BACK TO THE FUTURE

20th July 2017

“Het jy al ooit dink dat jy op hierdie dag sou sien Max?” Johan Botha’s call in Afrikaans to Max Sorensen echoed around the empty stands of the Malahide International Cricket Ground.

By this time tomorrow twelve thousand spectators will throng this most picturesque of grounds as it becomes the 110th venue to stage a Test Match, heralding Ireland’s status as a Test nation.

Tomorrow Friday the 21st of July 2017 sees the dream come to fruition some three years earlier than anyone had dared hope.

The Ireland players had just begun their practice session while in front of the new pavilion Phil Simmons, with a smile as wide as Dublin Bay, chatted to the West Indies Team Manager Ridley Jacobs.

Given their support and encouragement to Irish cricket it very fitting that the West Indies are Ireland’s first opponents at Test level. They had readily agreed to come to Dublin at the conclusion of their series against England. It is remarkable that it is less than four years since that unforgettable day in September 2013 when ten thousand spectators packed the pop up stadium as Ireland hosted England, with Sky Sports beaming the game around the globe.

Today it is the relatively new all Ireland broadcaster UTV that has its engineers and cameramen going through their final checks before live action commences in the morning. Malahide is no longer a pop up stadium as it now proudly displays not only its spanking new pavilion but also five thousand permanent seats, floodlights and a corporate hospitality pavilion capable of hosting one thousand guests.

This latter structure which is open all year round has already proved to be a significant income generator for Cricket Ireland as the recession eases and Corporate Ireland, recognising the idyllic setting and proximity to Dublin airport, has embraced it as a top class conference centre.

Seven thousand temporary seats together with a hundred seat media centre will become permanent features within three years. So how did this all come about you may well ask?

The answer encompasses events both on and off the field over the past three years. Following on from their spectacular treble winning year of 2013 Ireland were invited to participate in the West Indies 50 over Regional competition followed by an ODI and two T20 Internationals against the host country.

Victory over Jamaica in the third of the group games kick started the year and provided the momentum to share the T20 series with the West Indies. Although Ireland lost narrowly in the ODI they headed to Bangladesh confident that they could reach the second stage. This was duly achieved by a comprehensive win over a Zimbabwe team shorn of any meaningful cricket for six months and decisive victories against Netherlands and UAE.

Although Ireland lost their first three games in the second stage, they acquitted themselves admirably against South Africa and New Zealand losing both games by less than ten runs. However they left Bangladesh on a high with a five wicket win against England who were still suffering the aftershocks of their demolition in Australia.

Back at Clontarf in May Ireland finally beat a Test country at home when they won the second ODI to share the series with Sri Lanka. However it was the events of 2015 that were to catapult Ireland to Full Member status and take them to a level unimaginable a decade ago.

After an acclimatisation trip to Australia in late 2014 Ireland returned in February for the World Cup. They won four of their group matches to finish third in Group B having needed to win their final two games to qualify. There was a spookily déjà vu reminder to those last two games as they first took on Zimbabwe followed by an encounter against Pakistan just as they had in 2007. The Zimbabwe result was a far cry from 2007 as there was to be no repeat of a final ball tie. Ireland, as they had done in the 2015 T20 World Cup, totally outplayed their opponents who were unable to field a competitive side because so many players refused to travel because they had not been paid for a considerable time.

The Pakistan game was very reminiscent of the two closely contested ODI’s in Clontarf back in 2013 except this time Ireland held their nerve and won by two wickets to set up a Quarter Final against New Zealand at the iconic MCG.

Over a month had passed since Ireland’s first match and back home the tens of thousands of followers, both old and new, were easy to identify by their bleary eyed countenance on the morning after each game. None of Ireland’s previous six games had been played in an area where large numbers of Irish resided but Melbourne was so very different.

When the team came out for the Day/Night match it was like the football World Cup game against Italy in the Meadowlands in New Jersey in 1994. There was a sea of green everywhere you looked and just as in 1994 Ireland were inspired and for the first time beat New Zealand. Although the Semi Final was a bridge too far Ireland had left a mark on the cricketing world that no amount of abrasive cleaning could ever remove.

They had proved beyond argument that they possessed the players and spirit deserving of a place at the top table. In May Ireland again beat New Zealand at Clontarf to record their fifth ODI victory over a Full Member country within the space of fifteen months but it was events over eight and a half thousand kilometres away that was to have an even greater impact on the future of Irish cricket.

In an attempt to quell growing unrest the Zimbabwe Government nationalized all farm land and large businesses. This in turn led to even more conflict and major destruction of property. The Harare Sports Club, the major cricket ground in Zimbabwe, adjacent to the Presidential Palace was totally destroyed. The Government claimed that the rioters were responsible while the opposition were adamant that Government forces razed the club to the ground to ensure a clear field of fire from the Presidential Palace. Either way the historic club and its records and memorabilia were lost.

Cricket was already in crisis with players and coaching staff unpaid and now with properties and homes gone considerable numbers of the best cricketers were leaving the country. The tens of millions of dollars of ICC funding could not be adequately accounted for and as much as the ICC wanted to sustain International cricket in Zimbabwe the political situation precluded any further financial support pending a review in 2016.

