QUITE A COMEBACK, and one which comes at the most opportune time for Ireland as they end an up-and-down year on a high note with a series victory over their old adversaries Afghanistan.
From 1-0 down following Wednesday’s all-too-familiar capitulation to this, an emphatic five-wicket victory underpinned by a controlled and disciplined bowling display and an assertive century from Paul Stirling, his sixth in ODI cricket. It has been quite the turnaround.
All of a sudden, John Bracewell ends his time in charge with two straight wins and hands the reigns over to incoming head coach Graham Ford on the back of progressive performances leading into March’s World Cup qualifiers.
Stirling stole the show in Sharjah with a 97-ball ton but the victory was spearheaded by George Dockrell’s four-wicket haul as Ireland restricted Afghanistan to 177, with Barry McCarthy also claiming three wickets, to add to his five from Friday; why he had been left out originally, and has carried the drinks more often than not over the last 18 months, remains a mystery.
But, credit where credit is due.
Backs to the wall, Ireland regrouped to haul themselves back into the series in the second ODI and then followed that imposing performance with another today, to at least send Bracewell into the sunset with a green tick on a copybook otherwise pockmarked by a string of disappointing results.
Perhaps it’s too early to completely write this team off but the fact remains that these two end-of-season games have seen Ireland produce their best collective performances since the 2015 World Cup.
It is no coincidence that Ireland play their best cricket when they are assertive with both bat and ball, typified by Stirling who took the game away from Afghanistan with each belligerent boundary.
The opener set Ireland on track for a successful chase with a 62-run second-wicket stand with Andy Balbirnie (35) before falling with just eight needed for the win.
Earlier, Afghanistan won the toss and elected to bat but could not cope with Dockrell — who continues to impress in that all-rounder role — and the busy medium pace of McCarthy, who finished with 3-32.
As one of few players still playing county cricket in the squad, it’s essential Ford builds the bowling attack around the Durham all-rounder going forward, with the likes of Boyd Rankin, Tim Murtagh and Kevin O’Brien still ever-presents.
To be fair, many of the problems over the last 24 months have stemmed from the lack of consistency, and form, in the batting and Stirling’s two innings (82 on Friday) shows how crucial it is for one of the top-order to lay the platform. All too often, batsmen failed to show the application to do this.
To that end, this victory was a throwback to former glory days when Ireland out-worked, out-fought and out-played their opponents with both bat and ball, but, just as significantly, in the field. There was fight, spirit and passion. Confidence, conviction and character also make a world of difference.
The hope is that this successful mini-tour of the United Arab Emirates — Ireland also beat Scotland in the final round of the four-day Intercontinental Cup — will be the turning of the corner for this golden generation.
A busy schedule lies ahead in 2018 and certainly the prospect of a first Test match in May and the arrival of a new coach, particularly one of Ford’s calibre, engenders a level of optimism and giddy excitement.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. There are still areas of immediate concern, most notably the middle order, which has consistently faltered over the last year, while the form of several players is a major worry. A change of coach may help to address that, particularly if he’s willing to select on the basis of form over reputation.
For now, the players and staff deserve to enjoy this sweet victory at the end of a year which will be remembered for what happened off the pitch rather than on it, but the most important thing is that the last four days don’t simply paper over the cracks but help glue them together again.
The key in all that is to ensure the players, both current and future, gain enough exposure to meaningful and competitive cricket in order to battle-harden and prepare them for the international cricket arena, and if you look at the teams which brought England and West Indies to their knees in the last two World Cups, the common thread is county cricket.
Therefore, it is no accident that the downturn in results under Bracewell coincided with more players falling out of favour at counties or, in the case of others, returning home to play domestic cricket in Ireland.
The Brexit vote has certainly complicated matters in that regard and it’s likely we’ll see the current crop in England — McCarthy, Stirling, Murtagh, Rankin, Gary Wilson and Stuart Poynter — dwindle over the next two seasons due to those restrictions.
But that puts even greater significance on Cricket Ireland and their ability to provide those professional structures to ensure players are given the platform to learn and develop sufficiently where county cricket used to in years gone by.
The organisation is doing trojan work behind the scenes and was rewarded this year with ascension to Full Membership of the ICC but face the biggest challenge in helping their players bridge the gap between domestic, inter-pro and international cricket.
It remains to be seen how the academy players — many of whom are preparing for January’s U19 World Cup in New Zealand — will get that same chance but with increased funding and Warren Deutrom and Richard Holdsworth at the helm, it’s only fair to reserve judgement of the long-term prospects for now; it’s widely-acknowledged that the landscape needs to change, because currently there isn’t a lot of excitement surrounding young players coming through. They need experience and to be given a chance.
Additionally, any criticism levelled at the team over the last 12 months, on these pages or otherwise, is not directly specifically at Cricket Ireland as an organisation or the players, but objective analysis of the performances of professional cricketers and a view of the long-term prospects of the sport in this country without wearing green-tinted glasses. Perhaps we’re not as well-equipped as we think to be competitive beyond a certain level?
What we do know, however, is that the standards in performance have slipped at senior level over the last two years and the departure of Bracewell tells its own story in that sense, Cricket Ireland clearly acknowledging change was required.
2018 will be the year Ireland play their first Test match and let’s hope it will also mark the start of a new chapter by way of performance and results as much as anything else.
The last few days were a good start, but it would be misguided to read too much into it until a full corner has been turned. Just like one or two defeats don’t turn a good team into a bad one overnight, a couple of wins doesn’t instantly resolve all the shortcomings.
A fine series win, and now the springboard to go into the New Year infused with the belief and confidence those shortcomings can be resolved. After all, that’s what we all want.
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