THESE ARE UNDENIABLY uncertain times for Irish cricket, but the one consistent beacon of positivity throughout a difficult transitionary period has been the form of Paul Stirling.
Try as Cricket Ireland might, it’s becoming increasingly wearisome to listen to the governing body insist all is rosy.
The performances and results on the pitch have stagnated to such an extent that the public’s interest in cricket — or more specifically, in the Irish team — has completely waned.
There were swathes of empty seats for the marquee fixture of the summer, against England at Malahide, last month and to say a couple of hundred spectators showed up to watch the games against Bangladesh, West Indies and then Afghanistan would be generous in the extreme.
A lot has been written and said about the current state of Irish cricket, and Cricket Ireland, but this Friday night should at least provide heartening evidence that, when marketed correctly, cricket, as a spectator sport, has a future here.
That’s where Stirling comes in. Fresh off the back off a career-best County Championship innings earlier this week, the Ireland batsman will be one of the star attractions for the Twenty20 game between Leinster Lightning and Middlesex at Pembroke.
The fixture was organised to mark the centenary year of the provincial union, but given Cricket Ireland’s recent struggles in attracting interest in the national team and with a crowd of 1,500 expected, it has taken on even greater importance.
Cricket Leinster, under the guidance of Philip Smith, have shown the way in terms of ambition and innovation, and they will transform a club ground into a family-friendly venue for a game between two teams boasting Test and international players.
Stirling, alongside Ireland team-mate Tim Murtagh, will be part of the travelling Middlesex squad, while Leinster — the most successful team in the Irish inter-pro competition — have the likes of Kevin O’Brien, Andrew Balbirnie and captain George Dockrell within their ranks.
Organisers, who will run food and drink areas, kid’s zones and pre and post-match entertainment, say 1,000 tickets have already been sold, and with the weather set fair for the longest day of the year, the sold-out signs are expected to go up before the 5.30pm start time.
The decision to promote the event by visiting local schools and engaging with the domestic club scene appears to have worked, while pricing the tickets at a reasonable and attractive rate has shown Cricket Ireland what is possible with limited resources.
“It’s really important,” Stirling says of the significance of the game. “Looking back to when I was a young kid, these sort of games, with counties coming over, were brilliant to go and watch.
“Not every day you get a county coming over to Ireland and these very family-orientated games can attract a different sort of interest and audience.”
Stirling has been in excellent form this season, both for Ireland and Middlesex, and followed his recent ODI century against Bangladesh at Clontarf with 138 against Glamorgan in the Championship this week.
The 28-year-old has, alongside Balbirnie, been Ireland’s most consistent run-scorer during an otherwise turbulent period for the side and Stirling admits his role has had to change at the top of the order.
“I’m pretty happy with what sort of order my game is in at the moment,” he continues.
“When you get to the stage of your career I’m at, you’ve had so many failures and so many runs of form, you’re not hoping it’s going to happen anymore. You don’t take it for granted that form is around the corner but you do know from the past, that you can turn a corner and once you do, you’ve to make it count.
“I’m in a bit of form and I need to continue that for as long as I possibly can.
“I’m playing for two teams at the minute. One is Middlesex and I would play a completely different role for them than I would for Ireland. I’d be way more aggressive for Middlesex, the way I would have played for Ireland for a number of years.
That brings its own risks and one of those is not converting starts because you’re looking to go hard, but at the minute, with the way the Irish situation is, it’s best to try and anchor the innings a bit more. I can’t afford to go out hard.
For now, Stirling’s focus is on putting his hand up for Middlesex selection and with the domestic Twenty20 competition around the corner, Friday will be a chance to continue his run of form in the shortest format.
He knows Pembroke Cricket Club in Sandymount well, but amazingly he hasn’t yet played a game there, so naturally, Stirling is relishing the prospect of coming up against a number of international team-mates on Irish soil.
“It’s going to be quite a strange feeling being in the middle against some of my best mates in the sport,” he adds. “From that point of view, it’ll be interesting but it’ll be a great challenge for both teams.
“It’s our first Twenty20 outing of the year and as ever with a new coach, there will be a lot of lads looking to impress. I’m sure there will be a little bit of a battle in the middle.”
Tickets for the ‘Summer Smash’ between Leinster and Middlesex are available here, while more details about the game are here.
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