Ireland opt out of ECB domestic competition
Monday, 28 September 2009 15:46Cricket Ireland today confirmed that they have declined the ECB's invitation to participate in the ECB's domestic one day competition in 2010.
Cricket Ireland coach Phil Simmons explained why they had come to this decision: 'Our international fixture calendar has become very comprehensive, and, assuming we get what we think we will get fixture-wise and we continue to qualify for events and their latter stages like the last couple of years, we may have between 40-50 international fixtures in 2010,' he said.
'Leading up to the 2011 World Cup in the sub-continent, I want to focus on primarily the 15 or 16 players who will represent us there, and I feel that the 12 additional games would be a step too far for the guys.'
Simmons continued: 'The Friends Provident Trophy used to serve us well timing-wise in terms of preparing the players for the international summer. However, given our success and expansion, we are now playing more and more cricket out of season.
'It's approaching an all year round game for Irish cricket, therefore the timing doesn't work as well as in past years. Next year we'll have Intercontinental Cup games, the ICC World Twenty 20 qualifiers, and hopefully the finals themselves before our traditional season begins.'
Simmons however recognized that the Friends Provident Trophy had played a crucial role in the development of some of Ireland's rising stars, and revealed his plans to fill that void.
'There's no doubt that the Friends Provident Trophy provided a great platform for players to show their potential, and Paul Stirling and Regan West showed to me just what they were capable of in these games.
'To ensure that the fringe players get plenty of opportunities to showcase their talent, the ECB are actively assisting us to increase our A team schedule. I hope that we can get a minimum of five 3 day games against County Second XI's next year.
'In addition, we have also accepted the offer to play a couple of matches against one of the touring Full Member A-teams next year, details of which are currently being finalized with the ECB.''
