Keeping it country
William Porterfield hates reporting late from Gloucestershire duty to represent his beloved Ireland
It's not an ideal build-up to a World Cup when your captain finally arrives at the training camp less than a week before the competition starts, but such are the accommodations Ireland has to make as it continues to punch above its weight in the world of cricket.
William Porterfield opens the batting for Gloucestershire CCC for a monthly pay packet, and captains Ireland for love. The 24-year-old from Killyclooney, Co Tyrone, had no choice but to go on the road to Worcester, Cardiff and Taunton with his county while his countrymen were starting to find their feet in the 20/20 warm-ups.
'It's frustrating', he said this weekend, 'growing up all I ever wanted to do was to play for Ireland. Now I'm making my livelihood playing cricket and it is unfortunate that I have to miss Ireland games because of that. But what I'm learning at Gloucester can only stand to me as Irish captain and player. I've learnt a lot this season about 20/20 and it will be good to bring that to Ireland. But it is frustrating to miss Ireland games.'
Ireland have missed him too, his top-order batting has never been better and his captaincy record is already the second best ever in terms of wins – 23 in 32 games – and by far the best in terms of win percentages. In the field he can turn to Trent Johnston and Kyle McCallan, two men who between them held the role for 100 games. Does that ever cause problems?
'I don't find it intimidating at all. It's great to have such experience to draw on. I talk regularly to TJ and Kyle in the field, and Nobby (Niall O'Brien) too, and am grateful for their advice. But I make the final call out there.'
Former national coach Adrian Birrell spotted his potential long before anyone else. Porterfield was a fixture, and prolific scorer, in Ireland underage sides from under-13 upwards, but he had an average adult record when first selected for Ireland.
'I went to the under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh in 2006 when he was captain,' recalls Birrell. 'I reckon I saw more of William Porterfield than anyone else before I picked him. I saw the drive, ability to work hard and to play under pressure. I saw that fortitude long before anyone was even aware he had it. I wanted to select him even earlier than we did but he didn't have the runs.'
He was eventually picked that summer and scored an unbeaten 110 at Lord's to grab a place in the World Cup squad. As a young cricketer, Porterfield was widely lauded but burdened with a widely held belief that being a solid opening batsman meant he wasn't able to up his tempo.
His world-class fielding at backward point won admirers but he struggled initially in the Caribbean before making31 against England and a match-winning 85 in the near-perfect team performance that ensured victory over Bangladesh.
A county trial followed, and he has been on a steady upward slope ever since.
Birrell is generous in his praise: 'Of all the players I've ever coached – and several of them went on to play for South Africa – Porty is my favourite cricketer. He's not the best player, but he's my favourite. He brings everything I ever taught him onto the field. He's a perfect guy, the perfect role model.'
He's now the best opening batsman in associate cricket too, and has nailed down a top order slot for Gloucestershire in all three forms of the game. He had been omitted from their limited-over sides at first but forced his way in and has repaid that decision with sacks of runs this season. Between the World Cup qualifiers and the English season he has already clocked up 1,000 runs this summer.
Porterfield has been working hard over the winter to bring more muscle to his short game. 'Yeah, I've adapted my game a bit over the winter, you have to keep moving. I've been bringing different things to it, working out ways to score. I wouldn't say I have brought more shots to my game, but I've tightened up my technique and worked on my consistency. I've developed a few ‘release shots' for when the bowling is tight and you need boundary options.'
As captain he was presented with a nightmare recently, with Eoin Morgan being snaffled by England. 'Moggy is a massive loss, he's our best batter. Look at the amount of cricket he's played, and he's still only 22. But we'll get over that and the best of luck to him, I hope he does well.'
Ireland have played very few games over 20 overs: two bunfights in Oak Hill and an easy win over Bangladesh A was the only build-up to the qualifying tournament. Ireland squeaked through when rain and Duckworth-Lewis almost conspired to give Bermuda a shock win.
