Cricket Ireland has defended the absence of star bowler Josh Little from next week’s Lord’s Test against England, declaring the match is not “a pinnacle event”.
The 23-year-old left-armer is one of Irish cricket’s hottest properties and landed a deal worth more than £400,000 with Gujarat Titans in this year’s Indian Premier League.
But he will be conspicuous by his absence when his country play just their second Test against England, having requested a break following his busy white-ball schedule.
Champions of Test cricket will see that as a worrying signal at a time when the most prestigious form of the game is being squeezed from all sides by franchise tournaments, but for Ireland the matter is more clearcut.
The World Cup qualifying tournament in Zimbabwe in June and July is a clear priority and takes precedence over a standalone showpiece at the home of cricket.
CI’s high performance director Richard Holdsworth explained: “What we have to understand is that while we are incredibly proud to go and play against England at Lord’s…it’s a special occasion, but it’s not a pinnacle event.
“Going to a World Cup qualifier where only 10 teams can qualify for the World Cup, that is still the biggest priority in the game as far as we’re concerned. Josh has been on the road for the best part of five months, that in itself is very tiring physically and mentally.
“Josh asked us initially if he could have a period of rest ahead of the World Cup qualifier. Our management team and selectors discussed the issue in detail and were amicably in agreement that it was in the best interests of Josh and the team.
“We’ve made it very clear at the beginning of our last strategy that our pinnacle events would be white-ball cricket. A member with the funding we’ve got simply cannot commit to three formats of the game, it’s financially impossible.”
Holdsworth also suggested that Little’s steady diet of T20 cricket in recent times may have meant he was undercooked for the rigours of a Test match.
“Bowling four overs is not good enough to prepare any cricketer to play Test cricket, where he could be bowling 20-plus overs a day in two innings,” he said.
“We didn’t feel physically he was actually going to be ready for that having had no preparation.”
With more domestic leagues than ever before and a lack of financial muscle to match them, Ireland could face further tricky decisions if their first-choice players attract tournament deals.
That is a fact not lost on Holdsworth, who added: “This is a whole new world to us and the players, it’s absolutely going to challenge everybody.
“All our players who’ve played franchise cricket have learned a lot about how we balance that and being the best they can be for Ireland, but it is a challenge.”
Red Force hammer Pride by nine wickets on the back of 173-run second wicket partnership from Ottley and Jangoo
Defending champions Trinidad & Tobago Red Force comprehensively beat the Barbados Pride by nine wickets at the Queen’s Park Oval on Saturday to secure their spot in the semi-finals of the CG United Super50 Cup.
A delay to the start of proceedings due to some wet spots on the field from rain the night before meant the game was reduced to 45 overs per team.
Leniko Boucher and Raymon Reifer hit fifties to lead the Pride to 258-9 from their 45 overs after being put in to bat by the Red Force.
Boucher top scored with 81 off 72 balls including 10 fours and a six while Reifer hit 70 off 94 balls including three fours and two sixes.
Yannic Cariah took 4-53 from nine overs and was supported well by Mark Deyal who grabbed 3-32, also from nine overs.
An unbeaten 173-run second wicket partnership from Kjorn Ottley and Amir Jangoo then led the Red Force to 259-1 in 43.3 overs.
Ottley led the way with 112* off 132 balls including 11 fours and two sixes while Jangoo finished not out on 93 off 96 balls, hitting four fours and two sixes.
Tion Webster had earlier made 41.
The Red Force ended their league phase campaign with an impressive 64 points from seven games and will be one of the favorites to lift the title when all is said and done.
Despite the heavy loss, the Pride, with 46 points from their seven games, should still find themselves in the last four.
Scorpions all but book semi-final spot with 82-run DLS method win over Hurricanes
The Jamaica Scorpions all but booked a spot in the last four of the 2024 CG United Super50 Cup with an 82-run DLS method win over the Leeward Islands Hurricanes at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba on Friday.
After being put in to bat by the Leewards in the game that was reduced to 43 overs per team, the Scorpions made 264-9 from their 43 overs thanks to some smart and destructive batting.
Jermaine Blackwood led the way with 54 off 69 balls before Odean Smith provided some fireworks towards the end of the innings with 52 off just 33 balls including three fours and five massive sixes.
Captain John Campbell, moving from his usual opening position to number five for this game, contributed 42 while wicket-keeper/batsman Romaine Morris, who took the opening spot, made 27.
Hayden Walsh Jr bowled consistently on his way to figures of 3-33 from his nine overs while Jeremiah Louis took 2-30 in four overs.
Marquino Mindley was then spectacular with the ball to help restrict the Hurricanes to 182 all out in 34.3 overs.
Mindley finished with figures of 5-28 in his eight overs and was well supported by Jeavor Royal who took 2-20 from 6.3 overs and Odean Smith who took 2-40 from five overs.
Karima Gore and Jewel Andrew both hit 47 for the Hurricanes.
The win means the Scorpions end the league phase of the tournament at the top of the points standings with 53 points from their seven games.
The Trinidad and Tobago Red Force (52 points from six games) and the Barbados Pride (43 points from six games) are currently second and third and will face off on Saturday at Queen’s Park Oval.
The Hurricanes (38 points from six games) currently occupy the final semi-final spot and could book their spot with a win over the Combined Campuses and Colleges on Sunday.
Guyana are out having played all their matches and finished with 37 points. The Windward Islands Volcanoes have 31 points from their six games and could make things interesting with a big win over the West Indies Academy in their final game on Sunday.
Johnson five-for leads Australia to series win over Pakistan
Spencer Johnson's first five-for in T20Is led Australia to a hard-fought victory over Pakistan in Sydney, clinching a series success with a match to spare.
Johnson took the wickets of Mohammad Rizwan (16), Sahibzada Farhan (5), Usman Khan (52), Salman Agha (0) and Abbas Afridi (4) as Australia followed up their 29-run win in Thursday's rain-affected opener.
The momentum swung back and forth as both teams' batters struggled on a difficult surface, with Haris Rauf finishing with figures of 4-22 for Pakistan.
No Australia batter managed more than the 32 runs of opener Matthew Short, and they found themselves bundled out for 149, losing their last five wickets for just 53 runs.
However, Pakistan were dropped to 44-4 by the middle of their ninth over, with Johnson clearing up the tourists' captain Rizwan and vice-captain Salman with successive deliveries.
Usman's fine knock of 52 off 38 balls – including four fours and one maximum – dragged Pakistan back into contention, but he was beaten by the pace of another Johnson delivery with four overs remaining.
Pakistan ultimately needed 16 runs off the final over to level up the series, but their hopes were ended when Rauf was run out following a calamitous mix-up with Irfan Khan (37 not out), which saw both batters almost finish at the bowler's end.
Data Debrief: Australia on a roll
Australia entered this series having won just one of their last four bilateral T20I series against Pakistan, triumphing 2-0 in 2019 but losing the other three.
Regardless of the outcome of Monday's third match in Tasmania, the hosts have backed up that triumph, extending their unbeaten run across all men's T20I series to five (four wins, one draw).
They last enjoyed a streak of this length between November 2018 and February 2020 (also four wins, one draw).
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