Mailbag part 2 - Fabled flights + Ireland's talent drain
Your questions answered at the conclusion of Ireland's home summer
As promised.
So many questions were submitted prior to the last mailbag that the story wouldn’t fit into one email. After part one went out last week, here are the rest of your queries answered.
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As always, your questions are in bold, with my thoughts tucked in below.
Both Hoey and Humphreys looked impressive during the SA tour (Humphreys in particular, but he already had some international experience). How have these performances been received by the Ireland camp? Do the likes of McBrine, White and Delany need to worry for their places yet, or is it too early to say? - James Belfast
They’ve been positively received, that is for sure. I suspect we will see different players in different formats. Until Hoey gets a chance to show his power hitting is up to scratch, Delany will remain in the T20 side as a batting all-rounder who can contribute more than useful overs with the ball. White should get another go as the main T20 spinner, even if he struggled a touch against South Africa. At present, Humphreys has the best chance of being a regular in both white ball formats.
It could well get to a stage where McBrine only plays in ODIs when faced with a left-hand dominant line-up - even if his batting provides some vital insurance against Irish top order collapses.
There’s still time until the 2026 T20 World Cup and the 2027 ODI World Cup qualifiers. Ireland will keep rotating these spinners until one or two clearly stand out. Even then, they may well like the idea of having a semi-reliable group from which they can mix and match depending on conditions and match-ups.
I know money a huge issue but any chance we host the ODI Women’s qualifier which should happen this summer? Additionally, Any plans for our women’s side this summer? Also I heard there was a lot of added expenses flying staff out to Abu Dhabi. Was the total bill big? - Irish Cricket Nut
You’d need multiple ICC accredited venues to host a qualifying event. That means getting different grounds kitted out for ICC spec changing rooms and all the other required facilities. Stormont’s clubhouse is there or thereabouts. They’d have to invest in at least one other ground and maybe try time it for a different men’s/women’s series directly before or after to minimise construction expenses.
I can’t see it happening. The ICC would bear some costs, probably the broadcast, but Ireland just doesn’t have the infrastructure. We hosted a women’s qualifier in 2013 in Merrion, The Hills and YMCA. The latter is no longer used for cricket (RIP).
I suspect the easiest option is to go to the UAE once again; everyone saves on the cost of setting up. Scotland in 2019 was the last time a women’s qualifier was hosted in a nation with no permanent cricket infrastructure. Since then, only Zimbabwe and the UAE have been used.
Re plan’s for the women’s team next year, that ODI World Cup qualifier, wherever it is, will be a big one for start. Before then, Ireland tour Bangladesh and India in the winter. The FTP runs out early next year and, while a new one has been agreed at the recent ICC meeting, it has not yet been announced. The only whisper I’ve heard is Pakistan will tour Ireland in and around the same time as the Hundred, which isn’t good news for Orla Prendergast’s bank balance.
The last question on staff costs in the UAE… that’s tricky.
The men’s games against South Africa constituted a home series, despite the Middle East location. No doubt, when hosting games you need staff on hand for various operational reasons. From what could be seen on the TV coverage, there were as many as 10 non-high performance Cricket Ireland staff/representatives at the games. They were also due to fly out a number of staff for a reconnaissance trip earlier this year ahead of playing these games.
I won’t pretend I have expert knowledge of all the necessary tasks when hosting matches in a stadium which isn’t yours in a foreign country. Especially when you’re networking with Irish diplomats, as was the case here when Ireland’s ambassador to the UAE went to a game. CI also had plenty of staff in Chelmsford when they hosted games there back in 2023. Granted, flights to Stansted are significantly cheaper than ones to the Middle East. 10 people does seem on the high side when you consider these costs and hotel prices in that part of the world.
At best, it’s a strange look to have that many staff at an almost empty stadium when this series was moved to the UAE to save money (as has been reported extensively, the cost of so doing ended up being at least €300,000 higher than initially anticipated). At worst, it’s a staff jolly. The truth likely falls somewhere in between.
You’re not the only one asking me these questions. Cricket Ireland isn’t wholly ignorant of them, either. While in New York for the World Cup, a number of CI staff were there to organise fan parties and networking events, trying to grow relations with the diaspora and potential sponsors. Some staff paid their own way and treated the trip as a holiday. Others were flown out only for some games, not the whole tournament. CI were concerned about the perception of a jolly and limited some people’s time in the States.
There are other strands of this wider discussion which don’t help when plenty of people are ready to jump on CI for any perceived indiscretion. Every year, the governing body applies for additional funding from Sport Ireland - high performance impact funding - for necessary bits they couldn’t otherwise afford. They have to fill out forms and justify why they need more money which, ultimately, comes from the taxpayer.
A Freedom of Information request saw the release of this year’s funding application. CI asked for €60,675 (as part of a total request of €323,459) to fly their high performance director, spin coach and a sports psychologist to the World Cup in America. They were ultimately granted €200,000 for the whole application, which included costs for various men’s and women’s training camps.
No one should quibble about a sports psychologist being made available to elite athletes at a World Cup.
