Even by David and Goliath standards, this was a mismatch. Six regular players from the outsiderโs side were unavailable. Josh Little (stress fracture), Mark Adair (torn rectus muscle), Paul Stirling (torn calf muscle), Curtis Campher (fractured arm), Barry McCarthy (completely torn anterior cruciate ligament) and Jordan Neal (shoulder and foot injuries) are missing. There was a new captain and two debutants โ Matthew Hollard and Jai Mundra.
However, the Irish minor team achieved a victory of seismic proportions. The fact that India fielded a full team only added another layer to the remarkable underdog story. โThis is a huge result for Irish cricket,โ Kyle McCallan, an Irish cricket legend who was part of the teamโs equally famous victory over Pakistan in the 2007 World Cup, told Cricbuzz in an exclusive conversation.
โYou know, there were special days (for Irish cricket) โ beating England in the 50-over World Cup in Bangalore and then beating them again in the T20 World Cup in Australia. But I think for a team like India, fresh out of the IPL, with a team full of superstars, to come to Belfast and for Ireland to get a result, this is one of the greatest victories in the history of Irish cricket.โ
McCallan (50) is a Sky commentator and follows Irish cricket closely. He believes there is a reason the 34-run Belfast win is special. โThe victory is especially gratifying because new players came in and probably didnโt have any battle scars or anything morally holding them back. They just came out with freedom and played beautifully. You know, Jai Mundra, Matt Hollard and others played exceptionally well. Tim Tector is playing very well at the top of the standings.
โSo for me itโs as impressive from an Irish point of view as the result itself. I think the performances of the new players will be a huge boost for everyone in Irish cricket. But the bottom line is that for Ireland to get their first win against the mighty Indians in any format of the game is simply a phenomenal achievement and a real boost for everyone involved in Irish cricket.โ
โIt gives a huge boost to new players. But it will also serve as motivation for those guys who may have been comfortable in the team. Now they will realize that they need to keep working and keep pushing their game because the youth are breathing down their neck, so to speak. One of the things weโre trying to do in Ireland is grow the talent pool.โ
McCallan says Irish cricket has a habit of punching above its weight โ be it now or in 2007 when they beat Pakistan. โWe looked at opposition players like Shahid Afridi, Mohammad Yousuf and others. We were in awe of them. But I guess 2007 taught us that we were better than we probably thought. I think Irish cricket has always punched above its weight. We are minnows. We donโt have huge numbers. we could compete at that level and I think every Irish team since 2007 has grown and developed because of it.โ
The Irish legend, a playing-day all-rounder who played 39 ODIs and nine T20Is, reflects on the changes that have taken place in the countryโs cricket in recent times. โWell, the biggest difference is that we were amateurs, whereas the current playing group consists of full-time professional athletes and full-time professional cricketers. I think the pitches and facilities, although there is still room for improvement, have improved. More importantly, todayโs players have the opportunity to train 12 months a year. Many of them care deeply about T20 and play in franchise leagues around the world.
โSo the options available to our players are much greater than they were in my time and that is by far the biggest difference. The boys are professional athletes who work full-time. They play cricket 12 months a year, seven days a week, and you can only improve by doing that. And I was a school teacher.
Former all-rounder Kyle McCallan says Irish cricket has a habit of punching above its weight โ be it now or in 2007 when they beat Pakistan ยฉCricbuzz
But there has been a change at Cricket Ireland, with long-time chief executive Warren Deutrom leaving the board. The transition has not been easy and there is also a shortage of funds. โYes, Warren has been chief executive for a long time and has achieved remarkable results. Sarah Keane has now taken on the role of CEO. We remain heavily reliant on ICC funding and need as much support as possible from both the Irish Government and the Northern Ireland Government.
โBut our biggest challenge is maintaining and developing our talent pool and providing opportunities for our players to improve. Another big challenge is to get enough opportunities to play against teams like India. To have the chance to host India in a bilateral series here is amazing. The more often we can play against opponents of this standard, the better we will become.โ
The problem is compounded by the England and Wales Cricket Boardโs (ECB) decision to no longer allow Irish players to qualify as domestic players in county cricket. They are now treated as foreign players, a category where competition is intense and opportunities are limited. โWell, of course, before we became full members, many of our best players played county cricket. This gave them access to regular cricket, higher standards of competition and better pitches.
โUnfortunately, our players are now classified as overseas players in English cricket, so they no longer have the same opportunities. As a result, we rely heavily on our own inter-provincial competitions and our internal structure. The problem is that the depth of talent isnโt quite there yet. Therefore, we must create more opportunities for our players to compete with the best. We need to develop more competitions between the best and the best in our own system.
โOur womenโs teams suffer from the same problem. Scottish women can play county cricket and compete in the English Championship, whereas our girls cannot. So itโs a challenge for us, but we have to address it by strengthening our own competitive structures in Ireland and making sure we can develop our players ourselves.โ
In addition, the ECB is opposed to holding a continental championship in Europe, such as the Asian Cup. โOne of the things I would like to see is a European equivalent of the Asian Cup. We watch the Asian Cup and see Bangladesh, Pakistan, India and other countries playing and I think there is scope for something similar in Europe. Look at the Netherlands, Scotland, England and Ireland. I think it would be very interesting and would provide a real opportunity.โ
โI think there is an opportunity for England, Scotland, the Netherlands and Ireland to play in a four-nation European competition. It would be incredible. I suppose England is a bit like India. They are very attractive and have enormous commercial value during the tour. It is also difficult to manage the workload and schedules of the players. But I understand that. England is similar to India in other respects. able to do something like that.
Finally, returning to the Ireland-India series, McCallan, who will be on air for the second and final match on Sunday, fears India will come back with a bang, with Vaibhav Suryavanshi potentially blowing the Irish attack to smithereens. โIโm commentating tomorrow. I couldnโt commentate on Friday because I was at work, but I will be on air tomorrow. My only fear is that we might see Sooryavanshi go out of action. I think India will be like a wounded tiger or a wounded lion after Fridayโs defeat. Ireland will have to be in better shape tomorrow. Otherwise, we might just see India have real success.โ