SIX THINGS WE LEARNED LAST WEEKEND

1 Cricket is moving into the mainstream

The traditional bellwether for foreign correspondents is the taxi-driver, and mine knew all about the ODIs in Malahide when he picked me up on Saturday morning after an earlier engagement. He had great hopes for a win, and for the soccer and rugby teams on the same afternoon too.

That he grouped them as a trio was interesting, although the three abject defeats won’t have cheered him.

2 Malahide is a great home

While the 10,000 crowd for England in 2013 won’t be beaten until that opposition returns, the attendance was not too shabby at the weekend.

On a miserable wet school day over a thousand was a good showing, especially with Northern Ireland playing at the Euros. With better weather, and a blank senior programme, Cricket Ireland would have expected at least a couple of thousand on Saturday, but the competing soccer and rugby internationals cut a swathe through that.

Those that didn’t bother missed some excellent cricket, if a bit too much of it came from the away team. More than 1,000 runs were made on good pitches, including 26 sixes for those who like their cricket conducted in the ozone layer.

And while Malahide is magnificent when set up as a 11,000-capacity stadium, it is also settling nicely into its more usual role accommodating less than half that in comfort while also having room for TV coverage. With plans advanced for some permanent structures it will soon take its place among the great cricket grounds of the world.

3 Amateurism isn’t a dirty word

The shambolic handling of the players’ contract negotiations has already ushered two players towards the exit door, but one who found himself surplus to requirements has taken the opposite approach.

John Anderson, as we’ve written before, has been the best batsman playing in Ireland for the best part of a decade. He won a dozen or so caps and made an important century against Netherlands in the I-Cup before a bad couple of series against Scotland in limited overs games ended his run.

He lost his peppercorn Cricket Ireland contract over the winter and was told it would be unlikely he would be needed again. But he worked hard and has been in stupendous form this summer, racking up over 850 runs in the space of 17 days which demanded a recall.

Surrounded in the dressing room by 12 men who fill in ‘cricketer’ when they are asked for a job description – and facing 11 more who spend their lives jetting around the world to do so – he could have been overwhelmed. But he took his time, found the measure of the bowling and the pitch, and then unleashed the shots that make him such a feared opponent in club and interpro cricket on his way to 35 including six fours.

There won’t be many more accountants who play for Ireland, but as John Anderson switched on his calculator on Monday morning he can reflect on a job well done.

A team full of van drivers, teachers and salesmen were good enough to beat Pakistan in 2007, so the odd non-pro can still be indulged. There may be more about the place too.

4 The captaincy is about to become an issue

Eight years is an awful long time to lead any side in international cricket. William Porterfield has led Ireland for 184 games now, three times as many as his immediate predecessors Kyle McCallan and Trent Johnston.

He has mostly been a conscientious, often brilliant leader, there at all the great moments in that time and contributing more than his share with the bat.

But his errors in Sylhet and Dharamshala led to Ireland’s elimination from the last two World T20s and his hitherto-exalted status within the group has been shaken. Check out the videos of some recent defeats to see the level of obvious dissent his decisions have provoked in senior players.

Ed Joyce should be asked to captain the four-day side and lead Ireland into test cricket. He deserves no less.

In limited overs formats, Andy McBrine is now a certain pick and has the boot, bollock and bite that has been missing from the side since John Mooney’s retirement. He will be a great Ireland captain, and the sooner he gets a taste of it the better.

5 Slagging off your players mightn’t be the best idea

John Bracewell has been in his job just over a year, a job he was given “because he gets us and he gets Test cricket”, according to CI’s performance director at the time. Since the Kiwi took over, Ireland have won one out of seven ODIs (one of which was abandoned), seven out of 21 Twenty20s (four abandoned), and won all three of their four-day games against Associates and drawn with Zimbabwe A.

Against Associates only, in all formats, Ireland have lost nine times in the last ten months, after losing nine times in the previous five years.

On Saturday, in the wake of a record home defeat to an injury-hit Sri Lankan side, Bracewell described his side’s bowlers as “unforgiveable” because they failed to request the pre-match research on Seekkuge Prasanna. “We had good notes on him, and our notes showed that he could hit exactly where he did, and we were slow to react. Our notes said slower balls and yorkers wide – as it turned out he dragged on a wide yorker. It took us a while to make that adjustment. You have to then assess whether that's arrogance, or ignorance or stubbornness.”

These are worrying points, and the bowlers and captain will need to look at themselves before the Afghans arrive, but surely blaming the players for not seeking out this from the ‘stats man’ is a cop-out: is there no “send” button on Bracewell’s computer?

For a coach to wash this dirty linen in public makes great reading, but you’d worry about how it was taken inside the dressing room, and how much it shows that he “gets us”. Bracewell has built a career on taking hold of an underperforming county and turning it into a successful one-day side.

But you can’t take the credit for the good days and blame players for the bad ones. This will do no good to a side that has already suffered three retirements and one ‘time-out’ since last summer.

6 The selectors have some big calls ahead

The policy of making ‘Irish heritage’ players kick their heels in the wings as a test of their commitment has been shelved this season. It was too late to keep Nick Larkin in the fold, but has benefited Seán Terry whose 251no against Scotland A will surely not be long ignored by the Irish selectors.

The fat contracts awarded to certain home-based players may make it hard for them to be dropped, but the selectors have already shown a degree of independence which can give supporters cheer.

With half the Golden Age side already retired, some of the others may need a push. Eyebrows were raised that Ireland’s wicket-keeper was as low as No.7 in the order at the weekend, and with Bracewell suggesting that was McBrine’s slot from now on, Gary Wilson may be first to go.

And while they’re at it, maybe it’s time to hand over the gloves to Stuart Poynter, who battled well in both games. Niall O’Brien is worth his place as a batsman, and may extend his career if he doesn’t have to keep.

My team for Afghan series:

Porterfield, Stirling, Joyce, Anderson, K O’Brien, Poynter+, McBrine, McCarthy, Murtagh, Rankin, Chase or Adair. Reserves: Wilson, Adair or Chase, Terry.

Not considered (injury): Balbirnie, N O’Brien, Young.