HISTORY OF THE IRELAND INDOOR CRICKET TEAM - est. 2011
As the 2009/2010 cricket season came to an end a young man by the name of Sean Cameron brought up the possibility of creating an indoor cricket side to a few of his mates, in order to get through the cold winter months without losing the form that they had shown during the previous cricket season. After they appointed themselves as co-captain
s, J.Woods and Richards went out to build a formidable side. Cameron was the first recruit and number 1 draft pick, as it was his idea in the first place. J.Woods' older brother Daniel was next in line and taken with the number 2 pick under the siblings rule. Ben Benson and Jason Bedford were selected to round out the inaugural team. Adam Salerni and Brenton Alp were selected in the rookie draft, but were quickly promoted to the senior list due to injury and Bedford failing to see out the season in the side. As the first game quickly approached the realised that they didn’t have a name for their new team. It was up to Cameron to come up with 'Second Rate'. The name was a great choice as the opposition would look at the name and not be prepared for the onslaught that followed. J.Woods (co-capt)
2. M.Richards (co-capt)
3. S.Cameron
4. D.Woods
5. B.Benson
6. J.Bedford
ROOKIES
7. A.Salerni
8. B.Alp
Second Rate finished the season in 9th place and qualified top for the C Grade finals. They were favourites for the C Grade premiership, but due to one of the other side’s that finished above them folding, they were promoted to the B Grade finals where the competition was just a little too strong for this young and emerging side. Overall, Second Rate's debut season was deemed a success and the team was eager for the next season where they would be looking for continued improvement. Once the time came for the team to commit to the new season, J.Woods was struggling to build the enthusiasm of the side for the next season. A change was needed. Saxon Sport announced early in the preseason that their indoor cricket competition would be run as a world cup. This proved to be the perfect way for J.Woods to bring back the excitement back to the team. For the first time in Second Rate's history they had decided to change their name to Ireland (nick named the 'Irish Spuds'), their look to an all green with a touch of yellow, to turn over players and for the very first time the Ireland Indoor Cricket Board (IICB) was created. J.Woods, Cameron, Benson and D.Woods were voted on the IICB as they are the only founding members of Second Rate still playing for the Ireland Indoor Team, other than their original rookie selections Salerni and Alp. Pat Jackson and Jono Powell were selected with the first 2 priority picks in the 2011 draft, while Salerni and Alp retained their place on the subs list. The current Ireland side is as follows:
(Probable batting line up)
1. J.Woods (capt)
2. B.Benson
3. P.Jackson
4. J.Powell
5. S.Cameron
6. D.Woods
Subs
7. B.Alp
The 'Irish Spuds' are now ready to take on all competitors in this new competition and after an undefeated preseason are the early front runners to take out the 2011 Saxon Sports Indoor Cricket World Cup. After dismantling the Netherlands in round 1, Ireland will look to continue their winning form every Wednesday night beginning with round 2 on the 13th of April. The times of games and opposition will be posted weekly on the 'Ireland Indoor Cricket Team' group page here on Facebook. (All information courtesy of Wikipedia, I hold no responsibility for the accuracy of this information and no copyright is intended).