The fixture list these days is enormous, but unforgivably, no 20/20 fixtures were organised on the two long winter tours and it was only in the last ten days that Ireland have started to settle into the unique rhythms and tactics of the short game. Porterfield confessed on Wednesday that the Irish management still hadn't settled on their starting XI against Bangladesh, and Thursday's defeat to South Africa probably raised more questions than answers.
Success tomorrow would guarantee a place in the second phase. But the Asian ‘tigers' have been impressive in the warm-ups. 'They're very aggressive and we expect they'll come at us', says the captain, 'but we'll come at them too with the ball to stop the momentum. If we can get early wickets we will up the pressure on them.'
He sees his fellow northwesterner Boyd Rankin as the key man. 'If Boyd can get us off to a good start with early wickets, and if the spinners bowl well we'll do well. Our batting has been up and down so far but if everyone takes responsibility we'll be fine. If TJ and Kevin O'Brien get going with the bat we've a great chance.'
Meet the Blarney Army
BATSMEN
William Porterfield
(captain, Gloucestershire)
Has taken his game up a couple of gears since the World Cup qualifier to be a prolific scorer over 50 and 20 overs for his county. Yet to make double figures for Ireland at 20/20. Canny captain and world-class fielder.
Jeremy Bray
(The Hills)
Scored a brilliant hundred v Zimbabwe in 2007 World Cup but retired that summer after a row over payments. Came back this summer but has yet to show his usually awesome batting form.
Niall O'Brien
(wicketkeeper, Northamptonshire)
Now a seasoned county professional, he has already started to be mentioned in the press as a potential England keeper. In all-time Ireland batting averages he stands supreme, the only man over 40, and for his county he has been prolific in limited-over games. Brilliant 62 against South Africa on Thursday.
Andre Botha
(North County)
Much will depend on how his damaged ankle stands up. Now playing just as a batsman, his varied bowling will be sorely missed. Made a brisk unbeaten 62 in first 20/20 against Bangladesh ‘A' last year and looked in fine fettle on Monday scoring 38 v Holland at Lord's.
Gary Wilson
(Surrey)
Another youngster taking great leaps forward in the county game. A big hitter down the order, he has been the finisher in three Surrey wins this season. Made runs in the win over Holland, and showed great skill in stumping Zuiderent in the superover. Even without the gloves he is a superb fielder.
Paul Stirling
(Carrickfergus)
A big week for ‘Stirlo' – he finished his A-levels on Thursday having sat several of the exams while in the Irish camp. Batted brilliantly at times against NZ and Holland. Has enormous potential in the game – joins the well-trodden Ireland-to-Middlesex route after this event.
Andrew White
(Instonians)
Only McCallan has played more games for Ireland than his 138 – and he's still only 28. Scored a good 50 in 57 balls against Nottinghamshire. His bowling has yet to be tried at 20/20 but showed his nerve under pressure in the titanic tie with Zimbabwe in Jamaica.
ALL ROUNDERS
Alex Cusack
(Clontarf)
One of two contracted professionals, he was rested for half the Friends Provident campaign before making a telling contribution in win over Worcestershire. Goes about his game in an unfussy way, but can be relied upon in all disciplines but looks to have slipped out of first XI.
Trent Johnston
(Railway Union)
Came back revitalised after taking a break last summer. Tight bowling and sheer force of will won the World Cup qualifier final in South Africa. His experience in tight positions is vital as shown in the superover against Holland last Monday. Relishes the big stage.
Kyle McCallan
(Waringstown)
No one is betting against him winning 300 caps before his day is finally done. The 20/20 format was expected to be fatal to spinners but the opposite is the case. At 47th, leading Irish bowler in ICC rankings.
John Mooney
(North County)
Another who had a time out after the 2007 Cricket World Cup. Mooney has had his ups and downs with the new regime. Good enough to clean bowl Vikram Solanki, leading run-scorer in England this year, but it his explosive batting and running that could win him a starting place.
