Cusack joins the big league after masterful spell

ALEX Cusack's remarkable bowling spell against Sri Lanka on a hot Sunday afternoon at Lord's has earned him a nomination for a top ICC award. Cusack is in line for the Twenty20 International Performance of the Year Award after his inclusion in the shortlist of 14. He is the only associate cricketer to break into the senior shortlists, although Ireland have no fewer than seven of the 14 on the shortlist for Player of the Year for countries outside the test arena.

Cusack's day began inauspiciously, coming on to bowl the 11th over he was hit for six by Mahela Jayawardene. He came back on with three overs to go and Sri Lanka set to cut loose from a position of 124-4. His steady supply of yorkers baffled the Asian giants and he dismissed Jehan Mubarak and Jayawardene in his first over. Coming on to bowl the final six balls he bowled Angelo Mathews and had Muttiah Muralitharan stumped off the fifth ball before Kevin O'Brien failed to get down to a difficult chance off the last ball of the innings. Cusack finished with 4-18 off his three overs, his golden spell being 4-5 in nine deliveries as Sri Lanka slumped to 144-9. It was the fouth best bowling of the whole World Twenty20 tournament.

Sadly, and despite an opening stand of 59 in nine overs, Ireland fell nine runs short of yet another famous win.

An Irish cricketer has yet to win the Associate and Affiliate Player of the Year award, although the chances are presumably great this year with Cusack, Trent Johnston, William Porterfield, Kevin and Niall O'Brien, Regan West and Boyd Rankin all on the shortlist. Despite Ireland being pre-eminent in associate cricket for the last four years, Thomas Odoyo of Kenya won the first award in 2007, while Ryan ten Doeschate of Holland won last year.


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Further recognition of Ireland's players comes in the new ICC ranking list, which shows Trent Johnston scoring his highest ever placing of 44th. The former captain has risen in the chart every month since the 2007 World Cup. Kyle McCallan has slipped from 36th to 40th, but Andre Botha is back up to 47th, while Boyd Rankin is 87th. Among the batsmen Porterfield is 65th, Kevin O'Brien 71st and Niall O'Brien 74th.

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ONE of the most puzzling aspects of the summer has been the English selectors continuing shunning of Ed Joyce. The former Ireland batsman last played with three lions on his chest at the 2007 World Cup and has been in the one-day form of his life since he moved from Middlesex to Sussex.

Joyce has scored 883 ‘List A' runs this season, at an average of 63, with three 100s and four 50s. By way of comparison, the nearest to him is Marcus Trescothick, who has scored 647. The only current England player who has scored even half Joyce's total is Owais Shah, who has scored 525 runs.

The situation has puzzled former Australian star Justin Langer, who wrote in his blog:

'Joyce is a very good player and I can't believe he is not in the (England) one-day set-up because he has made a lot of runs for Sussex this year.

'I remember watching him make a hundred against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground in a one-day international in 2007 and being impressed.

'He is a brilliant cricketer and I am not sure why he is not in the set-up but that's for the selectors to worry about. I am sure Sussex are happy to have him in their side.'

The 30-year-old has certainly enjoyed his new club, adding a second successive Twenty20 winners' medal to his cabinet, and reaching the final of the Friends Provident Trophy.

Joyce played 17 one-day internationals for England and, should he not play for them again, will be available for Ireland in April 2011. Unfortunately that is just after the next World Cup, which Ireland qualified for in April. It is understood however that the ICC will look favourably on any request by an associate to reduce the ‘requalification' period, as that rule was not introduced to penalise players actually born in associate countries.

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A LOVELY gesture by Waringstown last weekend was naming the pavilion at the Lawn the Roy Harrison Pavilion.

It was Roy's 70th birthday and a surprise party was held to mark the event in the club, where he first learned of the honour.

'For the club to name the pavilion after me is the biggest honour anyone could wish for,' he said. 'It's not only an honour for myself, it's an honour for my brothers and sisters, for my two sons, and the whole family. It's something we're all very proud of.'

Harrison played for Waringstown's first XI from the 1950s to the late 1980s, making 9,000 runs and taking 300 wickets.

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FIXTURES

Thursday: Section A: Merrion v Railway

Saturday: Section A: Railway v Merrion, Leinster v Clontarf, Pembroke v North County, Section B: Rush v Old Belvedere


gsiggins@tribune.ie