Latest news with #HeinrichMalan
Extra.ie
21-05-2025
- Sport
- Extra.ie
Reliance on imports puts spotlight on Irish system
The Dublin suburb of Clontarf won't quite be as hot as Kingston or Port-of-Spain today, but the sun will shine down on Ireland as they take on the West Indies at Castle Avenue. The men from the Caribbean aren't as daunting as they used to be, and Ireland go in with three successive wins over today's opponents. Heinrich Malan's plans have been disrupted by the wrecking ball which has robbed him of seamers Mark Adair, Graham Hume, Craig Young, Fionn Hand and Curtis Campher, and may force him to hand out as many as four new caps. Heinrich Malan. Pic: Seb Daly/Sportsfile The Windies have always been popular visitors, and superstars such as Brian Lara, Viv Richards and Joel Garner wowed Irish crowds on many occasions. This year's crop is more low key, but there are players to be excited about such as Shai Hope, who scored 170 on his last visit to this ground, pacemen Shamar Joseph, Alzarri Joseph and Jayden Seales, and dangerous slow left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie. Shai Hope. Pic: Sam Barnes/Sportsfile West Indies captain Hope certainly believes the team is in a good place to deliver today. 'The guys have settled in well and are ready to go,' said Hope. 'As soon as we got off the plane you could see the hunger. The preparation has been going well and all the senior boys in the squad know they have to continue raising their hand showing they really want it … good signs.' This is the Windies' first visit to these shores since 2019. That summer saw England, West Indies, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Zimbabwe, Scotland and Netherlands play here, a glut of action that supporters can only dream about this year. Andrew Balbirnie. Pic: INPHO/Ben Brady Summer's lease hath all too short a date, wrote Shakespeare, and one who can definitely concur with that is Ireland batsman Andrew Balbirnie, who will hope to shake a few of the darling buds of May at Castle Avenue. Today marks the first day of his international season, a campaign which will end on Sunday. Retired from T20s, the Pembroke and North-West Warriors player will head back to club and provincial fare, his summer in green over on May 25. The Ireland test captain will have been envious to read that Zimbabwe — who his team beat twice in the past year — will be playing 11 Tests this year, just as Ireland's scheduled five matches were reduced to two. Among the quartet who may make their international debuts this week are Cade Carmichael, Tom Mayes, Jordan Neill and Liam McCarthy. This has led to much comment online by supporters, because all four were born and learned their cricket in South Africa. Cade Carmichael. Pic: Tyler Miller/Sportsfile It is a situation that has long been a matter for debate, with the former Ireland coach Adrian Birrell — himself a South African — telling me in 2007 that he would never pick more than four imports, reckoning that supporters would not get behind an Irish team with more than that number. Ireland were just dipping their toes at ODI level then, so he brought Jeremy Bray, David Langford-Smith and Trent Johnston (all born in Australia), and Andre Botha (South Africa) to the 2007 World Cup, drawing some griping from UK media, even though all four were living here permanently and had married Irish women. By the 2011 World Cup, Phil Simmons had sufficiently weaned the side off imports to field 10 Irishmen in the famous win over England. Tom Mayes. Pic: Harry Murphy/Sportsfile Ireland's accession to ICC full membership in 2017 accelerated the influx from overseas of players ambitious to earn a Test cap. Ireland's first Test XI contained 10 men born here alongside Tim Murtagh, born into an Irish family in London. But when Ireland returned to Test cricket in 2023 after a three-year gap, the next four men capped were all out of Africa. The dangers of the practice were seen when Murray Commins and Theo van Woerkom jetted home as soon as they were discovered to be not up to the standard required. Theo van Woerkom. Pic: David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile Opportunities have dried up for Irishmen at English counties, removing the finishing school that made the 2011-18 team so strong. Despite much investment in the pathways here, it is too easy for coaches to look to ready-made options from overseas. Last summer, 88 men played in the Interpro tournaments, just 50 per cent were born in Ireland. Several of the rest were pros who had fetched up here for the season but many were players bidding to play internationally – 24 in total were South African, with others from Australia (8), India (7), England (3), Zimbabwe (3), as well as a New Zealander, Dane, Saudi and Canadian. More South Africans played in the interpros than players from Ulster, Munster and Connacht put together. And they found receptive Irish selectors — five imports were picked for the recent Wolves tour to Abu Dhabi — and now four are at the top of the rank waiting for the cap cab. Lorcan Tucker. Pic: Sam Barnes/Sportsfile Ireland vice-captain Lorcan Tucker, speaking to the Irish Mail on Sunday last weekend, was asked had he any concerns. 'Not at all,' he replied. 'These guys have made a big commitment to cricket in Ireland, uprooting their lives and careers to come here, and we are the better for it. 'They have lived here for several years and have performed in the interpros and for the Wolves, so they are entitled to play as much as anyone.' One must be careful not to go the nativist route and we need to recognise the great strengths many overseas players and coaches bring — and as rugby and football have shown, a winning Irish team will get supporters behind it no matter who is in it.
BBC News
14-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Ireland name uncapped trio for West Indies games
Ireland have included uncapped trio Cade Carmichael, Tom Mayes and Liam McCarthy in a 14-man squad for the one-day series against West Indies at Clontarf later this Adair has been ruled out of the ODIs by injury but has been named in another 14-man squad selected for next month's three T20 contests against West Indies which will take place at two white-ball series will be West Indies' first games in Ireland since Stirling will captain Ireland in both series with the squads including Indian Premier League player Josh Little after he returned for the white-ball contests in Zimbabwe in Carmichael, who plays for Instonians and the Northern Knights, has impressed for the Ireland Wolves while McCarthy and Mayes will offer Heinrich Malan's squad new seam options in the ODIs which will be played on 21, 23 and 25 May at the Dublin venue. McCarthy remains in the Ireland squad for the T20s which which take place in the North West on 12, 14 and 15 June. Ireland coach Malan has previously enjoyed guiding the team to successes over West months after his appointment, Ireland secured a 2-1 ODI series win over West Indies in June 2022 before an eye-catching T20 World Cup victory over the same opponents in Hobart later that West Indies are far from the world-leading force they were in the 1970s and 1980s, Malan is still expecting tough challenges against squads laden with players who compete in all the globe's top franchise leagues."Obviously they have been very successful in the past and I think they've got a real push on to try and get back to those days. So we're looking forward to a very competitive series and hopefully it will be six good games of cricket."The last time we played them was in Hobart and we managed to get across the line and that gives us a nice bit of confidence." Ireland's shock 1969 win The last time West Indies visited the North West to take on Ireland was way back in 1969 with the hosts claiming a shock nine-wicket win at Sion Mills after bowling the tourists out for just 25 story goes that some good old Irish hospitality may have affected the West Indies performance 56 years ago, as Malan jokingly alluded to on Wednesday."It's no pressure on the lads up there in the North West to make sure that they have a good couple of nights when we arrive," smiled the Ireland coach. "But we are looking forward to playing at Bready against them."From a T20 perspective they've shown that they've got some real power with both the bat and the ball so we'll have our work cut out for us but we are looking forward to the challenge."