You can argue the toss about the need for the high performance director to be with the squad for the whole competition. Richard Holdsworth was there to conduct a review into the tournament, as has previously been documented. Everyone has their opinions on CI’s reviews, that’s not really the main issue here.
For World Cups, the ICC pays for travel (business class) and accommodation for 25 people from each participating nation. This includes a 15-man playing group, coaches, support staff and then whoever is left over. For the spin coach, Chris Brown, to not be included on that list given the importance of that specialism, is very strange.
Ireland don’t have 10 specialist coaches, physios, S&Cs etc who are more important than Brown. On Cricket Ireland’s own website, there are seven people listed on the men’s backroom staff who aren’t the spin coach. Who traveled on the ICC dime instead of him? That question has been put to CI, without response at the time of publication.
The sports psych, presumably the one referenced in the funding application, was sent on the trip but was booked into economy. When the whole group turned up to check in for the flight, the players - who fly in the ICC-funded fancy seats - paid to upgrade the psychologist. It was an admirable display of solidarity; if you’re with the team, you’re with the team.
All of which is to say that, as is perhaps inevitable with an organisation that doesn’t have as much money as it needs, the cost of staff travel can be a thorny issue. It prompts suspicious questions from fans back home who don’t trust a governing body which, in their eyes, spends its money inefficiently. Even with the ICC funding hike this year, people involved in high performance, talent pathways and the grassroots are still calling for greater investment. It’s easy to then point at staff travel costs and ask about fat being trimmed.
In terms of the negative fan chatter, it’s important to bear in mind that there is likely lingering bitterness that recent games were played in the UAE and not Ireland. There are also those who will grumble no matter what CI does.
Cutting back on expenses in the UAE won’t have saved enough money to reinstate cancelled fixtures against Australia. Still, there are concrete examples elsewhere, in the case of Brown (who, to be clear, would have had nothing to do with his name being included in any funding application), of CI making strange decisions regarding staff travel. It could be unfair to conflate everything or it may be a sign of a wider culture issue.
How can Ireland get a player like Nathan McGuire, who has significant upside but been (deservedly) overtaken by several other young players, back into the fold? - Vayn Holden
Since playing for Ireland U19s in 2022, McGuire has played 37 times in the interpros, most recently for the Munster Reds. He has also played for Ireland A.
As a hard-hitting top order batter who offered useful off-spin, he was earmarked as a potential power bat. At the time he came through the U19s, Ireland didn’t have a lot of those.
His interpro record isn’t anything to write home about, averaging just over 20 in 50 overs with the bat and striking at 116 in T20s. That said, one coach who has worked with McGuire compared him to Paul Stirling given his ability to strike the ball cleanly.
Have we seen enough of that on a consistent basis? No.
McGuire was dropped from Munster’s squad this year and did not feature in the interpros. Instead, he played club cricket for Rush. Fitness has been suggested as an issue, but given Munster have had to borrow players from other provinces for a number of games this season, it would seem strange that they can’t find a place for someone who has played plenty of interpro cricket.
How to get him back in the fold? On one hand, the answer is simple. For CI/Munster, it’s to pick him in the interpros again. For McGuire, it’s to correct whatever it was that saw him dropped in the first place.
It may not be so easy. He’s in Australia playing club cricket over the winter and, like others who did the same before him, there may well be a chance he decides to stay out there. Think of Graham Kennedy, the former Ireland U19 and North West Warriors bowler who now lives in Melbourne.
In terms of the big picture, players like McGuire would be a candidate for domestic contracts, if Ireland ever gets to a stage of being able to afford them. That would be the best place to start, to ensure talent that might be able to keep the interpros above a certain standard remains in the system. As far as I’m aware, this isn’t happening any time soon.
Will Abbotstown make it easier for Ireland to host Tests, and how far away are Ireland from moving in? - Nakul Panda
Mercifully, this is a very short answer. Yes, a stadium which Cricket Ireland can use at will - even if it could be owned by the government and not the governing body - will make hosting all cricket at all levels significantly easier.
The government announcement in August said a 4,000 seater stadium will be ready by 2028. This is by no means an absolute guarantee that a ground will be built in three-and-a-half years, especially considering there’s an Irish election coming up and likely a new minister of sport on the way. Recent developments have certainly increased the likelihood.
If Abbotstown doesn’t happen by 2028, given they have put a promise in writing, it will be the government which deserves criticism, not Cricket Ireland.
How realistically the interpros are going to be developed into a 'top' competition and not the side note that it has become? - Will Houston
I’m sure Cricket Ireland would dispute the characterisation of a ‘side note’, but it’s quite clear that the interpros have lost the imagination of the fans. Barry Chambers wrote a good piece recently comparing the six people attending one recent match to the hundreds who turned up at the start of the competition back in 2013.
There’s a lot in this. Too much for a Q&A post which is already on the long side. Fan excitement vs giving players a decent development competition is just one strand. Given the midweek nature of the fixtures and, quite crucially, lack of evening games, it’s quite clear the latter has been prioritised.
But now there is a strong argument that even that development element is waning. Plenty of players have lost belief in the interpros as a pathway to get picked for Ireland.
