News

The Cricket Ireland Board met earlier this week ahead of the KPC Group ODI Series against Sri Lanka.
A wide range of issues were discussed with the following outcomes.

1. Progress towards first-class status for Hanley Energy Inter-Provincial Championship

The Board noted that the International Cricket Council (ICC) would carry out an inspection visit of the Leinster Lightning v NW Warriors three-day match in the Hanley Energy Interprovincial Championship on August 23rd in the process towards the potential granting of first-class status to the competition.

A detailed report has already been submitted to ICC in advance of the visit.

Recently, ICC approved a change of regulations whereby multi-day cricket in Associate member nations could be accredited with first-class status on the satisfaction of particular criteria.

2. Review of Ireland’s performance in the 2016 ICC World Twenty 20.

The Board had previously sanctioned a full review of the senior squads’ participation (men and women) in the recent World T20 in India. The review is now complete following feedback from the squad and other stakeholders and was delivered to the Board.

Cricket Ireland Performance Director Richard Holdsworth said: “It is common practice for us to conduct a review of our performances in major events in order to learn from our experiences.

“What was different this time is that these experiences were mostly adverse, so this particular review has been one of our more important ones.

“We always encourage absolute honesty in those providing feedback and it’s fair to say to say we received that. Clearly, with average performances in the last 12 months in T20Is and a falling ICC ranking, we can’t afford to leave this format behind as it grows in popularity globally.

“It’ll take some time to translate recommendations into actions, particularly with a budget already committed in 2016, but playing more T20 cricket against the other top Associate Members is clearly something we need to do more of.”

3. Cricket Ireland Club Fund Scheme

The Board approved the mechanism for distribution of the new €50,000 Club Fund announced at the Strategic Plan launch at the end of April. The four main provincial unions will soon be writing to their member clubs inviting submissions against set criteria.

Cricket Ireland Chief Executive Warren Deutrom said: “This fund is a hugely important first step in supporting our clubs to continue their outstanding work in developing the sport in our country to be fun, competitive, safe and inspiring.

“With their in-depth knowledge of the clubs, the Board agreed it was appropriate that the provincial unions themselves were responsible for making the decisions about which clubs should be awarded these funds towards upkeep or improvement of facilities. We look forward to adding to this fund in the coming years.”

4. Cricket Ireland Cricket Committee

The Board approved new Terms of Reference for the Cricket Committee in order to assist in delivering key elements of the new strategic plan designed to ‘make cricket mainstream’.

The main points are to bring in new independent members of the committee with expertise in specific areas of the game, and to introduce term-limits for committee members to promote stability, expertise and continuity in the committee.

5. Deaths of John Caldwell and Dawson Moreland

The Board noted the sad passing of two former Cricket Ireland Presidents, John Caldwell and Dawson Moreland, paying tribute to their outstanding service to cricket in Ireland. A minute’s silence was held in their memory.

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