TWO more young men take their place in the Irish team as noon tolls at Edgbaston. The natural delight at the capping of wicketkeeper Fintan McAllister (Rush) and left-handed opening bat Chris Dougherty (Bready) is tempered by a sense that the Irish side could be in for a hell of a beating sometime soon. The unease is made more bitter because of the circumstances in which the two were elevated to the squad. On Tuesday McAllister was called up because Surrey clicked their fingers and called up Gary Wilson, while Phil Simmons' problems were compounded 24 hours later when Gloucestershire called time on Will Porterfield's brief career as Ireland captain. The county were obviously thrilled by Porterfield's 69 and 65 last weekend, but Irish supporters are less thrilled at the filleting of two key players from the national team.
It is deeply irritating not to be able to build on the great win over Warwickshire, but the FPT is now the least important competition Ireland play in and the more progress Porterfield and Wilson make with their counties the better. And it also means two more promising youngsters can be blooded competitively.
McAllister learnt the game at Kenure Park from an early age after his family moved to a home close to the ground. As Conor Armstrong had left for North County when first capped, and Naseer Shaukat and Porterfield were "runners-in", McAllister is the first local player to be honoured from the club.
His talents were spotted early and he was a regular on Leinster and Ireland squads from aged 12 onwards. LCU development officer Briain O'Rourke has no doubt his cap is fully deserved: "Fintan is a very hard worker. He is always first to turn up and last to leave. He is full of beans and always looking for help to make him improve. He is a joy to work with and his cap is fully deserved. He reminds me of Niall O'Brien: full of chirp but a great work ethic. He is very athletic, standing back he'll catch everything.'
McAllister was capped at U15, U17 and U19 level, and kept wicket at the Youth World Cup two years ago while Gary Wilson played as a batsman. In the last two years Wilson has been at Surrey and playing full-time has allowed him overtake McAllister. 'Playing week in week out has been great for Gary. But he's one of my best mates so I'm delighted he has done so well.'
McAllister had a trial with MCC in 2006 but the call never came. European Cricket Council official Philip Hudson has been touting his name around the counties and the Rush man would relish another chance. Warwickshire are one of those struggling for stumpers so he has an early chance to impress. He has just finished his finals in Community Sports Leadership at Dundalk IT and hopes to spend next winter in Australia.
Phil Simmons left a message for him on Tuesday night but the phone cut out and he was none the wiser until he received a 'ring me asap, Phil' text the following morning. But instead of celebrating the news, it was back to work and he spent Wednesday night driving around Fingal making deliveries for a fast-food restaurant. Football on TV meant it was a quiet night and he got the chance to drop into Rush CC and a few pats on the back.
McAllister was able to thank a few locals in return for the help they gave him on the way. 'I've been very lucky to get so much help from my parents, the school (CUS) and from Rush," he said. 'Since I was 12 Briain O'Rourke has been a huge influence on me. He has been the biggest inspiration; bringing me on tours, one-to-one coaching. Niall O'Brien has been a great help with my keeping, showing me drills.'
O'Rourke, too, is delighted that his development programme continues to bear fruit. "You work with so many players and so few come through. He is the sixth to come through the programme to the Irish team after Niall and Kevin O'Brien, John Mooney, Eoin Morgan and Kenny Carroll. Every summer Fintan has been able to go over to play in England and two years ago spent 10 weeks in South Africa.'
McAllister is also a fine batsman who likes the ball coming on to the bat – two weeks ago he scored 150 against Lisburn in the Irish Senior Cup. 'He had a weakness playing slow bowling so we organised for him to spend a few weeks in India last winter. He is a more complete player now.'
Chris Dougherty is the other player likely to win his first cap today. Along with another recent debutant, James Hall, he was the most consistent of the batsmen at the Under 19 World Cup in Malaysia, but has certainly not been picked on current form. His last three innings in the North-West have ended at 0, 0, and 0. One more and he will earn the nickname Audi. And with Warwickshire extra keen to avenge that defeat in Stormont he will be in for a fiery debut. Dougherty was a heavy runscorer as he came up through the underage setup, especially at under 19 level. He made 107 and 95 against Holland in 2006 and 131 v Denmark a year later. His 70 against Bermuda was Ireland's best in Malaysia.
IT was a great week for Irish batsmen in England. Eoin Morgan made his second one-day century for Middlesex against Essex, then Niall O'Brien went off like a train for Northants against Glamorgan in the championship. O'Brien scored 87 before lunch, and clocked up his ton shortly thereafter. "I've been close a few times lately", O'Brien told Inside Edge, "so it was nice to get there".
O'Brien has been getting a bit of stick on the Northants message boards lately, with impatient fans nicknaming him 'Nil O'Brien' and 'Niall O'Byes' but the Sandymount stumper will have silenced them with his century and a bye-less performance in Leicester's 527 last week. O'Brien has risen to 16th in the new Professional Cricketers Association rankings for the Friends Provident Trophy. Morgan is 58th while Ireland's Porterfield (62nd), Kyle McCallan (82nd) and Kevin O'Brien (92nd) also make the top 100.
THE Lord's Taverners, most generous supporters of youth cricket, host their annual lunch in Clontarf Castle on Wednesday. The event is in honour of former Ireland coach Adi Birrell and captain Alan Lewis, and the event is compered by old Pembroke all-rounder George Hook. The lunchers will then pile into a shuttle bus for a short lurch up Castle Avenue to watch Ireland play Northants. Festivites start at 12.30pm sharp and some of the funds raised will go to the Harry Birrell Trust, which provides scholarships to second level education in South Africa for those in need. Tickets, priced 100 euros per person, are available from Derek Brennan at 01-4562456.