TWO years after the Caribbean raiders stunned the world of cricket – and especially Pakistan, Zimbabwe and Bangladesh – they are at it again. Monday's filleting of Bangladesh saw the phrase ‘Super Eights' back on the lips of Irish sports fans as more horizons opened for Phil Simmons's talented squad at the ICC World Twenty20 championship.

And yet, behind the delight at mostly amateur sportsmen punching above their weight in a major international sport, there lies an intense frustration at how they have hit a glass ceiling in how they can move their game forward.

Later this year Ireland will have to travel to the UAE to qualify for the next running of this event, in competition with the likes of Afghanistan and the USA. In the meantime, Australia and Bangladesh, whose interest was ended early last week, get the free pass that full member status brings. Even if Ireland were to win this whole competition – although 250/1 at present they still have a better chance than Australia – they would have to take their chances in qualifying for the next one.

The situation stokes particular fury in Warren Deutrom, chief executive of CricketIreland, who has taken the opportunity of a return to the world stage to hammer home his grievances. 'What is the point of Associate cricket', he railed, 'Ireland has proved itself head and shoulders above the rest of the Associate nations, winning all the available titles in every form of the game – four-day, 50-over and Twenty20. What does the ICC want us to do? How do we get from high-performance programme to the higher echelons of the world game? There is no road map for us.'

After the 2007 World Cup, and armed with its own Genesis Report, the federally-structured Irish Cricket Union disbanded itself in favour of a professional structure better geared to modern sport. With back-up from the sports councils and sponsors RSA, the new body has continued moving forward, and the Ireland team has benefited from greater opportunities to travel for play and practice. A larger support staff has been recruited, while earlier this year two players, Trent Johnston and Alex Cusack, became the first full-time professionals.

And while the structures and support improved, Simmons and the players continued to keep their part of the bargain. While Ireland are unlikely to win this event, it is worth noting that it will be the first time they return home without a trophy since the last World Cup, a five tournament streak. Ireland are acknowledged as far-and-away the best side in Associate cricket over four days, 50 overs and 20 overs.

'It is a bit frustrating', says Kyle McCallan, the most experienced member of the team. 'One of our main aims has been to push Irish cricket forward as much as we can. We've been top of the Associate tree for many years now. When we got there first [ICC High Performance manager] Richard Done told us we had to prove it wasn't a flash in the pan. I think CricketIreland has proved that.'

Ireland are not yet asking for test status, the supreme form of the game that would require a strong domestic structure, modern stadiums and a greater audience for the game than at present. The last two entrants to the top level – Zimbabwe (1992) and Bangladesh (2000) have struggled to adapt. Bangladesh have won just one test since – against Zimbabwe – losing 52 out of 59, while the sport in the African nation is so riven by politics it opted out of tests three years ago. It has won just eight out of 83 tests.

'Playing test cricket isn't realistic at the moment', insists McCallan, 'But we've proved more than capable at competing at the shorter forms.' A new form of exalted status may be Ireland's best hope, with permanent rights to play ODIs and T20Is. Besides the difficulty of trying to set up a test structure here, there are problems in introducing an 11th full member into the delicate balance of ICC politics, much of which is divided on ethnic grounds.

Some English commentators have suggested that Ireland becomes the '19th county', joining fully in the championship and other competitions, but for the moment CricketIreland would prefer to tread the ICC route. Some type of regional competition will eventually be needed below the national side and CI have asked European Cricket Council supremo Richard Holdsworth to research and report – as an outsider – as to what the grassroots want. With the game at a senior level essentially confined to just three regions – North (Antrim/Down/Armagh); North-West (Derry/Tyrone); and Leinster (Dublin) – some sort of Celtic League including a couple of Scottish sides may be the best bet.

'At the moment we're piggybacking the English counties, relying on them to develop our young talent', says McCallan. 'Sometime in the future Ireland will be in a position to fully contract players and give them a chance of a career. That's all fair and well but players need to play better players to improve their game. For a start we'd need a first-class structure within Ireland and that's a bit away.'

Unlike their alcohol-free extertions at the recent 2011 World Cup qualifiers, Simmons was happy to let his men off the leash on Monday night. As headaches were nursed next day – and a 7am start ensured they were minor – they would have been further galled by the news of two of their former team-mates.

Ed Joyce, the greatest batsman ever produced here, was scoring a brilliant century for Sussex against Yorkshire, while Eoin Morgan was being asked to sit out the next 20/20 game for his adopted England.
Both these men had served Ireland well, but both knew that they could only make progress by hitching their wagon to a bigger nation.

As Deutrom told Sky Sports last week, 'We are producing test quality players but we're not allowed play test cricket.'

Despite a strong start to this season, Joyce's 17 ODI career with England is apparently at an end. He will still have to sit out a four-year waiting period before he can pull on a green shirt again – ensuring he misses the 2011 World Cup. The ‘four year' ICC rule was introduced to dissuade the wealthier associates from buying up ex-test players, but never considered that native-born cricketers might play for a test nation and later wish to return. Joyce and CricketIreland have hopes that ICC might look favourably on his situation but currently he is in limbo.

