In this column last August, national coach Ken Rutherford bemoaned the fact that in Leinster club cricket overseas players keep up-and-coming Irish youngsters (even those who have made our national under-age squads) out of the senior XIs.
"I can watch Merrion play Phoenix, say, two of the stronger clubs in Dublin, but apart from Dominic and Gus Joyce, they're all bloody Australians, it's just ridiculous and the Leinster Cricket Union (LCU) must decide what to do about it," said Rutherford.
The gap in standards which exists between the "foreign" and native players was graphically illustrated at Castle Avenue last Wednesday when the LCU President's Overseas XI hockeyed Ireland by 72 runs and could have won by a far greater margin. Admittedly, those on the national team are all amateur players and at least some of their opponents are full-time professionals, but the question remains - is the presence of so many overseas players really good for Irish club cricket?
One correspondent (who does not want to be named) believes that it is. "If you take the so-called foreign players out of the club scene the standard will fall even further; I have watched matches where native bowlers have been beaten around the park by Australian club cricketers," he says.
"If our own bowlers cannot control such cricketers on club wickets then it is very unlikely that they are going to achieve it at international level on better wickets.
"We have to do everything possible to improve the standard of club cricket and in the short run at least this means mixing our better players with 'foreign' club players; the best hope for our young players is that they are forced to compete at a higher level in their clubs before they are asked to make the transition to interprovincial or international level," says the correspondent.
It is difficult indeed to disagree with the points he puts forward.
But the memory of last week's splendid match at Castle Avenue prompts an intriguing thought. Wouldn't it wonderful if there were a permanent Overseas XI competing in all the top Leinster competitions?
Even if that proved impossible to organise, why not have such an Overseas XI competing in the interprovincial championship, presuming that the competition will be revived next year?
LEINSTER UNDER-15 SQUAD (for interprovincial series, Dublin, July 3rd to 5th and four-match tour to Bedfordshire, July 10th to 13th): E Morgan (Malahide, capt.), W Andrews (North County), J Bennett (The Hills), M Boland (Pembroke), C Cahill (Clontarf), A Clifford (Clontarf), R Flannery (Merrion), O Goodman (Leinster), A McConnell (Leinster), N McDarby (CYM), S McDonald (Leinster), M Tighe (Pembroke).
RESULT: Women's Senior 40 Overs League: At Bird Avenue: YMCA 83 all out (J Beamish 22, L Rae 17, I Joyce 4 for 8, J Smythe 4 for 24), Merrion 54 all out (M Grealy 6 for 5, N Coffey 2 for 24). YMCA won by 29 runs.
Tickets for Ireland's match against Australia at Ormeau in Belfast on Sunday, August 12th, are now on sale. Enquiries to: Tickets Online at www.theicu.org, or telephone hotline Belfast 20 13 61, or by post: ICU Tickets, 62 Balmoral Avenue, Belfast BT9 6NY.
