CRICKET:WATCHING ED JOYCE in action for Sussex in Monday night's Pro40 clash against Somerset, it was hard to know exactly what the English selectors are looking for in an international one-day player.
Earlier in the day the 30-year-old from Bray had been left out of England’s 15-man squad for next month’s Champions Trophy in South Africa, having been named in the provisional squad last month.
A couple of hours later Joyce underlined yet again that he has been the outstanding one-day player in the English County game this summer. Although it was inevitably in a losing effort, thanks to little support from his team-mates, his innings of 94 was another demonstration of how he has improved as a batsmen in the two-and-a-half years since he won the last of his 17 caps for England.
Joyce has been a revelation since moving from Middlesex to the south coast over the winter, playing a huge part as Sussex made it to the final of both the Friends Provident Trophy and last weekend’s Twenty20 success at Edgbaston.
A look at the List A statistics for this season sees Joyce on top of the pile with 821 runs at a healthy average of 68.41. He has struck three centuries and four half-centuries, while his innings of 146 in the FP Trophy semi-final victory over Gloucestershire was one of the outstanding knocks of the summer.
That he leads Marcus Trescothick by 174 runs in the one-day scoring tables is also telling.
In many ways he was a scapegoat for England’s dismal performances in the Caribbean in the 2007 World Cup after being lauded just two months previously for his century against Australia in Sydney that helped England record their first win on what was a miserable Ashes Tour.
In a selfish way, Joyce’s absence from the England one-day side may well benefit Ireland in the long-run. If he fails to make it back in ahead of the 2011 World Cup, he may well turn out for Ireland at the event with the International Cricket Council set to be lenient in the application of the four-year stand-down period.
Meanwhile, Joyce’s former team-mates at Merrion CC have been enjoying their own bit of stardom as one of the featured sides in Sky’s Club Life segment.
Ian Botham picked the Dublin club as his one to follow this summer, and he dropped in last weekend to see how things were going on and off the pitch.
“I thought it was a very bubbly little club, lots of fun and great social activity. All the teams have had to organise a club night and that helps to keep money coming in,” said Botham, who is a firm believer that the health of the club game is vital, adding: “If you don’t have roots cricket, you have no cricket, it’s as simple as that.”
After backing a winner last time out, Botham is hoping he might have the Midas touch again this year, with Merrion well placed for shot at the Leinster Senior League Section A title.
“Last year Aberdeen was the side that I picked and they went on to win everything, so now that we’ve been here with the cameras, who knows?”
Botham’s trip to Anglesea Road is due to be shown during lunch of the final Ashes Test on Friday.
