If the 14-man Ireland squad announced yesterday for a two-week training trip to South Africa is a true yardstick, club cricket in Leinster will not be unduly disrupted by the national team's month-long sojourn in Toronto next July for the International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup qualifying tournament. For the party which will leave for South Africa next Saturday includes just five Leinster players.
The lucky quintet comprises Peter Davy, Matt Dwyer, the brothers Dom and Ed Joyce and Paul Mooney. And since Joyce is likely to be again playing most of his cricket with Middlesex this summer, southern representation is effectively reduced to four.
Admittedly, the South African-bound panel is not necessarily that which will eventually be heading for that well-known, cricket-mad country, Canada. The Irish Cricket Union (ICU) must submit a 25-man panel to the ICC by the end of April, and the final 14-strong playing squad must be submitted by May 15th next.
Eleven players from the 25man winter training squad failed to make the cut for South Africa. They are: Barry Archer (The Hills), Ryan Eagleson (Derbyshire), Peter Gillespie (Strabane), Gus Joyce (Merrion), Jason Molins (Railway Union), Greg Molins (Railway Union), Adrian McCoubrey (Ballymena), Gary Neely (Donemana), Mark Patterson (Surrey), Peter Shields (North Down) and Duncan Smythe (Merrion).
The present squad will be based in the Johannesburg area from March 17th to 30th. As well as fitness training, fielding and net practice, five matches will be played against local opposition: March 18th v Wits Technical; March 20th: v Gauteng B; March 22th: v Gauteng Academy; March 25th: v Pirates; March 29th: v Northerns.