Kevin O'Brien
(Railway Union)
His bowling is out of favour at the moment, his three overs in the warm-ups going for 44. That they were bowled to Brendon McCullum, Jesse Ryder and Chris Gayle –three of the most damaging bats in the game – should win him another chance. His batting is a potential match-winner: this World Cup could make him a star.
BOWLERS
Boyd Rankin
(Warwickshire)
Phil Simmons is banking on his raw pace to claim early wickets, as he did in warm-ups against Holland and West Indies. Successful start to season – claiming scalps of Phil Hughes and Owais Shah – but lost place in Warwickshire side after disastrous 3-0-30-0 against Scotland. Didn't play any 20/20s for his county.
Regan West
(Civil Service North)
Having made his debut at the end of August, the left-armer is another to force his way into reckoning. If spin bowling is felt to be the way to go then the big man from Taranaki will be in. Just one of his 32 wickets has come in Ireland.
Peter Connell
(North Down)
The Kiwi has been a revelation since his first cap last summer. A first-choice pick over four days and 50 overs with the ability to run through sides. Took 12 wickets in five FPT games, including a match-winning 5-19 at Worcester, but may lose his place to a second spinner.
GROUP A FIXTURES
Monday: Ireland v Bangladesh 1.30pm
Wednesday: India v Ireland 5.30pm
PREVIEW
Gerard Siggins
CRICKET was a slow-evolving game for most of its history. The game played by shepherds on the downs of England in the mid-18th century would still have been recognisable to one of those shepherds, had he risen from his grave 200 years later. But the last 30 years have seen enormous changes in the way the game is played. Coloured balls and clothing, heavier bats and music at every boundary has transformed the sport.
Changes in society meant audiences were less keen on spending long summer days as spectators, so the game changed to suit them. A marketing genius in the ECB hit on 20/20 six years ago as a way of bringing families and workers back to the game on summer evenings, and the short format meant it could be all wrapped up in the timespan of a Hollywood blockbuster.
It was a stunning success as crowds flocked to games; one county recently admitted that they get more fans in for one 20/20 than for two full seasons of four-day games.
The rest of the world was slow to buy into the ECB model, but when they did they quickly took it over. Ironically, it was the initial sniffy attitude of the Indian board that ensured the format's success. The first ICC World Cup was held in South Africa in 2007, six months after the 50-over World Cup in the Caribbean. India sent a youthful side shorn of its superstars but shocked themselves, and everyone else, by winning, and in thrilling fashion. New stars were made in MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh, who hit six sixes off a Stuart Broad over.
Having taken the new format to its heart, India threw the kitchen sink at it, setting up the lucrative Indian Premier League which has made millionaires out of many top players. Now its stars, such as Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma, are set to dominate this competition, which has already been turned on its head by the stunning defeat of England by the Netherlands.
Ten of the raiders of the Caribbean are in the Irish squad, three of whom − Jeremy Bray, Trent Johnston and John Mooney − took a time out on the slow road towards professional contracts. The batting hopes rest with a classy top order of William Porterfield, Bray, Niall O'Brien and Andre Botha; while the dynamic middle order of Johnston, Mooney and Kevin O'Brien can be relied upon to up the tempo.
Johnston's famous chicken dance has been put away for good, but he has been working on a new celebration should the need arise. It got its first outing on Monday at Lord's when he beat Holland in the superover. Watch for him running around with his right hand extended to the skies, a tribute to Alan Shearer, manager of the hapless Newcastle United team he supports.
Big bats and big hitting are rough on spinners, but some of the most effective 20/20 players have been slow bowlers. Ireland is well served with Kyle McCallan, Regan West and Andrew White.
The draw has given a real chance of progress, pitted against India and Bangladesh. Just one win will see them into the Super Eights, and having beaten Bangladesh over 50 overs in 2007 there are no fears. The Asian side is relatively inexperienced, having had a clean-out over the winter to the rebel ICL, but impressed with aggressive batting in the warm-up games, scoring 181 against Australia.