Irish Antidote to Dollar Pursuit...

Smash-and-Grab Season in Full Swing

    The current scramble for cash amongst many of cricket’s professionals is gloriously amusing and unedifying in equal measure. The logistical feats performed by some players in transferring from one tournament to another as quickly as possible have been as laughable as they have been impressive.

    For T20 soldiers like Nicholas Pooran, catching a transatlantic flight hours after your final game in the MLC and arriving less than 24 hours before your first game in The Hundred might not be so problematic. Apart from fitting in a shower at some point, chauffeur-driven cars at either end and a lie-flat bed on the plane wouldn’t be so bad.

    Also, there’s the kicker that performances don’t matter. The contracts are signed. Runs and wickets are mere consequences of them being there, hence the mad dashes. They can be rubbish, mentally tired and physically exhausted, or vice-versa, but they still get the cash. I wonder if performance-related contracts will ever catch on in the ‘lottery format.’

Pooran made it to Leeds – just – to play for the Northern Superchargers, but his kit did not. He made use of a bat from Phil Salt, delivered by Uber from Manchester. The whole chaotic, absurd story is told in detail by the excellent journalist, Matt Roller, on Cricinfo. It’s worth a read, for a giggle. Provided you’re not invested in the tournament.

    South Africa’s cricketing attention would have been on the West Indies and their three-match Test series against England given that the first of their own two-Test series starts in just a few days’ time in Trinidad.

    Despite losing 3-0, the men from the Caribbean are expected to be far more competitive on home soil. It may be ironic, given the history of fast bowling, but it is no accident that that the Tests against the Proteas will take place on the regions slowest, most spin-friendly surfaces.

    Trinidad has produced more of the Caribbean’s best spinners than any other island and the country of Guyana, which hosts the second Test, has the most spin-friendly venue outside of the subcontinent at the Providence Stadium. The schedule is a nod towards the respect the hosts have for Kagiso Rabada and South Africa’s other fast bowlers.

    Or it was, at least, before Anrich Nortje (hopefully temporarily) retired from Test cricket and the tourists decided to rest Marco Jansen. The irony is that the hosts probably have a stronger pace attack now than the tourists with Jayden Seales and Alzarri and Shamar Joseph complemented by all rounder and former captain, Jason Holder.

    The West Indies’ spin-attack will be led by the excellent left-armer Gudakesh Motie and would have been supplemented by off-spinning all rounder Kevin Sinclair before Mark Wood fractured his arm with a 146kph bouncer last week. It is unclear who their second spinner will now be although 29-year-old Trinidadian offie, Bryan Charles, is tipped for a debut on his home ground.

    South Africa match and probably trump Motie with Keshav Maharaj and have their own off-spinner in Dane Piedt as a robust supplement unless coach Shukri Conrad opts for the safety of an extra batsman and coaxes Aiden Markram into a more frontline role with his own off-spin – a tough ask for any top four batsman but especially an opener.

    It is a sign of the times that Test cricket between these teams, famous for their fast bowlers, may be decided by the toil of spinners on two ‘low-and-slow’ pitches. On the subcontinent where pitches deteriorate rapidly in the second half of Tests providing variable bounce and alarming turn, spinners can win games. In Trinidad and Guyana, however, contests are more often decided by which team’s batters have the greatest reserves of patience.

    Anyway, other lovers of Test cricket may have had their attention distracted by a different contest while England were completing their series win at Edgbaston. Ireland hosted Zimbabwe in the first Test staged at the Civil Service Cricket Club in Stormont, Belfast, and it was a hell of a game, boasting all the twists and turns so beloved by the format’s fans.

It was difficult for most people to watch, unless they were amongst the 1000 or so supporters, requiring a subscription and a teenager skilled in the use of a VPN, or both, but it was worth watching if you could.

    At times both teams lost control, like a teenager driving their parent’s Jag as a treat. Ireland gained a first innings lead of 40 runs, largely thanks to a world record 42 byes concede by Zimbabwe’s debutant wicket keeper, Clive Madande, who had clearly never before experienced the ball swinging after it had passed the bat.

At one point Andy McBrine was able to complete an all-run five when fast bowler Tendai Chatara chased a cover drive to the boundary, flicked it back into the field of play, hurdled the advertising board – and failed to reappear. The automated, ball-following camera may have saved a few dollars on operator fees but it was not programmed to reveal the fate of the fielder.

    But any sceptics in the ‘what’s the point’ camp would have had their doubts assuaged. The fixture was a very big deal indeed to those involved and confirmed that Test cricket is an honour and a privilege to those afforded the opportunity to play it. It tests the parts of a cricketers’ character that other formats cannot reach.

    The dozen or so cricketers who crossed the border from the USA to play in Canada’s Global T20 League the moment their participation in the MLC was over will be better off financially, and hopefully the money will sustain them for years to come, other than materially.

    The comical chase for dollars and pounds is a serious business for the players, of course, as they maximise their earning potential while they can. It’s also a serious business for the game itself which is losing credibility by the day. I suspect the majority of players know that it cannot last, so it’s ‘smash and grab’ situation before the police arrive. Which is another reason why it was so refreshing to see the pictures from Belfast.