THERE aren’t an awful lot of free moments in Kevin O’Brien’s calendar this summer. Monday morning – besides talking to Inside Edge – was given over to being measured for his wedding suit.
That happy day with Ruth-Ann is also being squeezed in over the Christmas holidays on a rare visit to Dublin between a four-week tour to Australia and the 2015 World Cup.
It’s the life Kevin has built for himself as a have-bat-will-travel T20 specialist which this summer will see him turning out for Surrey Lions and Trinidad & Tobago Red Steel as well as Railway Union, Leinster Lightning and Ireland.
“I’m off to Chelmsford tomorrow to practice with Surrey before our game with Middlesex at the Oval on Friday night”, he said.
“It’s probably a sell-out as its KP’s first game of the season, so it should be a great night.”
Surrey is the fourth county to sign O’Brien up for the 20-over competition in the last six seasons, and he’s relieved that they came back for him after a short stint in 2013.
“Alec Stewart was keen to get me back and asked would I give them first refusal. The last thing you want is to play for a different team every year and it’s easier to walk into a dressing room where you know all the guys.”
He’ll be playing under a new captain on Friday night, but one who is one of his oldest friends in Irish cricket.
“It’s unfortunate that Graeme Smith has to go home, but getting a world class player like Hashim Amla as a replacement is brilliant for the club.
“It’s a great opportunity for Gary (Wilson) to take on the captaincy. They rate him quite highly at Surrey and Graeme was always asking him for advice.”
O’Brien will be at The Oval until July 4th when he flies to join his Caribbean Premier League franchise.
“I’m really looking forward to that. We made the semi-finals last year and it will be great to play alongside guys like Fidel Edwards, Dwayne Bravo and Ross Taylor.
“We’ve a new coach, Steve Helmot, who has coached in the IPL and with Melbourne Renegades in the Big Bash so I’m looking forward to working with him.”
He’s guarded at talk of the Australian and Indian T20 tournaments but for the man who destroyed England at Bangalore you know he would love the chance to show his skills on the biggest stages.
He can still be seen down in Park Avenue over the summer when there’s a gap in his schedule, and he’s looking forward to being back for Railway’s last six Division 1 games. He will also be available for the climax of Lightning’s season.
“I still have to sit down with Phil (Simmons) to see whether he wants me for the Sri Lanka “A” games, whether they’re Ireland “A” or not,” he says about the three match series in late July.
But wherever he is, O’Brien will be sharpening his bat and getting himself in tune for the World Cup down under.
“It’s going to be a massive winter,” he adds.
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THE English have always preferred being led by Irish generals – the Duke of Wellington and Bernard Montgomery gave them two of their greatest military victories.
So it is no surprise that England’s T20 and ODI team regularly turn to Eoin Morgan as skipper when Alastair Cook or Stuart Broad are unavailable.
But the extent of the leadership skills of Irish cricketers was shown dramatically last week when no fewer than FIVE Irishmen captained counties in 1st or 2nd XI games. Morgan (Middlesex) tossed up with Ed Joyce (Sussex), while Gary Wilson has been put in charge of Surrey with Graeme Smith (an Irish passport holder) out injured.
Add 2nd team captains Andrew Balbirnie (Middlesex) and Stuart Poynter (Durham), and Leicestershire vice-captain Niall O’Brien, and you see what a strong hand of leaders is available to Phil Simmons.
And that of course doesn’t even include Ireland’s captain William Porterfield, who has yet to captain Warwickshire but took charge a few times at previous club Gloucestershire.
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ONE of the great Irish cricket careers appears to have ended last week. Conor Hoey’s battle with a shoulder injury has ruled him out of the rest of the season with Trinity and, aged 46, he is unlikely to play again.
Ireland’s greatest leg-spinner of modern times – 78 wickets in 42 caps – he continued to be one of the best wicket-takers in Leinster cricket up to the very end.
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A FEW cricketers offered themselves at the polls last week with varying degrees of success. North County stalwart David O’Connor was returned once again as independent councillor in Balbriggan, while former Merrion left-arm seamer and Green Party leader Eamonn Ryan was narrowly beaten for a Dublin Euro seat. In Cork, UCC’s Barry Keane missed out on a council seat for Fine Gael.
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BATSMAN OF THE WEEK: Hard to look beyond Cork County again this week, where skipper Ross Durity made 175no in a huge stand with Stefan Grobler (144) against Midleton at the Mardyke.
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BOWLER OF THE WEEK: Phoenix 2nds captain Matt Lunson took 7-5 as Pembroke collapsed to 60 all out.
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TODAY
Representative: Irish Universities v MCC, College Park, 11am
SATURDAY
RSA Leinster Senior Cup Rd 1: Rush v North Co, The Hills v Leinster, Clontarf v Terenure, YMCA v Pembroke, Malahide v Railway, Balbriggan v Phoenix
SUNDAY
RSA Div 2: Cork County v Trinity
MONDAY
RSA Div 1: Terenure v North Co, Merrion v The Hills, Clontarf v YMCA, Pembroke v Railway, Div 2: Rush v Balbriggan, Malahide v Trinity, Leinster v Merrion II, Cork County v Phoenix