Cricket in America, you say?
The latest edition of the T20 World Cup, with games held from New York to Barbados, features intrigue aplenty. Saturday night’s tournament opener was a rerun of the sport’s oldest fixture, co-hosts USA defeating Canada in style in Texas. The expansion of the tournament to 20 teams allows for a broader, frankly more interesting selection of countries, the likes of Uganda and Papua New Guinea adding their own novelty.
In Ireland’s group the headline is India’s clash with Pakistan. The pop-up venue dropped into a Long Island park will be a hotbed for global eyeballs and New York’s expat south Asian communities come next Sunday.
All of which leaves Ireland coming into this competition under the radar. T20 World Cup appearances are a rarity no more, nor is the side any longer a novelty to the cricketing world.
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In recent weeks lengthy player contract negotiations raised eyebrows. With resolutions found Irish eyes are now focused purely on cricketing questions. How will Josh Little fare on his return from the Indian Premier League (IPL)? Can the bowling attack continue their recent improvement? Will Harry Tector finally have a T20 breakout?
The last one is, for many, the most salient issue. Aged 24 and with 126 caps to his name, Tector is no longer an unknown commodity. Yet chatter about untapped potential remains inevitable so long as a disparity exists between his weight of runs in 50-over cricket – where he is ranked as the joint fourth best batter in the world – and lesser returns in T20.
Which is somewhat ironic given Tector announced himself in a short-form match against India in Malahide back in 2022. That day his unbeaten 64 off 33 balls prompted Hardik Pandya, India’s then captain, to gift Tector a bat paired with predictions of his future IPL stardom. So far Pandya’s crystal ball gazing has been off the mark.
At the T20 World Cup later that year Tector struggled, averaging 11.3 in six innings. Since then his average has improved to 27 in the previous 18 months. He hasn’t matched his 50-over run but the trend is creeping upwards.
“I’m probably a more confident player now than at the last World Cup,” says Tector. “I definitely have more belief in myself and my ability. The things that I’m good at in terms of batting stack up with the best in the world, the way I play certain types of bowling is right up there, I didn’t feel like that at all at the last World Cup. I have a long way to go but I’m better rounded as a player and more confident.”
In layman’s terms Tector’s perceived weakness is his strike rate, the speed at which he scores his runs. In 50-over cricket he thrives when given time to construct an innings. Not offered that luxury in shorter T20 games, consistent rhythm can be difficult to find given the premium on scoring quickly.
While Tector’s average has gone up since the last World Cup, his strike rate in that same period is a hair under 115 runs scored per 100 deliveries faced. His career figure is 121 Ideally, that would be closer to 130.
There have been flashes. In recent games against Afghanistan and Pakistan Tector recorded strike rates of 165 and 133. There have also been troughs, a slow-scoring series in Zimbabwe and a lean run during recent matches in the Netherlands.
“Since Zimbabwe [prior to the Netherlands series] I was averaging in around 50 at a strike rate of 130,” says Tector. “That’s pretty good for me. Ideally I’d like the strike rate to be higher but six of those nine games were on tough wickets. I’m finding that consistency, I’ve played a few match-winning innings. I’ve proved I can do it.”
Batting at number four, Tector is tasked with staying in third, maybe fourth gear. The goal is to set the game up for power hitting at the death rather than entering attack mode from ball one. At the last World Cup in Australia Ireland were more gung ho with their aggression levels. That changed when Paul Stirling took over as white ball captain last year.
“It’s a more fluid approach in terms of how we play given the situation,” says Tector. “Whereas 18 months ago it was like we were trying to hit every ball for six. Stirlo came in and said, ‘you guys are better.’ He challenged the batting group to be selective, to take responsibility while not losing too much aggression.”
The success of the refined approach will define Ireland’s time in America. At this World Cup they will likely have to beat the USA, Canada and one of India or Pakistan to extend their stay into the next round.
Like the team aspirations individual goals are clear. Performing well on a global platform is the surest path to financially lucrative opportunities in franchise leagues around the world. Tector has had stints in the Caribbean, Nepal and Bangladesh, but nothing as high profile as the Indian riches which Pandya once foretold.
“As much as I would have liked to have featured in bigger leagues I’ve still got so much time. That’s not to say I’m not desperate to play franchise or do well for Ireland. Nothing should be taken for granted, but I do believe I can become one of the best batters in the world in white ball.”
Ireland’s deep batting line-up ensures they don’t rely solely on any one individual. Yet that doesn’t preclude the truism that if Tector’s upward trend in T20 does culminate in a Stateside explosion, everyone wins; Tector can put strike rate questions firmly behind him and Ireland can add to their list of famous World Cup wins.
Ones to watch
Josh Little
An easy choice, perhaps, given he is Ireland’s only participant at the Indian Premier League, the biggest domestic competition in the world. After missing games against Pakistan and in the Netherlands due to that IPL commitment, Little adds some much-needed pace to Ireland’s bowling attack. Despite being in India, Little found himself sitting on the bench more often than not. His only IPL outing this year came on May 4th, leaving a near three-week gap before his next game in a World Cup warm-up defeat to Sri Lanka. Recent evidence suggests rest does Little good, tearing through Zimbabwe last year after a six-week break.
Mark Adair
Given Ireland’s historical struggles to take wickets in the middle overs, Adair’s new ball threat becomes all the more important. Lacks the pace of Little but his skills when moving the ball through the air present a different challenge to opposition openers. Last calendar year his 26 wickets at a miserly average of 16.23 saw him named on the ICC T20 team of the year. Adair also has an important role bowling at the end of an innings, an area where Ireland have shown recent improvements after a difficult period. Adair’s ability to clear the ropes with the bat adds valuable batting depth.
Ben White
Has overtaken Gareth Delany as Ireland’s main spinner. The leg-spinner has had a strong 12 months in an area of the game where Ireland typically don’t produce match-winners. Had some difficult days trying to defend Clontarf’s short straight boundaries against Pakistan, but has been less expensive in recent outings. White has yet to show that he can consistently be that game-defining spinner which has become a hallmark of modern T20 cricket, but he’s the closest Ireland have to that at the moment. With the pitch in New York an unknown and Florida historically a tricky surface, spin could well be a crucial factor.
Ireland T20 World Cup fixtures (all live on Sky Sports)
India vs Ireland, Wednesday, June 5th, New York, 3.30pm (Irish time)
Ireland vs Canada, Friday, June 7th, New York, 3.30pm
USA vs Ireland, Friday, June 14th, Lauderhill, 3.30pm
Ireland vs Pakistan, Sunday, June 16th, Lauderhill, 3.30pm
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