TK takes it to the max
THE selection of Tyrone Kane for the Ireland T20 squad is just the latest example of how the Leinster system works.
From an early age he was identified as a special all-round talent and nurtured to achieve his potential.
“So many people have helped me,” he told the Irish Daily Star. “Merrion have been fantastic, with John Anderson and Dom Joyce in particular a huge influence. But coaches with Leinster and Ireland like Brian O’Rourke, Pete Johnston and Ryan Eagleson have been excellent too, right up to Craig Hogan in the academy.”
Kane will get his chance to show his class in the T20 series against Scotland in Bready which starts Thursday ahead of the World T20 qualifiers which will be staged in Ireland in July.
"Tyrone is an exciting young talent who deserves his chance," said Ireland head coach John Bracewell.
"He's very much an impact player as shown by his performances in the T20 games this season.”
Those T20 interpro displays were game changers, his hat-trick against Northern Knights followed by a stunning 5-15 against the North West Warriors, the first ‘Michelle’ five-fer in the competition.
“I think I could play in all formats”, he says, “but in T20 you bowl in short bursts and if you can build pressure with dots you can take wickets.”
‘TK’ has been training with the Irish squad for a few weeks and has been juggling his sport with pursuing an economics degree in UCD.
“It can be difficult to balance but if I miss a gym session then I just work harder at the next one to catch up.
“I’ve been doing a lot of strength and conditioning work and hitting balls every day, and thinking a lot more about my game.”
His commitment has been rewarded with the call-up, and once that cap with the No.692 on the side comes along then he will show us all what Merrion have been saying for years: TK is the real deal.
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IRELAND could be playing in the English county championship if a proposal to increase the competition to 21 teams is accepted by the ECB.
The current two nine-team divisions have fallen foul of some who want counties to play more lucrative one-day and T20 cricket. The proposed solution is three groups of seven, which would need extra teams from, it is suggested, the Minor Counties, Scotland and Ireland.
Cricket Ireland pulled out of the English one-day competition in 2009 and since then all bar one of Ireland’s 160 games have been against other nations.
But the four-day competition has a different appeal and would prove useful practice ahead in the bid for Test status. Ireland have lost only one of their last 30 Intercontinental Cup games since 2004 so some sterner tests would be undeniably important.
Bracewell wouldn’t have first call on his English-based players but as young guns Andy Balbirnie, George Dockrell and Paul Stirling have played one championship game between them this summer they might come into the reckoning.
And a season or two with Ireland might just appeal to Ed Joyce and Niall O’Brien as they wind down their glittering careers.
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KUDOS to Carlow who scored what’s believed to be a record 440 in 40 overs against Bagenelstown in the county derby on Sunday, winning by 367 runs.
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RUSH’S Ireland U17 player Stephen Doheny has a nice opportunity to sharpen his game this month when he turns out for Queen’s College Taunton under a scheme run by Cricket Leinster. And he took his chance, scoring 107 in his first game for Bishop’s Lydeard in the Somerset league and followed up with 70 and 4-34 last weekend.
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IN 125 years of the Northern Challenge Cup, only one double century was scored. Now James Hall has two after two rounds this year. In all competitions he has scored four centuries in a row, and in fact his 200 at the weekend brought his average down, having previously been 249.5!
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IT’S just as well there’s no sponsor of the Irish Senior or National Cups this year, as they’d likely be pulling out in embarrassment. First the first round draw was made with one team missing, and last week there was the Galway/Fox Lodge farce.
When Galway fielded three men who were also playing with Terenure some newspapers insisted they should be thrown out.
But this proved off-beam as Terenure hadn’t registered anyone for the competition before they withdrew and the three had been OK’d in writing by a CI official before the game.
With loopholes as wide as a Steve Harmison loosener someone needs to get the ISC regs sorted soon.
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FIXTURES
Thursday: T20 International: Ireland v Scotland, Bready; Leinster Women’s Div1, 6.0: Leinster v Hills, Pembroke v Merrion; Alan Murray Cup, 6.0: Rush v Phoenix
Friday: T20 International: Ireland v Scotland, Bready
Saturday: Leinster Div1: YMCA v Clontarf, Cork Co v Merrion, Railway v North Co; Div2: Leinster v Phoenix, The Hills v Balbriggan, Terenure v YMCA 2
Sunday: T20 International: Ireland v Scotland, Bready; Women’s County Championship: Devon v Ireland Tuesday: Alan Murray Cup, 6.0: Clontarf v Rush, Malahide v Phoenix, Railway Union v Pembroke