***Unofficial*** Ireland Discussion Thread

[Athlai]

Thought West looked dire personally. Connell too.

Though it was a very limited peak at the both of them.

 

[Uppercut]

Connell fell apart towards last summer. Played one game in the World T20 and only bowled one over.

Was a shame because Connell's bowling the previous summer was a big factor in getting us there in the first place here, here and most crucially here where he helped us defend a total of 43 in 9 overs. His Intercontinental Cup record, though I didn't see any of those games, was fantastic so I presume he was just as effective there. It's unfortunate that his bowling went to pot so badly.

Regan West has been properly good lately- I suppose you've only seen him bowl in T20 games? Like most of our team, he's much better suited to the 50-over stuff. You should have seen him bowl against England in August.

 

[turnstyle]

Connell fell apart towards last summer. Played one game in the World T20 and only bowled one over.

Was a shame because Connell's bowling the previous summer was a big factor in getting us there in the first place here, here and most crucially here where he helped us defend a total of 43 in 9 overs. His Intercontinental Cup record, though I didn't see any of those games, was fantastic so I presume he was just as effective there. It's unfortunate that his bowling went to pot so badly.

Regan West has been properly good lately- I suppose you've only seen him bowl in T20 games? Like most of our team, he's much better suited to the 50-over stuff. You should have seen him bowl against England in August.

You're only ever going to play one spinner though, so would you play him in front of Kyle? On a separate note - i'm not sure what the selectors still see in Andrew White. He's not quite a bat yet not quite a international bowler either but i do have quite a soft spot for him.

 

[Craig]

I am not doubting BCCI's motives, but it is important to keep in mind that the vote was unanimous. Obviously, the others (who were no doubt aware of the political implications) saw something....

Manan, why would Ireland necessarily be a vote against the BCCI? Why not get them onside early and get them to vote in favour of the BCCI. This can be done in the form of "donations" (would probably be loose change for them), help in their development (playing against India 'A' teams etc.), and offer to support them in their bid for Test cricket?

Jack Warner basically buys up votes from other FIFA members.

 

[Richard]

I am not doubting BCCI's motives, but it is important to keep in mind that the vote was unanimous. Obviously, the others (who were no doubt aware of the political implications) saw something....

Yeah, as I say, there's no implicit evidence to support the conspiracy-theory and I don't particularly believe it myself. Bangladesh's promotion to full membership was simply a humungous mistake by a great many people, and can perhaps be explained only by the fact that people sometimes make mistakes because they are over-optimistic.

 

[Uppercut]

You're only ever going to play one spinner though, so would you play him in front of Kyle? On a separate note - i'm not sure what the selectors still see in Andrew White. He's not quite a bat yet not quite a international bowler either but i do have quite a soft spot for him.

Andrew White? He just tries to sweep or reverse-sweep everything. He's there for comic relief.

We quite often do play two spinners, the makeup of the side allows that these days because there's sooo much batting. But if we had to only play one I would indeed after much thought go for West at the moment. He's bowling too damn well to leave out.

 

[Richard]

argh, recently stalking these forums I'm hearing so much before unknown cricket politics, whats the deal here, I want low-downs.

The ICC is controlled by what is often known as the "Asian Bloc" - the BCCI, PCB, BCCSL and BCB vote together, as do Zimbabwe who are not Asian but are vulnerable and depend on the BCCI's protection, on just about any given issue. This 5\10 control means that whatever the BCCI (the "head" of this "bloc") want, they essentially get. Had Bangladesh not been promoted to Full Member status, the BCCI would never have been able to gain this control and ICC decisions would have been a little closer to being genuinely democratic (only closer, not by any stretch of the imagination truly so).

Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, who do not merit Test status with on-field considerations only considered, are retained as Test teams because their vote is vital to the BCCI's control of ICC. There may well be little truth in the notion that Bangladesh's promotion was engineered by the BCCI, realising what it would mean for them, but that's why it's there.

 

[davidgdafter]

Are Ireland good enough for test status?

I have a few Irish friends and some of them play cricket in Ireland. There are lots of complaints at the moment, especially since Eoin Morgan has done well for playing for England, that the good Irish players are being poached, and this is compounded by the fact that Ireland has not got test status and isn't yet a full member of the ICC.

We have been arguing about this in the pub (where most serious debates take place!!) for the last month or so now and I wanted to know what you lot think.

It sounds a bit too easy to grant them full ICC membership and then test status, as they could then become the whipping boys of the test playing nations. Do you think they should be granted test status and possibly play the bottom 3 ranked nations, to help get a bit of experience before taking on the international powerhouses. Or do you think Ireland should just continue to improve in the limited overs side of the game and leave test cricket for a year or two down the line?

It will be interesting to hear peoples thoughts on this.

 

[Scaly piscine]

Home Test status ftw.

 

[Sir Alex]

Irish may be, but Ireland never will be, thanks to ECB.

 

[BoyBrumby]

Not quite yet, IMHO, however it comes with the proviso that I don't think they'd be much worse than Bangladesh if the Joyces and Morgans of the world were restored to their ranks.

 

[Pothas]

But Ireland and England are the same country, didn't you know?

 

[Avada Kedavra]

If they get back all players that they have abdicated to England,they will be better than Bangladesh.

 

[kingkallis]

Why cant we have a 2nd tier of Bangladesh, Ireland and Zimbabwe?

 

[NasserFan207]

Not yet.

I'd like to see us, Zimbabwe and Bangladesh in a few lower tier 'tests'.

Tbf, with Joyce back, Morgan is the only guy we've really lost. Admittedly he's by far our most talented, but still.

 

[zaremba]

Joyce, O'Brien, Morgan, Rankin are all pretty good players who would walk into, say, the Bangladesh or Zimbabwe team. Not sure who there is outside those 4 though. And England has nicked one of them for the time being at least.

 

[Athlai]

Yeah if they got Morgan back I reckon their batting would be superior to Bangladeshes, their bowling still leaves a bit to be desired as Bangers do have a few quality spinners.

Home Tests is a good idea.

 

[Cruxdude]

I don't think they are ready yet.

 

[Cruxdude]

Yeah if they got Morgan back I reckon their batting would be superior to Bangladeshes, their bowling still leaves a bit to be desired as Bangers do have a few quality spinners.

Home Tests is a good idea.

Don't agree.

 

[silentstriker]

IMO they can beat India in Ireland.