SHARP-eared TV viewers will notice a Dublin accent among the commentary team at the Cricket World T20 Cup starting this week in the USA and West Indies.

Former Ireland wicket-keeper batsman Niall O’Brien has made a name for himself as an astute and forthright commentator on the game and has been hired by ICC to be part of its team for the ‘world feed’ which will go all over the planet.

O’Brien will be covering all four of Ireland’s pool games, and also following Sri Lanka and Nepal.

‘I love the commentating’, says the former Railway Union man, ‘I could probably do it for 12 months a year but I don’t want to be away from the family.’

O’Brien, now a father to three, also works as a sports agent, having spent six years with CSM until he went out on his own last June.

‘I have about 20 players on my books – from Ireland, England, Scotland, West Indies, Australia, South Africa.’

Lungi Ngidi is his best-known client, but O’Brien took great pleasure in doing cricket and hockey equipment deals recently for a 15-year-old from his old Sandymount club, nephew Robert O’Brien.

‘He’s a great lad, scoring plenty of runs at the moment.’ Robert recently became the youngest centurion in Leinster senior history and is set for a tilt at following Uncles Kevin and Niall into the Ireland scene in a few years.

Niall has a great insight into the evolution of T20 since Ireland’s first taste back in 2008.

‘It’s a different planet’, he says. ‘Guys are now focussing on T20, just aiming to become T20 cricketers. No one is practising forward defences any more.

‘When I was a player a typical net practice would see you leave about 45% of the balls, and block 45%. The rest you would try to hit!

‘In 2009 Robert Key recommended that I spend time with a batting coach called Noddy Holder. I paid my own way to Australia and rocked up to a net with him.

‘I left the first six or seven balls and he stormed up to me and in typical-Aussie fashion let me have it: “fack’s sake mate, you fly half way round the world to improve your batting – why don’t you hit the ball?”

‘I learned a lot from him and played a couple of good knocks at the T20 World Cup that year.

‘But the mindset has changed enormously – it’s now all about hitting. Guys are so much fitter, so much stronger, and they hit the ball so much further. And they play without fear, they don’t need to worry about the coach bawling them out for getting out caught on the boundary.

‘It’s a different came for bowlers too, more of an issue of mental strength. You have to realise you are going to be hit for sixes and fours, but the key is being able to come back from that. It’s all about working on your skills and getting them right. A lot of it is nothing new – Azhar Mahmood was bowling back of the hand slower balls to Trent Johnston in Sabina Park in 2007.

‘But mental strength is so important – look at Josh Little in the Indian Premier League recently. In his first over he was it for 20 by Faf du Plessis, but he stuck to his guns and took three wickets in his next over and finished with 4-44. He showed he has the skills and mental strength to come back.’