Ian Callender, 14 May 2001
THE first player, after captain Kyle McCallan and his deputy Decker Curry, to
book his place in the ICC Trophy squad was Adrian McCoubrey. On a beautiful morning
and a good batting track, the Ballymena bowler, who is in the form of his life,
proceeded to begin the Ireland trial at Stormont with a spell of five overs, two
maidens, one wicket for three runs, further evidence of how much he has improved
and how easy he is finding the transformation from club bowler to the representative
stage. The international arena beckons. He
delivered, what was to be, the ball of the match, in his fourth over, to uproot
Mark Gillespie's stumps and and make a huge dent in the chances of the Strabane
player becoming a team-mate in Canada. Still young enough to be highly critical
of his own performance, he was annoyed at conceding 28 runs in his five overs
at the end of the innings but, in a big match that would be deemed perfectly respectable.
Good teams expect to score six an over at the death, at the very least.
The ability to take wickets first up is an opening bowler's main asset and McCoubrey, with the wickets of ?? in the first trial at Clontarf and nine in two games for Ballymena this season, is firing on all cylinders. Hopefully he hasn't peaked too early! Of the other bowlers, Kyle McCallan could afford the luxury of taking off Decker Curry after he dismissed Jason Molins and Peter Gillespie in successive overs and, by bowling his maximum quota of 10 at one end, Jordan McGonigle enjoyed the experience of bowling five overs at this level without the innings ever threatening to get out of control. David Kennedy, another player who could not be considered for Canada because he was not in the 25 given to ICC last month, was surprisingly given the No 6 berth ahead of Mark Patterson but the Ballymena batsman more than justified his promotion with 46 runs which many capped players would have been proud of.
The second half of the match was a mismatch which would have delighted the selectors if Ryan Eagleson, Mark Patterson and Gary Neely had not been bowling. Two made the final 14 and the other is a named reserve but as the first two are both still working up to full pace and fitness, it was only right that two of Ireland's best batsmen should dominate. Eagleson struck in his first over and was denied a second wicket by a dropped catch which gave a life to Andrew White but Peter Davy's chanceless century was further evidence of what an Australian winter can do for Ireland player. And, for probably the first time in his life, enduring a 36-over partnership while waiting to bat, was Decker Curry. His patience was sorely tested but, in the cause of Ireland, it shows the strength in depth at the top of the order. Forever the team-man, there were still 11 runs wanted to win when Curry went to the wicket with Davy nine runs short of his century. The strike was easily manufactured and Decker faced one ball before victory was achieved. He did not play a stroke!
The facilities at Stormont have not advanced since last year but the good news is that work is going on behind the scenes to transform the Section Four ground into Ireland's No 1 venue in the province. The purchase of an electronic scoreboard is out to tender - it is due to make an appearance in July - and a building programme is under way alongside the existing pavilion with a completion date of late 2002. New sightscreens are already in place and with the first of the four new pitches passing yesterday's examination with flying colours, there is finally light at the end of the tunnel for a dedicated international venue in Northern Ireland. Let's hope we have a team and a status to do it justice.