation this year for our Under-18s. The ECB's gesture underlines the high standard of Irish under-age cricket," says O'Sullivan.
He dismisses any suggestion that the ECB's invitation is somewhat condescending, given the age gap between the two squads. "ECB under-age cricket is very strong; they don't compete in European Cricket Council (ECC) competitions except at Colts level, but on the domestic front their teams play much more competitive cricket than our lads," O'Sullivan insists. "That ECB recognition is a real barometer of the playing standard of our teams," he says.
And, as he points out, given the infinitely smaller playing numbers, the success of Irish under-age cricket has been quite phenomenal. This season, Ireland's Under-13, Under-15 and Under-17 sides all retained the ECC Championship titles which they won last year, while in a weather-afflicted tournament at Oundle, the Under-19 team ended up being beaten 3-2 in a bowl-out.
"The structures are right. We start with interprovincial matches at Under-11, and then there are the ECC international championships at Under-13, Under-15, Under-17 and Under-19 levels, and now our Under-18 squad is competing against the ECB side," said O'Sullivan.
The system allows the selectors to identify emerging young talent, to put the youngsters into squad training and to bring them along with the help of good coaching, backed up by the commitment and trust of the parents. In this regard, O'Sullivan believes that the Centre of Excellence currently being developed by the ICU and North County CC at Balrothery will play an immense part in the future development.
O'Sullivan dismisses any suggestion that Under-11 and Under-13 levels are too young to introduce kids to competitive cricket at representative level. These young players are mature in build and in mental outlook, he says, and as an example he cites the number of huge sixes hit during the recent ECC Under 13 Championship in Dublin.
But how to explain the gap which exists between the under-age and the senior international game, given Ireland's fairly bleak record in recent years? As O'Sullivan says, when they pass the under-age limits, the life styles of the young players often change, as they go to university, or take up demanding and time-consuming jobs, or drop out of sport altogether.
Clearly, it is difficult, or well-nigh impossible, to keep them together as a group. Hopefully, many of the young players will attain senior first X1 places in their clubs, and maybe go on to senior interprovincial competition, with a subsequent chance of national selection.
Maybe a national development team is the answer. Ireland has competed at this level in recent years, and did so again this summer in Holland. The success of the under-age squads proves that Ireland undoubtedly has the young cricketing talent; the trick is to nurture and develop it, and the future of up-and-coming young players like William Porterfield, Conor Kelly, Stuart McDonnell, Eoin Morgan, Johnny Pryor, Andrew Riddles, et al, will be watched with interest.
The ICU and its many unpaid administrators like Donal O'Sullivan certainly deserves a clap on the back for the continuing success of our under-age teams; more government money would help, but that'll be the day. Recently, as he donated a hand-out of € 3.75 million to rugby, John O'Donoghue, the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism and Whatever You're Having Yourself, said " . . . the GAA, IRFU and FAI . . . are best positioned to deliver major programmes which will provide opportunities for thousands of our young people to participate in sport."
Well, er, Yes, Minister. But let's not forget our kids who don't play rugby, soccer or Gaelic games; like the kids, for instance, who play hockey, tennis, badminton and - whisper it - cricket. Let's cherish the sporting children of the nation equally.