With our two best batsmen out of the equation, it is heartening that the side has continued to rack up such amazing results. Already English media have identified Niall O'Brien and Boyd Rankin as potential wearers of the three lions, a situation which might kill off this golden age for the Irish game.

Manager Roy Torrens, a fast bowling great who was awarded an OBE yesterday, doesn't blame the players: 'If you don't have the dream of playing test cricket, then what's the point of playing. You have to aspire to be the best at anything you do.'

Deutrom will use the ICC AGM this month to press home his case for inclusion in the Future Tours programme. 'It would give us guaranteed fixtures, which allows the CI board to put together a commercial package with some certainty. This makes it interesting for broadcasters, and then sponsors, ticketing and hospitality. Currently, we don't know what next year's fixtures are going to be. We are not saying that Ireland deserves to be a Test nation tomorrow but what steps do we need to take to get there?'

*******************************************************************************

A weekend at two of the greatest arenas in sport – Lord's and the Oval – is Ireland's reward for a stirring passage through the World Twenty20. They take on Sri Lanka today at the home of cricket before heading south of the Thames for a rematch with Pakistan tomorrow.

While the 2007 win over Pakistan will be ever recalled as the St Patrick's Day Massacre, 15 June 2009 may have to go down as the St Helen of Poland Hammering or the St Vitus Victory. It is also the feast day of St Domitian of Lobbes , a type of bowling that won't be on show from Kyle McCallan.

'It's been great so far, but very draining. The 20 over games are helter skelter,' says the veteran off-spinner.
McCallan has been in typically economical form, conceding at just 6.78 an over, good enough to put him ninth of those who bowled 10 overs or more. His four wickets include MS Dhoni and Brendon McCullum, two of the biggest stars of 20/20.

'I've just been concentrating on not going for plenty,' he told the Sunday Tribune. 'I had a chat with Regan West, who bowled his four for an incredible 22 against India, and we reckoned that anything under 30 for four overs was job done.'

It has been Ireland's bowling and fielding that has drawn plaudits: of the 12 teams in the first round, South Africa's bowling cost a miserly 5.83 runs per over and India's attack went for 7.02. But Ireland was next most economical at 7.04, thanks to the thrifty spinners and Trent Johnston's top form against Bangladesh. They conceded a boundary every 10 balls, with only South Africa less profligate.

So it was quite a surprise when Phil Simmons made wholesale changes for the opening Super Eight game against New Zealand on Thursday. Big Boyd Rankin is selected as a spearhead, picked to get early wickets whatever the cost. His economy rate isn't outrageous for an opener bowling during powerplays either – eight an over is cheaper than Fidel Edwards, Brett Lee and Mitchell Johnson for example.

But Rankin hasn't been picking up wickets, and was dropped for Peter Connell. The Kiwi has been a reliable performer but froze in the face of Aaron Redmond's assault and his solitary over, costing 17 runs, was a humiliation for him against the land of his birth. Skipper Will Porterfield was ill at ease when pressed on the subject later, convincing no-one when he said it 'there was room only for one of Boyd or PC. In the last couple of games, things got away from Boyd and he has gone for a few runs. It's a toss-up between the two: today we went with PC.'

Phil Simmons acknowledged the blunder when he said 'I need Boyd to get wickets up front. Peter was given an opportunity, but he didn't bowl well. That first over set the tone for a poor bowling display.'

While the bowling went off the rails, the batting was rarely on them. The win over Bangladesh owed most to the bowlers restricting the target, and to the O'Brien brothers keeping their heads as others lost theirs.

The main problem lies at the top of the order, where the crucial six over powerplays are not being utilised fully. Ireland have made 113-6 in the three powerplays, while conceding 132-3. Since the winning start, Ireland have scored two runs per over less than their opponents in powerplays and that is in impossible margin to claw back.
Jeremy Bray has looked out of sorts since his return, and was put out of his misery for the NZ game. That he wasn't replaced by Paul Stirling was a surprise, as the young Cliftonville player has been in big-hitting form, despite the distraction of A-levels.

Ireland instead went for a Porterfield/Wilson pairing and both found it difficult to get the ball off the square. Porterfield was blamelessly run-out, but 9-1 off the first two overs compared poorly to New Zealand's 32-0. With the captain scoring at 76 runs per 100 balls, Wilson 78 and Bray a hapless 11, a total rethink is required.
'The key to matches in this format of the game is early wickets. We keep losing too many early on, while not picking up enough,' says Simmons.

The coach may turn to the baby of the squad today, but perhaps Porterfield might also drop down to allow a rope-clearer such as Johnston or Kevin O'Brien the freedom to adopt a pinch-hitting role. It's the death or glory stages now and a thrilling 30 may be enough for one more day in the sun.