CRICKET NEWS:CRICKET IRELAND chief executive Warren Deutrom has called on the International Cricket Council (ICC) to supply the Irish international team with a defined pathway for future growth after their recent success at the World Cup qualifying campaign in South Africa.

Speaking at a press conference yesterday at Dublin airport to welcome home the victorious team, Deutrom also stressed that more regular competition against top cricketing nations could provide the solution to the ongoing problem of Ireland losing some of its top players to England as they bid to play the game at the highest level.

“We look to understand from ICC what is expected from us next, what should be our next goal,” said Deutrom. “We have delivered everything expected of us within our membership tier, on the field and off it. We trust the ICC now to outline for us how we can move forward and upwards.

“In the not too distant future we hope our very best young players can pursue the summit of their cricket ambitions, not under the flag of a foreign Test country, but with the green shamrock of Ireland on their chest.

“It might sound like an unreachable dream, but then so did beating Pakistan and Bangladesh and getting through to the Super Eights at the last World Cup,” he added.

Ireland’s triumph in South Africa comes at the end of a nine-month period of success that has seen them qualify in first place from the associate nations for both the 20- and 50-over World Cups, while retaining the European Championship and winning the Intercontinental Cup for a third straight time.

With the impressive World Cup qualifier trophy sitting beside him, Ireland coach Phil Simmons praised the professional approach of his side that culminated in a nine-wicket victory over Canada in last Sunday’s final.

Pointing out the high ambition that now pervades the senior squad, he said: “Qualifying for the World Cup was not our sole objective. We went to win this tournament and we have achieved that.

“I am happy that we have added the trophy to the Intercontinental Cup as it confirms our status as a top non-Test nation in both the one-day and longer form of the game.” Simmons admits it will be a tough task for the players to refocus ahead of the Friends Provident Trophy campaign, which gets underway on Sunday with a game against Worcestershire at Stormont.

With Ireland’s county-based players likely to play little part in the eight-game schedule, Simmons believes some of the younger players who failed to make it to South Africa will be keen to impress.

“It’s going to be almost as difficult as when I started in the job after they just came back from the World Cup and the high they were on. It was hard to come down for a while. But the good thing about Sunday is you have three or four youngsters who weren’t there coming into the team and they will be hungry.”

Simmons is likely to only have nine of his World Cup qualifier squad available to him for Sunday’s game in Belfast, with Trent Johnston (hamstring) and Alex Cusack (Achilles) set to sit out the opening game.

Andre Botha is unlikely to return to action until just before the Twenty20 World Cup in June after aggravating an ankle injury in South Africa.