By the spring of 2016 it was clear that first class cricket in Zimbabwe was impossible and the ICC was forced to indefinitely suspend the country’s Full Member status. Warren Deutrom had been the leading Associate advocate for some years and he now argued that Ireland’s performances together with a sound corporate structure warranted their elevation to full membership to replace Zimbabwe.

Following a series of visits to Ireland in the autumn by ICC delegates it was decided to award Full Member status for an initial period of five years commencing in July 2017. To maintain the delicate balance on the ICC Council, Afghanistan were also awarded the same status for the same period. ICC funding together with sponsorship from Corporate Ireland and grants from the two Governments on the island enabled Cricket Ireland to accelerate the development of the Malahide ground to have it at international standard by May 2017. So that is how we got here.

Tonight Cricket Ireland hosted a gala dinner in the new corporate hospitality pavilion attended by dignitaries from across the cricketing world. Warren Deutrom was flanked at the top table by both the ICC President and the President of Cricket Ireland together with the Taoiseach and the Stormont First Minister who were accompanied by their deputy’s.

Cricketing legends from across the world had accepted invitations and revelled in the festive atmosphere. There was a trio of Knights, Ian Botham, Viv Richards and Gary Sobers and they clearly were relishing the fine wines and reminiscing about their careers both on and off the field.

Ireland cricket giants, whose performances had sustained the game through its darkest days, took their rightful place at the tables. At one table Peter Gillespie, Junior McBrine and Ossie Colhoun entertained a bewildered group of Sri Lankans while Stephen Warke, Garfield Harrison and Alan Lewis tried to convince Michael Halliday that he should make a comeback and join the 100 cap club.

Trent Johnston hosted a table that included Andrew White, Kyle McCallan, Andre Botha, Jeremy Bray, Adi Birrell and Mike Hendrick and they would have been justified in taking pride in their contribution to this journey’s end. A table was reserved for the eleven men who had played Test cricket for the countries of their birth but also played for Ireland.

The gregarious Mark Waugh sat opposite his taciturn brother Steve while the Pakistan spinners Saqlain Mushtaq and Shahid Afridi discussed their dark art with Johan Botha. The South Africans Nanti Hayward and Jonty Rhodes commiserated with Ravi Rampaul as injury had kept him out of the game.

To the surprise of many Jesse Ryder showed up although it was remarked that he ate more courses tonight than he made runs in his two innings for Ireland. Places were left for the two players who had tragically died since their outings for Ireland.

Raman Lamba died in 1998 a few days after being hit on the head while fielding without a helmet at short leg in a match in Dhaka, Bangladesh. He had come to Ireland when his international career with India had ceased and he played with North Down, Woodvale, Cliftonville and Ardmore.

The final place was reserved for Hansie Cronje who was the charismatic captain of South Africa until his career was ended by the scandal of match fixing. He died, along with the two pilots of the cargo plane in which he was travelling, when the plane crashed in a storm in the Western Cape in June 2002.

In Ireland he will be remembered for his contribution to the first ever competitive win against an English County when Middlesex were defeated by 46 runs at Clontarf in 1997. He made 94 not out and took 3 for 38 although the Man of the Match award was given to Dekker Curry for his 75.

There is no doubt that playing with all these Test players had a very positive influence on cricket in Ireland as their professionalism rubbed off on the amateur club cricketers who represented the country at that time. By midnight everyone had drifted away, some to bed and others in search of further refreshment.

Even the two media tables were deserted by that time and at long last as Ger Siggins noted, Ireland cricket is now followed by a press pool and not just a puddle.

21st July 2017

The village of Malahide is teeming with supporters making their way to the stadium. Every café and pub is serving food and the queues stretch well into the streets.

Specials trains deposit thousands at the railway station across from the ground. Spirits are high not just at the prospect of this historic day but also because of the warm sunny morning. Inside the ground both teams are warming up and the skittishness of the Ireland players portray an excusable nervousness.

With practice over, the legends of Ireland and the guests from over the world are introduced to the crowds. Most are still sprightly although the close up TV HD pictures identifies those who had really made a night of it.

The toss is won by William Porterfield and with a tinge of green in the wicket decides to bowl. Warren Deutrom unveils a plaque on the external wall of the new pavilion in memory of John Wright, whose vision more than a decade ago was a catalyst in realising the dream.

As the last bars of Ireland’s Call drift away on the light breeze the Ireland team gathers in a huddle and the opening batsmen make their way to the middle. At 10 30 precisely the umpire calls play and Max Sorensen polishes the shiny new red ball on his sleeveless sweater emblazoned with the commemorative badge and prepares to bowl the first ever ball for Ireland in Test cricket.

Suddenly he pauses as a hum sounding like a swarm of bees rises from the stands; it gets louder and now becomes a roar. Then it is accompanied by a clickity clack sound, reminiscent of the trains passing through the adjacent station. This rhythmic clapping and the roar reach a crescendo and Max Sorensen takes one more deep breath.

As he finally sets off on his run-up his brain floods with the thought “You were right Johan, I never thought that this day would arrive”.