IF you think it was madness staging a big cricket international in May, then you’re in for a nasty shock in 2017 – the next game against England will be played in APRIL!
Inside Edge has learned that the ICC future tours programme includes an England visit two years from now when winter coats are still in use.
It all means a headache and some big arguments ahead for Cricket Ireland and its chief executive Warren Deutrom – and maybe some big decisions too.
No matter the hype about that England team that came last week being “dangerous” because they had no marquee names among them, the Irish public and some players were seething.
And as the 2017 game is squeezed between away and home series with the West Indies we can expect the ECB selectors to send another “dangerous” development XI – especially as they have no fear of losing World Cup qualifying points as they host the 2019 event.
That last week’s fixture was tucked in barely two days after a Test tour across the Atlantic shows just how England see its responsibility to a deal that requires them to turn up here every TWO years.
The biennial visits only came about after the 2007 Future Cup in Belfast which saw India and South Africa play a triangular tournament.
The ECB freaked at what it saw as a threat to its TV rights dominance in this part of the world and offered an ODI every two years so Ireland would no longer organise its own events.
But an unattractive April date in 2017 is surely the last straw and must encourage Cricket Ireland to shake off the shackles.
The rains last week highlighted the huge risks involved in relying on the weather – even though it was the fans who pay most of the bills after the “no refund” clause kicked in after ten overs.
Surely the huge effort in building a 10,000-seater stadium and all the surrounding facilities is wasted when just one event is staged?
Could England not grant three games – Wednesday, Friday and Sunday to ensure the working fan gets a chance to watch while the lucrative corporate tables also get a good rattle?
Or could the two sides touring England come to play a triangular? This summer New Zealand play their last game on June 23, two days before Australia open their tour.
It wouldn’t take much reorganising in future for a Malahide three-way to take place that week, especially in 2016 when the visitors are Sri Lanka and Pakistan, good friends of Irish cricket.
Other options need to be explored too – staging open air concerts around the games would mean the costs of seating could be slashed.
Whatever hopes CI has of a big payday next time will be wiped away if it goes ahead in April. You can’t blame the disappointed fans if they hold off buying tickets until they see the weather forecast.
If the ECB won’t budge, then it’s time for Cricket Ireland to withdraw the invite and take their chances elsewhere.
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WEST INDIES coach Phil Simmons was a welcome guest at Malahide, dropping in on a flying visit as he tidies up business in this part of the world. His presence can’t have amused England coach Peter Moores, for whom the last straw in losing his job was the Windies’ fightback in Guyana.
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LEINSTER Lightning are back in action this week in the interpros, with a particularly attractive T20 game in YMCA on Friday at 5pm against the Northern Knights. Nine clubs are represented in the 12 and with free admission a big crowd can be expected.
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FANS of the TV series ‘Game of Thrones’ have been seen hanging around College Park hoping to catch a glimpse of one of its stars.
Trinity left-armer Finlay Glen is son of Iain Glen, who plays Jorah Mormant in the hit show, and fans hope he will soon turn up to watch.
Top actors are no big deal at the club however, who had a 2nd team player in the early ‘90s called Dominic West who went on to star in ‘The Wire’ and ‘300’.
And of course the greatest playwright of the 20th century, Samuel Beckett, also wore the whites for the college.
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FIXTURE
Friday: IP T20, 5.0: Leinster Lightning v Northern Knights, Claremont Road
Saturday: Div1, 1.0: Clontarf v Cork Co, Merrion v North Co, Pembroke v YMCA, Malahide v Railway, Div2: Trinity v Leinster, Phoenix v Terenure, YM2 v Hills, Rush v Balbriggan