It has been hard times for Ireland recently. Since 2015 teams fortune has gone downhill, Now with test status already being awarded to them it is very important that they must start to uplift their game especially time is now for generation next to take center stage
Last few months have been frustrating for Irish fans they have seen their team be dominated by another team (Afghanistan) which started playing cricket only after them. They have been senior cricket country and have dominated them over the years. However tables have turned in recent times with Afghanistan’s fortune on upward and Ireland’s downward, a major reason may be the retirement of key players and failures of young Irish players to replace the hole left by them. However, it was still surprising to Ireland loose so convincingly in T-20 series by 2-0 (probably rain saved them from being whitewashed) and then losing the One-day Internationals miserably by 2-1. The series was not as close as it seemed as Afghanistan clearly looked the superior side.
One common aspect in all the defeats was Ireland incapability to play spin, they looked completely out of sort in all the games, they even found hard to chase 182 runs in the second game against Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Rahman, while they are quality spinners but the question is how has the cricket standards of Ireland fallen so drastically especially since the 2015 World Cup . While there are many reasons as we highlight the problem and the solution for the cricket in Country.
The major problem has been the retirements of quality players from old generations players like Neill O Brian ,George Mooney,Ed Joyce, Alan Cusak. Their retirement have left a big hole in the side while most of the side do struggle after the retirements of their star players like SriLanka did (After Mahela Jaywardene,Kumar Sangakka) India (After Dravid,Sachin and Laxman retired) Australia ( After Ponting,Clarke retired) and it was quite natural for the Irish side to struggle after the retirements of their star players , however what concerns more is that this period has stretched a bit longer and Ireland’s new generation does not seem to be capable enough to replace the old ones. Players like Stuart Thompson, Peter Chase, Young have not been able to fill in the shoes of their preceeders, they have failed to show the consistency required at international level. Things will get even more steeper as the current team is getting aged. William Porterfield,Kevin Brian, Brian Murtagh,Boyd Rankin are all in the twilight of their career. Apart from Andy Balbarnie,Paul Stirling, Gary Wilson and George Dockrell, they don’t have many players who promise to take Ireland cricket ahead. This is an irony that such a situation has started to become critical at the time when Ireland have got the test status, while their first test performance was promising but the question is whether they can sustain in the future.T he white ball performance though has left a lot to be desired.
Another problem for Ireland have been the movement of their major players to the county cricket and spending their best years with them be it Ed Joyce or Boyd Rankin or Tim Murtagh , now with test status and major funding from ICC in hand they have started to minimize this migration.They are trying to have better connection with their players across the world who have moved in search of better opportunity. Another reason for Ireland limited growth is the numbers of the ground they have .
Ireland still don't own their own grounds, either. Malahide and Stormont, the two venues where they play most frequently, are effectively only borrowed from clubs. It will take considerable extra sponsorship and government support for this ever to change. But construction on a national high performance centre in Dublin is in the process and hopefully it can pave the way for better infrastructure for Cricket Ireland.
Ireland domestic structure also need a revamp. The current system given the status of first class in 2013 does not provide enough games or competition. Each team only play four first class games (3 day games) and four fifty over matches with six t-20s every year. To make matter worse Leinster have won 13 out of 15 trophies. This not only means the set-up lacks competitive balance, but also that many of Ireland's most promising young cricketers do not even get to play first-class cricket, as they can't get in Leinster's team - understandably, given that Leinster routinely leave out an International batsman.
Its now on the likes of Administrators and players both to take Ireland Cricket forward , for these are the testing times for Irish Cricket and it have come at a time when they have got what they were waiting for years , the Test status and its time now that should start justifying the status along with a better performance in Ondeay Cricket . Its up to the likes of Stirlings,Dockrells and Balbirnies to ensure that Ireland have a safe future in Cricket and they don’t go on the path of Kenya and Zimbabwe .
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