David Townsend - Do They Play Cricket in Ireland?: A 25-year Journey to a Test Match at Lords

First published by Pitch Publishing, 2021

Pitch Publishing

A2 Yeoman Gate

Yeoman Way

Durrington

BN13 3QZ

www.pitchpublishing.co.uk

David Townsend, 2021

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Print ISBN 9781785318405

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For

John and Stella

and my son

Danny

MY THANKS to the entire Irish cricketing fraternity, even the Mooneys, for your friendship and support over the years.

Particular thanks to Barry Chambers who supplied many of the photos and permissions, along with advice and ideas; Peter Gillespie for planting the idea and Alan Lewis for insisting it must be done; Mike Hendrick, Paul McCrum and Greg Molins for jogging memories of the early years; my fellow members of the Cricket Writers of Ireland; Stella Downes for her corrections and encouragement; plus editor Richard Whitehead and the team at Pitch.

Finally, a special mention for Derek Scott and John Wright, two fine men who did so much for cricket on the island and began the journey towards that Test match at Lords.

IT MIGHT seem a little strange that a 25-year-long odyssey with Ireland cricket should start and finish at Lords. But all journeys have to begin somewhere, and for me the pistol was fired during a couple of post-season pints with John Carr. Guinness, as it happens. Id introduced the recently retired Middlesex batsman to his lovely wife, Vicky, during my three years working with the county, so maybe karma was at work. What are you doing this winter, DT?

Nothing special. No plans. A few sub-editing shifts to pay for a holiday in Sydney, probably. As you know, I do like a bit of sun on my back. Never been a fan of the English winters. Or regular work patterns, for that matter.

Why dont you come out to Kenya and cover the ICC Trophy, then? The World Cup qualifying tournament was being held in Nairobi and JC was going to coach Argentina.

No one is going to be interested in that.

Ireland are playing in it for the first time you might get a bit of work reporting their games. Cover your expenses? It should be a good three weeks.

It was a good three weeks and a fair bit more. A quarter of a century, and counting, watching a team, many of whom I count as friends, venturing forth and taking on the best in the world. From worrying about Gibraltar to worrying Australia. Countless contests in more than 20 countries. Trophies, triumphs, heartbreak, upsets and more. The best of times.

JC was right. It didnt take long to cover my expenses and nudge a good few quid into profit. The Irish border has caused all sorts of problems over the years, but the beauty of partition on the island from a selfish freelance point of view is that there are effectively two national broadcasters, RTE and BBC Northern Ireland, and national newspapers on both sides of the border. I was commissioned by both radio stations, plus The Irish Times and the News Letter just about opposites plus The Times; also The Cricketer magazine were interested in a preview and closing report on the tournament and, best of all, Id get to make my debut in Wisden Cricketers Almanack. The Bible.

My knowledge of Irish cricket didnt extend much beyond knowing that they had once bowled out West Indies for 20-something and that Justin Benson, a fringe player at Leicestershire, was in the squad for Kenya. So I dived into the history books for a bit of background.

Irelands first official match was played in Phoenix Park, south of Dublin, in 1855. So they had been at it some time. Their opponents were the Gentlemen of England, who would surely have struggled to raise a side. Various challenges followed, including a couple of trips across the Atlantic to play Philadelphia, New York and Canada, and an innings victory over Scotland in the inaugural meeting of the teams in 1888.

That was pretty much how it had continued since. All very amateur: regular games against Scotland, the occasional venture overseas and, of course, tourist matches that were seen as light relief by the big beasts involved in Test series on the other side of the Irish Sea. True, West Indies were embarrassed at Sion Mills in 1969, when they were bowled out for 25, but usually it was the home side who left with red faces. Earlier that year, Australian skipper Allan Border had taken a fancy to the off spin of Angus Dunlop and hit him for five consecutive sixes. Dunlop was in the ICC Trophy squad, presumably not as a bowler.

Famous players? Well, not many since Sir Timothy OBrien, the first Irishman to play Test cricket for England, who featured in a handful of matches in the 1880s. OBrien also began the long association between Ireland and Middlesex, which many moons later saw left-arm spinner Dermott Monteith appear for the county. I remember watching Monty bowl at Uxbridge, a big turner of the ball. He was, and still is, Irelands all-time leading wicket-taker with 326 wickets from only 76 matches, a phenomenal effort. Mark Cohen, who had opened the batting for Middlesex IIs, was in the squad for Kenya. He was dating a former Miss World, which was also a phenomenal effort in my book.

That was about it at the time, yet within the next two decades Ireland would supply England with three full internationals, two of them Test players, and somewhere in north Dublin a future World Cup-winning captain was running around in short trousers.

The Cricketer wanted a preview piece so I found a contact number for captain Stephen Warke and phoned him at home in Belfast. Opening batsman. Nice bloke. Do any of your squad have first-class experience apart from Justin Benson? I wondered.

A pause. We all do.

Ah yes, the annual three-day match against Scotland; the one where off-spinner Garfield Harrison took 9-113 to claim the best first-class bowling figures in the run-drenched summer of 1990. More research was clearly needed but I wasnt alone in my ignorance; The Cricketer illustrated my piece with a picture of all-rounder Junior McBrine, who had last played for Ireland in 1992 and would be spending the tournament at home in Donemana.

Two weeks before leaving, Malachy Logan, the sports editor of The Irish Times, called me. David, I hate to do this to you, but weve decided to send our own man. Fair enough. It happens. I doubt if there is any freelancer who hasnt lost a commission at the last minute. Few have heard what followed, though: Would you accept half your fee as compensation?