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With just three weeks to go now to the RSA Challenge, Barry Chambers chats to Ireland legend Kyle McCallan about about his Irish career and in particular his final match for Ireland, the heart-breaking 3 run loss to England in the RSA Challenge 2009 at Stormont.
‘Non, rien de rien, non je ne regrette rien’ – the famous song by French songstress Edith Piaf (The Little Sparrow) could well have been penned to describe the career of Ireland’s most capped player, Kyle McCallan.

The Waringstown captain bowed out from the international stage at the age of exactly 34 – his birthday on 27 August 2009 marked by a bitter defeat to England at Stormont by just three runs – a loss which the 226 capped international insists stood the team in good stead for future challenges. McCallan was in the middle in the closing stages along with Trent Johnston but the pair just couldn’t pull off the win in the rain affected contest.

Kyle McCallan looks on as a Trent Johnston inspired Ireland restrict England

For McCallan, who had started his career as primarily an opening batsman, how did he finish as a number 11 in the Ireland side?

“It was to do with the demise of my batting on the international stage. We had an incredibly strong line-up with all the county guys and my role and influence in the batting gradually diminished as the years wore on.

“I remember struggling against Ryan Sidebottom – I just couldn’t get him away. Coming in at number 11 and having to force the pace right away against a bowler of his c wasn’t easy. What made the defeat even more galling was the fact that Eoin Morgan (on as a sub fielder) leapt up at long-on and prevented Trent from getting a six which would almost certainly have seen us win the match.

Paul Stirling’s 30 put Ireland in a winning position only to fall short by 3 runs.

“The defeat was hard to take but you’ve got to remember that when I started in 1996, it was against Wales in a two-day game, and that last game was in 2009 when we were bitterly upset not to beat England in an ODI! That to me was a measure of just how far we as a cricketing nation had come in a relatively short space of time.

“I remember my third game against Sussex in the NatWest Trophy when the Irish team were just content to swap shirts and enjoy the experience of playing county opposition. We were in awe of these guys and probably beaten before we started. That mindset is a distant memory.

“There was genuine bitter disappointment in the changing room after we lost, and we knew we’d let a great opportunity slip from our grasp – I think England realized that too.”

Paul Collingwood lifted the RSA Challenge Trophy at the end of the day

McCallan was in the Sky Sports studio when Kevin O’Brien’s record-breaking century saw Ireland pull off the greatest run-chase in World Cup history. He speaks with pride at the memory: “People ask me about the highlights of my Irish career and that’s one of them even though I wasn’t actually playing. We were struggling at 111 for 5 chasing 327 and the guys in the studio were hoping that Ireland could drag the game out a bit so we wouldn’t have to do much filling in!

“Then from nowhere Kevin started to go ballistic and the guys went very quiet and I started to get restless as I think we all knew we could be witnessing history. I was sharing the studio with three former England captains (David Gower, Michael Vaughan and Bob Willis) and it was a special moment to be in their company when John Mooney hit the winning runs.

“To be fair to the three of them they were all in awe of Kevin’s innings which was a special once in a lifetime knock. John Mooney also played beautifully under pressure and to be honest that game went a long way to easing the hurt at Stormont in 2009 – we’d have swapped winning there for beating England on the biggest stage of all – a World Cup in India in front of such a global audience! That raised the profile of the game here to extraordinary heights. It was such a good news story and was a massive result for Irish cricket both on and off the field.”

In the four years since his international retirement, did McCallan have any regrets not having continued to add to those 226 caps?

“I always knew I could have played on as there were no problems with my fitness and form, but there were other factors. Myself and my wife Lynne wanted to start a family and we’re now blessed with an eight month old son Matthew. Career wise there was a promotion opportunity at work, and my father Billy had been diagnosed with cancer. My mother and father had followed me all around the world supporting me in cricketing career and I felt it was the right time to offer them support when it was needed.

“I would have loved to have played in India, but I’m glad I called it a day on my terms when people still thought I could do a job rather than when I was on a downward slope. While I miss Irish cricket greatly, I don’t regret my decision for one minute.”

McCallan believes Irish cricket is currently as strong as ever and predicts further success in the years ahead: “We’ve such an incredibly strong team at the minute. When you look at how virtually our second string wins in the InterContinental Cup, you know the sport is in good hands. I think Irish cricket has to keep progressing and I’m confident it will. I tell the young players here at Waringstown that they’ve got to aspire to be so much better than the old guys around them.”

Who are the hidden gems at The Lawn who McCallan feels will carve out an international career? “We’ve got Adam Dennison who is opening the batting at just 16. He’s got work to do but he’s got a good head on his shoulders and a great work ethic. There’s also a 13 year-old called Jack Carson who has great potential and has already been over at Sussex on Ed Joyce’s recommendation and I think he’ll go a long way in the game.”

Barry Chambers is the Cricket Ireland Media Manager, CricketEurope Ireland editor and also a cricket photographer – you can follow him on twitter @Irishcricket1

It is just 3 weeks to the RSA Challenge at Malahide, with the Fortress filling up please get your tickets now!

Barry Chambers
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