Following the ICC’s decision to cut the 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand to 10 teams and axe all countries outside elite member status, Ireland and Northamptonshire wicketkeeper Niall O’Brien writes exclusively for AOC to describe the impact the decision will have on the future of Irish cricket:
Growing up as a cricket mad Irish boy I always dreamt of playing Test Match cricket against the likes of Australia, India and, of course, England. Those dreams were always going to be hard to fulfill, but a chance to play in the World Cup was a realistic possibility and the thought of holding aloft the trophy would send me off to sleep on a nightly basis.
Most Irish kids would dream of playing football, Gaelic football, hurling or rugby but I only ever wanted to play cricket. Thankfully I’ve been able to play in four World Cups to date (two Twenty20 tournaments and two 50-over competitions) and enjoyed some success in these amazing tournaments. I have made some great friends throughout the cricketing world and to think that I won’t get the chance to play in another 50-over World Cup at the age of 29 is really hard to take. I’m now coming of age as a batsman and as a wicketkeeper you get better with experience, so I would love to have the chance to play in the 2015 World Cup in Australia, especially as I have so many friends over there through my five seasons playing grade cricket.
If I don’t get the chance to do that then so be it, but the people I feel for is the kids in Ireland. Youngsters in our side like George Dockrell and Paul Stirling have said that watching the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean inspired them to push for a place in the 2011 World Cup. Now the kids at home have not got that goal to work towards and that could lead to boys and girls all over Ireland giving up on cricket in pursuit of other interests.
Cricket has changed my life and in the main that is down to the World Cup. To think that another player from the Associate nations will not have the chance do something special like my brother Kevin and create history is hard to take.
Associate cricket is a colourful place and a proud place but more importantly it’s a place where cricket is growing. Cricket is a world sport, not a sport just for the 10 full member nations. It’s a global game and should remain so. True, some of the results in the recent World Cup against the so-called minnows were not what we would have wished but every team can get rolled over from time to time – just look at Bangladesh who got bowled out for 58 against West Indies and also had another low score against South Africa on their home patch.
From my point of view, Ireland are a strong cricket team. Every team in the World Cup knew that and no one took us lightly. We are a strong force and the fact that we are getting better and better shows that we should be involved rather than held back. All in all, it’s a dark time for cricket. There have been many bad times within the game recently and Ireland have brought so many good moments. These should continue.
Irish people are sports mad and the public wants the cricket team to succeed just as much as the football or rugby sides, so I ask the ICC to let that continue. I hope to see you all in Australia at the next edition of the World Cup.
Niall O’Brien
For more on the ICC’s controversial decision, look out for our interview with Cricket Ireland’s chief executive Warren Deutrom in next month’s AOC.
Exclusive: Niall O’Brien On Ireland’s World Cup Axe
Following the ICC’s decision to cut the 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand to 10 teams and axe all countries outside elite member status, Ireland and Northamptonshire wicketkeeper Niall O’Brien writes exclusively for AOC to describe the impact the decision will have on the future of Irish cricket:
Growing up as a cricket mad Irish boy I always dreamt of playing Test Match cricket against the likes of Australia, India and, of course, England. Those dreams were always going to be hard to fulfill, but a chance to play in the World Cup was a realistic possibility and the thought of holding aloft the trophy would send me off to sleep on a nightly basis.
Most Irish kids would dream of playing football, Gaelic football, hurling or rugby but I only ever wanted to play cricket. Thankfully I’ve been able to play in four World Cups to date (two Twenty20 tournaments and two 50-over competitions) and enjoyed some success in these amazing tournaments. I have made some great friends throughout the cricketing world and to think that I won’t get the chance to play in another 50-over World Cup at the age of 29 is really hard to take. I’m now coming of age as a batsman and as a wicketkeeper you get better with experience, so I would love to have the chance to play in the 2015 World Cup in Australia, especially as I have so many friends over there through my five seasons playing grade cricket.
If I don’t get the chance to do that then so be it, but the people I feel for is the kids in Ireland. Youngsters in our side like George Dockrell and Paul Stirling have said that watching the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean inspired them to push for a place in the 2011 World Cup. Now the kids at home have not got that goal to work towards and that could lead to boys and girls all over Ireland giving up on cricket in pursuit of other interests.
Cricket has changed my life and in the main that is down to the World Cup. To think that another player from the Associate nations will not have the chance do something special like my brother Kevin and create history is hard to take.
Associate cricket is a colourful place and a proud place but more importantly it’s a place where cricket is growing. Cricket is a world sport, not a sport just for the 10 full member nations. It’s a global game and should remain so. True, some of the results in the recent World Cup against the so-called minnows were not what we would have wished but every team can get rolled over from time to time – just look at Bangladesh who got bowled out for 58 against West Indies and also had another low score against South Africa on their home patch.
From my point of view, Ireland are a strong cricket team. Every team in the World Cup knew that and no one took us lightly. We are a strong force and the fact that we are getting better and better shows that we should be involved rather than held back. All in all, it’s a dark time for cricket. There have been many bad times within the game recently and Ireland have brought so many good moments. These should continue.
Irish people are sports mad and the public wants the cricket team to succeed just as much as the football or rugby sides, so I ask the ICC to let that continue. I hope to see you all in Australia at the next edition of the World Cup.
Niall O’Brien
For more on the ICC’s controversial decision, look out for our interview with Cricket Ireland’s chief executive Warren Deutrom in next month’s AOC.