Call for mailbag submissions
Submit your questions on the state of Irish cricket following Ireland's recent series vs Pakistan
There’s never a dull moment in Irish cricket circles.
Mercifully, we had some actual home cricket to discuss over the last week as the Ireland men’s side hosted Pakistan in Clontarf, going down to a 2-1 series defeat. After a thrilling opening Irish victory, Pakistan’s batters fired thereafter, hitting Ireland’s attack to all parts in back-to-back thumping victories.
Still, it was a somewhat positive series for Ireland who showed a blueprint for how they can win matches despite their deficiencies.
Further afield, it was a busy time for Ireland women as well. Ed Joyce and Laura Delany’s team fell agonisingly short of a World Cup spot, losing to Scotland in the qualifiers, a bitter blow for them given this is a better side than the one which did qualify for the last T20 World Cup in South Africa just over a year ago.
Of course, there’s no shortage of talking points off the pitch. There hasn’t been a mailbag since Teslagate, the curious appointment of former ICC CEO Dave Richardson to the CI board, and of course the ongoing forward-and-back between players and the powers that be over contracts. A stand-off might be a strong word to describe it, but it’s certainly not all rosy.
To discuss all of this, get your questions in for a third edition of the Q&A mailbag. I’ll take submissions over the next 48 hours or so before publishing on the weekend. Email me (nathanrjohns@icloud.com), Tweet me (@nathanrjohns) or comment on this post and I will include as many as I can.
Happy Wednesday.