Ireland, season review and future

riffmongous

First off, I know the season isn't over yet but I've wanted to check these stats for a while and also things have gone so bad that even a win in the last game against NZ won't change much.

All stats courtesy of cricinfo, so;
ODIs since 1st Jan 2016




summary
11 full member games, 9 losses and 2 called off, our best game was a 51 run loss, 6 of the games were lost by more than 100 runs or 7 wickets

10 games against Afghanistan, 5 lost, 4 won

2 games against UAE, both won

T20s



summary
5 won, 10 lost with only one game against a full member, and 5-0 versus Afghanistan

Intercontinental Cup
5 games, 4 won, 1 lost against Afghanistan

riffmongous

Next up batting

ODIs


T20

riffmongous

And finally bowling

ODIs


T20

riffmongous

Well there's a lot there to analyse and this isn't a blog so I hope some other people will join in

Where to start, T20 record is absolutely atrocious, as is the ODI record against Full Members. That we lost every game would be maybe forgivable since we have never won a whole lot of them, however the margins of defeat are incredibly bad. 6 out of 9 games were barely worth playing from the opponent's perspective.

Looking at the squad, aside from Dockrell the tail doesn't contribute anything batting. From our top ODI batsman, Stirling is the newest addition and he made his debut in 2008 (T20 batting is just plain awful)

Bowling is a real worry now, in ODIs Dockrell has an average of 50.. Chase doesn't look up to standard, McBrine doesn't bowl enough, Murtagh bowls economically but doesn't take wickets, but at least McCarthy is showing some promise, and we really miss Rankin. That we still rely on K'OB so much for bowling is sad.

Royale with Cheese

At the NZ game last week I had a conversation about where Ireland are falling behind; and came to the conclusion that it was batting, bowling and fielding. There's no one place you can target for improvement, they're just a long way short of full member teams in every area.

That batting lineup hasn't changed in years though. I've no idea what the standard of players coming through is but bringing in Simi Singh last week and batting him at 7 and not giving him a bowl seemed liked a bit of a waste. Ed Joyce, the oldest member of the squad, having the highest average doesn't bode too well either.

I know we were somewhat competitive 10 years ago, but are we just reverting to type now?

riffmongous

I thought there might be a bit more interest in this? Or is interest in Irish cricket just at a low in general from all the losses?

trentysarmy

We have fallen behind in so many ways but not all is lost. Look back to how we made out first world cup in 2007. We had an excellent blend of fantastic young Irish cricketers (Morgan, Rankin, Porterfield & K O'Brien), combined with brilliant overseas talent that had spend many years in Ireland (Botha, TJ, Bray and DLS). We also had great support players like N' O'Brien, White, McCallan and the Mooney brothers. They were coached by a brilliant coach, full of ideas, and who demanded nothing but 100% commitment, and had us able to compete with any Test Nation when it came to fielding, something that won us many games.
Somewhere along the line someone decided that we would move away from the overseas players and move towards an Irish born team would be the policy. We still had the likes of Cusack, Connell and West, but the quality was nowhere near the previous standard.
Big Phil came in and brought us success the likes we'd never seen, but realistically the only new players blooded were Dockers and Stirlo. The team became stale, and what has developed now was only a matter of time coming.
We have let the likes of Nick Larkin slip through the net, which was a huge mistake. We should actually be trawling the length and breath of Australia, NZ, South Africa and England for players of Irish Nationality. We do it in Soccer and Rugby, so cricket should be no different. It should not be a prerequisite for Irish players to play in Ireland (ala Sean Terry).
Facilities and funding is still a huge issue and something that needs serious looking at, but I totally get the fact that CI has limited funds, and until we get better funding from the ICC (in the form of Test Status), we are always going to be fighting the tide. Before people jump on the whole Test Status debate, it's more to do with the funding side of matters then actually playing Test Matches. Look at how long it New Zealand to win a Test Match. This money can provide for not only player development but also hugely improve facilities up and down the country.
There are still big positives. We are still producing some really good young cricketers. David Delany at Clontarf bowls at 90mph and really looks the part. Players like Jack Tector, Rory Anders, Jamie Grassi and Josh Little are all coming down the line. Sadly we are at the end of the line for Ed Joyce, Tim Murtagh, Niall and Kevin O'Brien. They have given all for their country and should not be lost in retirement. IMO, they all have a big part to play in the coaching and development of players coming through.
Were we now need to start is by drawing a line under what we currently have. Bracewell and Holdsworth need to go. They have failed miserably in the last few years. We need a coach who is hungry for success and will demand the same things that Adi Birrell did. I would be looking at the likes of Mark Boucher who has done great at domestic level in South Africa, or if you could lure TJ back from NSW i'd have him back in a heartbeat. A new captain is needed too. Porty looks totally burned out and carrying the weight of the team on his shoulders. He's still a big part of the team, but needs to lose the captaincy. We have between now and August before we play again, and changes are needed fast. Get a new coach in and let him look at all the players playing in the Inter Pro's. Make a call on the players on the fringes - Richardson, S Ponyter, Singh, Thompson, Kane, and McBrine. It's always darkest before dawn and these are rough times. I do believe that we can come through it and come out a better team, but only if these hard decisions are made first.