If some of those involved have no faith and too many fans don’t care, what next? This is a crucial question as there is supposed to be an increase in the number of domestic first-class games next year. How will they fit in with a failing domestic structure?
There will be some sort of revamp of the competition next year. What that looks like remains to be seen. Graeme West, the new man in charge of Cricket Ireland’s high performance department, has been in the job less than a month. Plenty of theories are flying around as to what could be done. Cricket Ireland themselves have stated a goal of expanding the competition to European - presumably Dutch and Scottish teams - by 2027.
What actually happens is another matter entirely. A proper look at the intepros and a full explanation of the proposed changes is on my to-do list. There isn’t the space to do it justice here.
Stay tuned, as they say.
Will the 12 team comp in next season's Leinster Prem actually produce decent cricket or will the current 6 top sides just walk away with it again? - Will Houston
I love it when there’s a question about club cricket.
I’d say there will be a lot of decent games below the top two/three sides.
For context, in the top tier of Leinster club cricket next year, what was a seven-team league is moving into a 12-team competition. Each side will play each other once before splitting. The top six in the table will then move onto a Premier League, the bottom six into a Championship.
The concern behind the question, presumably, is that the top seven sides already in last year’s Premiership will dominate, and the five who come up will struggle to make any dent in the standings.
As far as the top end goes, will anything change? Pembroke, this year’s champions, were already a strong side. Then YMCA went under and they got the three Tector brothers and Olly Riley. Merrion also benefited from the YM talent drain with the likes of Mikey O’Reilly and Adam Rosslee moving there, so it’s no surprise to see they finished second. They finished 22.5 points behind Pembroke.
The gap between Merrion and Leinster in third? A significant 62 points. Pembroke - who didn’t lose a league game all year - and Merrion battled for the title and everyone else was fighting for positioning after that.
However, both Pembroke and Merrion look set to lose a handful of players. Enough for everyone else to close the gap? To answer your question, if worried about the title fight, it’s not the top six that’s the issue. It’s the top two. This has nothing to do with the restructuring of the league. It’s a question of departing players or form more generally allowing the rest of the league to catch up.
A further 40.5 points behind Clontarf in 5th were Malahide and Balbriggan, two teams which had pretty poor seasons. Rush or Railway, the top teams in last year’s Championship, and - to a lesser extent - North County and The Hills who came in behind them, won’t fear the bottom two in the Prem.
I could definitely see some good, competitive cricket in the battle to make up the top six next year behind Pembroke, Merrion, Leinster and Phoenix. Clontarf should be safe, but if they fall short, then the contest between themselves, Malahide, Balbriggan, Rush and Railway for the final Premier League spots could well be quite entertaining.
There is a major caveat to all this. We don’t know at this stage what the international availability will be. Senior Irish players managed to get a few club games this year because of significant gaps in the national schedule. The same might not be true next year.
The safest bet is to predict that the sides which use international players to top up a strong core - a la Pembroke - instead of relying on them, will be there or thereabouts again. The gap from the top two down should diminish given player departures. Some clubs will look at this and be aggressive in recruiting players to get them even closer. Then you have the battle for the last few Prem spots, which should be competitive.
It’s hard to predict club form, but I can see a world where there is enough competitive cricket to keep things interesting.
Whatever happened to Muzamil Sherzad? He looked so promising - Drp303
Muzamil Sherzad shot into fame - if that’s the right phrase - ahead of the 2022 U19 World Cup. He did an interview with Peter O’Reilly of the Sunday Times detailing his treacherous journey to Ireland as an Afghan refugee. The story of a 14-year-old leaving a war torn country culminating in playing for Ireland years later at an U19 World Cup was a heart-warming one.
He did well at that World Cup, taking two wickets in the first game and then a 3fer against India. He played in the first interpro of the following summer in a Leinster attack featuring Josh Little, Barry McCarthy, Simi Singh and George Dockrell. He only bowled three overs, taking 0-15. He has not been seen at that level since.
He played for The Hills last season, predominantly their 2nd XI, but didn’t really bowl much. He’s played a little bit in the District Cup for Fingal but, apart from that, hasn’t featured in representative cricket.
His bowling has suffered and he has dropped out of both the Ireland pathway and provincial reckoning. He’s still only 22.
Never write someone off at that age, but this is a classic case of losing talent when players between U19 level and senior cricket don’t get contracted. When Sherzad came over to Ireland as a refugee, he arrived without certain family members. He has since been reunited with them with their arrival into the country. Families need support.
After progressing from U19 level, some players stick at it, stay working with Irish pathway coaches and ultimately do make it. Most of these get parental support so they can focus on cricket. Sherzad is the clearest example yet of the potential talent drain when working with adult players who aren’t being paid.
Am so enjoying your informative dialogue and your impartial perspective which is something quite hard to find today.
A big concern for the expansion of CI players is the lack of development cricket - wolves and academy. There are a number of very good players who are not getting a chance to showcase their ability, or build their strengths, and as a result they are not talked about , they are not seen to be part of the CI set up going forward and they are discarded fairly quickly - very disheartening when they have committed to being available and are prepared to do the hard yards - but for what ? For little or no reward, little or no recognition, little or no opportunity. Surely this has to change