CRICKET: When you see the likes of Jason Molins, Peter Gillespie and Andy White smacking balls to the boundary for Ireland or Niall O'Brien and Ed Joyce turning it on for their county teams in England, you tend to forget there was a time when they did not know how to do it, writes James Fitzgerald

It seems to come so easily to them you would be forgiven for thinking when they emerged into this world they were already fully padded up and able to spot a googly from 22 paces.

But no. The recent successes of Irish players at home and abroad can be attributed in part to the coaching, encouragement and opportunities they received while growing up, being sent on trips away and invited to wear the shamrock from as young as 13. And it is good to see this tradition of Irish involvement in European youth tournaments is as strong as ever, boding well for the future of Irish senior teams.

In the four underage European championships that have taken place this summer, Irish teams have lost only one game to another ICC associate nation.

The under-13s won all their games in Dundee a fortnight ago, with no side taking more than three of their wickets.

Paul Stirling of Cliftonville and Malahide's Shane Getkate were particularly impressive at the top of the order for the Irish.

The under-15 team are just back from Denmark, where they clinched the European Championships on Sunday in a thriller against Scotland at Herning. It is encouraging to see the likes of Neil Hamilton from Instonians and Merrion's Ben Ackland playing well at that level.

While the under-17s lost just one match in their campaign in Derry, the under-18s went one better and were crowned European champions in Oundle, England, on July 23rd.

It really is an impressive haul of honours for the Irish underage teams and a credit to the players, coaches and managers.

ICU honorary secretary John Wright is in no doubt the opportunities for Irish youngsters to compete at an early age against talented players from other countries is having a knock-on effect all the way through to the senior outfit.

"Evidence of the strength of Ireland's youth cricket is all around. The under-19s were undoubtedly the outstanding associate team in last year's World Cup. We were at least 100 runs better than the next and were just seven runs away from beating the West Indies.

"Four of that team are now playing in England (Eoin Morgan, Kevin O'Brien, Boyd Rankin and William Porterfield)," said Wright.

Indeed, this raises the point that perhaps Irish cricket is becoming a victim of its own success. There have never been so many Irish cricketers plying their trade in England and it looks likely the exiles' ranks are about to be swelled with the news off-spinner Greg Thompson and Instonians all-rounder White have been offered trials with Kepler Wessels's Northamptonshire.

While it may be too early to predict how 17-year-old Thompson will get on, it would certainly appear White has the temperament and talent to make it at county level if he decides that lifestyle is for him.

It would perhaps be churlish to criticise the ICU's youth system for making Irish youngsters into players worthy of attention across the Irish Sea but it certainly looks like a drain of talent may become an issue at some not-too-distant point in the future.

We have already been denied the services of Ireland's best batsman for a generation - acting Middlesex captain Ed Joyce - for the last three seasons and there will come a stage when the question will be asked: "What is the point of having a successful youth policy if we see the fruits of our labour being enjoyed by foreign teams once those young players come of age?"