JUST about the time Barry McCarthy was claiming the fourth of his five wickets last Tuesday morning, an email crept into the in-boxes of the Irish cricket media. The news it brought was of the selection of Ireland ‘A’ team’s first game of the season, a leg-stretcher against Marylebone Cricket Club in Bready next week.

There was the expected mix of experience in most of Cricket Ireland’s home-based contracted players (and a big hint on the captaincy succession stakes) and local club players. There was also a signal of a u-turn in the governing body’s selection policy with the surprisingly early elevation for the ex-Hampshire batsman Sean Terry after just two club innings (0 and 49) and before he had even been assessed at interprovincial level. Given that Cricket Ireland’s hitherto conservative approach had managed to drive away several ambitious antipodeans, perhaps this is to be welcomed.

But most eyes were raised by the absence of McCarthy, who last year became the first Irishman to play in the county championship before making his Ireland debut in more than a century. The Pembroke man is rated very highly at the Riverside, and this week saw him play his third game for the club. He’s already taken ten first-class wickets, the same as Boyd Rankin had in his first three county games and only one fewer at the same stage than Chase and George Dockrell. And McCarthy scored a lot more runs too.

He had been a 12th man for Ireland on a couple of occasions, including against Sri Lanka A in 2014 when Chase, Chris Dougherty and Nick Larkin also made their debuts. Larkin, of course, wasn’t quite as fortunate with the Irish selectors, disappearing off the Australia where he has faded into the obscurity of a first-class century for New South Wales, Australian U-23 Player of the Season and becoming the first Irish international to play in the Big Bash. He hasn’t heard a word from anyone in the Ireland set-up since before the 2015 World Cup.

“Cricket Ireland have missed out on a really top-class player”, Trent Johnston told the audience at a fund-raiser for Gorey cricket club last month.

Another top-class player came to mind this week too as I riffled through the new Wisden. There he sits on page 768, top of the averages for the 2nd Eleven championship: R M Gamble (Somerset).

Bobby Gamble’s family roots are in Navan, and he upped from Nottinghamshire underage cricket three years ago to follow his dream in Irish cricket. He played a few U19 friendlies and netted with Leinster Lightning before opportunities starting moving faster for him back in the UK than they were in Ireland.

He got into Loughborough, now an MCCU, and performed well against county opposition, and was soon on the books of Somerset. And by the end of last summer he was the leading bowler in county 2nd XI cricket (Paul Stirling was top of the 2nd XI batting averages too, a nice double for Irishmen).

“If I was playing in Ireland last year and this, I’d be further along than I am,” admitted Gamble this week. “I’ve only got a short window where I can forge a county career so I want to take advantage of that. I know they [Cricket Ireland] understand that but it does make it tough seeing others get opportunities. But I still really want to play for Ireland and am committed to that.”

Mark Adair, too, has been trying to break into the county game at Warwickshire, and got a county chance last September too, taking 1-61 in Taunton and making 24no. This week he was back in harness for the 2nd XI and like Gamble, he was left out of the Ireland A team.

Stuart Poynter has had a ridiculous prolific start to the summer, scoring four centuries for Durham 2nds and his 800 runs, albeit at a lower level, is even more than Ed Joyce. He too, was left out of the Ireland A team.

And then there’s Barry McCarthy, the star performer for Durham’s 1st XI as they beat championship contenders Lancashire, taking six wickets including captain Steven Frost twice, and scoring an important 37 runs. He too, was left out of the Ireland A team.

After these decisions attracted some criticism on Twitter – including mine – Cricket Ireland tweeted a sniffy note claiming that the county-contracted players had not been considered for the game. Now, aside from the wisdom of still calling the side Ireland ‘A’ – Ireland ‘B+’ anyone? – this crucial fact was never mentioned (as it usually would be) in the long and detailed press release which included quotes from the chairman of selectors, Alan Lewis.

And the post-dated spin fooled no-one.

McCarthy has been a star cricketer in the making for years to anyone who watches Leinster cricket. He’s worked hard to maximise his talent and create opportunities for himself. It’s odd that he is most recognised as a special talent outside his native land, but he’s getting on with it.

Cricket Ireland organised him a placement over the winter with Sydney grade club Randwick-Petersham, but a close friend told me Barry hasn’t heard from anyone in CI from September until this week.

“I’ve rated Barry for years”, said one leading coach who worked with him in Dublin. “He’s got a great work ethic. He wants to learn and he listens – which isn’t the case with many young players these days.

“He can do all three disciplines to international standards. For me he’s the perfect replacement for John Mooney.”

John Bracewell’s squad is not so well-stocked with seamers that they can ignore Adair, Gamble and McCarthy. One Irish selector told me recently that McCarthy lacks a yard of pace, a phrase that came to me on Thursday as I watched Sri Lanka’s debutant Dasun Shanaka dismiss Cook, Compton and Root in his first three overs as a test cricketer. That ‘yard of pace’ slur that has been hurled at Graeme McCarter too, throughout his career, and it’s good to see that he has performed so well since he returned to play interpros.

There’s no doubt that in Ian McGregor, Greg Molins, Kyle McCallan (for the moment) and Alan Lewis, the national senior side has a committed and serious bunch of selectors. Their job, for which they receive nothing but regular criticism, sometimes abuse, and rarely thanks, is an important one in an international hierarchy that has little interaction with clubs. But they’ve got this one wrong.