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The Hanley Energy Inter-Provincial Series 2018 – Ireland’s first-class domestic cricket competition – will be even bigger and better this year after Cricket Ireland today announced a suite of improvements aimed at increasing player conditions and welfare, talent development, playing standards and coaching capacity in the men’s side of the game.
Andrew White, Cricket Ireland’s Chair of National Men’s Selectors, welcomed the injection of funding in the domestic game:

“These are very timely improvements into our pinnacle domestic competition as cricket in Ireland enters a challenging but hugely exciting period in its history. The selection panel for the men’s game is not just interested in our current national side, but also take a great deal of interest in the domestic game.”

“The Inter-Provincial competition is the breeding ground for future internationals, and we want to ensure that conveyor belt of talent coming through to the national team is as strong as possible.”

A key part of the improvements is the awarding of seven new Inter-Provincial player contracts for 2018.

“The National Selectors had a very tough call to make on who the seven players should be, but looked closely at what skill sets Graham Ford (Head Coach of Ireland Men’s senior team) will need over the coming years as part of a succession planning process,” said Mr White.

“Having the players spend more time under the guidance and expertise of our High-Performance coaches and support staff is vital. That said, performances in Inter-Provincial and Wolves fixtures will continue to be the avenue on which players are selected to represent Ireland.”

The new contracts were offered as follows:

Category A – 8-month F/T Contracts (starting 3 April 2018)
• Sean Terry
• Nathan Smith
• James McCollum

Category B – 6-month Summer Contracts (starting 3 April 2018 or on completion of studies):
• Jack Tector
• David Delany
• Josh Little
• Lorcan Tucker

Image: Inter-Provincial cricket in Ireland received First-class status in 2017

Further investment in domestic cricket

Cricket Ireland’s Performance Director, Richard Holdsworth, was buoyed by the opportunity to support the next tier of Irish cricket:

“It is essential that as part of our performance pathway and succession planning for the national men’s team that more players are available to play – and train for – their Inter-Provincial team and potentially the Ireland Wolves.”

“I am very pleased to note the Board of Cricket Ireland has also identified the need to spread this new funding across the game by approving an increase in match fees for the Inter-Provincial Series and an increase in Head Coach time.”

“I am particularly welcoming of the latter of these, as it is both the quality of our top coaches and the hours they can put in that will really provide a boost for our talented players coming up through the system.”

Eligibility rule changes

The Board of Cricket Ireland has formally agreed to amendments to Irish Cricket rules that will allow easier movement by players between the Provincial Unions.

“The change in eligibility rules is an important one, and one the Boards of the Provincial Unions should be applauded for. We know Leinster have proven to be the most successful and talent-rich sides in the competition, and while this has led to fierce competition within the Leinster side to make the first eleven, in reality it has meant that some of Ireland’s top domestic talent is sitting on the bench each week,” said Mr Holdsworth.

“This isn’t good for players, or for Irish cricket. We want our first-class competition to feature the best players, and to ensure our upcoming talent is pitting itself against strong competition. The freedom to move between Provincial Unions will hopefully spread the talent more evenly and see a ‘best v best’ competition, which is what the players and fans want.”

New festival, new concussion protocol

When the Hanley Energy Inter-Provincial Series fixtures were released earlier in the year, a new feature that was welcomed by the cricket community was a new three-day T20 Festival to be played from 6-8 July 2018 at Pembroke.

“T20 is a critical format of the game for Ireland, and to establish a high-quality festival where we see the top Irish players going head-to-head will be of great benefit to the performances of our national team,” said Mr Holdsworth.

“Player welfare is also a top priority in our sport, and while cricket is a safer sport than most, recent attention on the risks and associated effects of concussion on athletes has led our Board to endorse the implementation of a new trial concussion regulation for the 2018 season.”

The Regulation states:

“…a player who is diagnosed as concussed, or likely to be concussed, and deemed unable to play any further part in the match may be replaced with a full-playing substitute without the match forgoing its first-class status. However, no playing members of a side in a first-class match may be replaced for reasons of tactics or injury (other than a concussion substitute).”

Clive Gilmore, CEO and Co-Founder of Hanley Energy, spoke about the importance of improvements to the Inter-Provincial series:

“Cricket is the second largest sport globally and Ireland’s recent escalation to top table rankings is a credit to all involved. To sustain this bright future for our international side, it is integral to ensure competitive domestic cricket which, in turn, provides an important pathway for talented players to break into the national side. Hanley Energy is thereby delighted to continue to support first-class cricket in Ireland.”

Leinster Lightning were crowned champions in 2017
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