da casino： Each of the Associates has one, possibly two, star names but EoinMorgan, the Ireland left-hander, is one of precious few to have aprofessional contract with a county. His path to England has, so far,mirrored that of his friend and team-mate Ed Joyce wh
Will Luke in Nairobi01-Feb-2007
Eoin Morgan: heading inexorably for England © Getty Images
Each of the Associates has one, possibly two, star names but EoinMorgan, the Ireland left-hander, is one of precious few to have aprofessional contract with a county. His path to England has, so far,mirrored that of his friend and team-mate Ed Joyce who Morgan joinedat an increasingly Irish Middlesex. And he won’t be the last.”Ireland is really proving itself to be a hot bed of talent,” Morgansaid at a net session in at the Aga Khan Sports Club Ground inNairobi. “With the likes of Joyce and Niall O’Brien (Northants) playingcounty cricket, it shows we have a top youth development system. Andit’s just a matter of getting players over to England that little bitearlier, grooving them as soon as possible and getting them into thesystem.”Many at Middlesex, let alone those in Ireland, believe Morgan’s futureis even brighter than Joyce’s. A forgettable duck yesterday, inIreland’s win over Bermuda, followed a slick and graceful 41 againstScotland – a match Ireland lost off the last ball. Has his (albeitbrief spell) experience in England highlighted the gap in class of theAssociates?”There is a bit of a gap, but I think it’s consistency,” he said. “Themajority of our team are part-time, not full time. They all have jobsand play at the weekends – but fortunately they are talented and doput in good performances. The gap, if there is one, is with theconsistency. The guys in England have it, and we lack it because wedon’t play it every day because we’re not professionals.”In the long term the gap probably won’t narrow,” he said. “Not in mygeneration anyway. Cricket isn’t popular enough in Ireland; we needmore media coverage and more financial backing in order for it tobecome professional.”And therein lies the problem, not just for Ireland, but for Scotland,Netherlands, Kenya and Canada. Bermuda, the other Associate country,need to play as much as the others, of course, but their remarkable$11m grant from the government allows something of a cushion. Morgan’steam-mates are amateurs, financially aided by the Ireland CricketUnion – as close to a contract as they get. He insists, however, thathis team-mates’ noses have not been put out by the big Englishcounties poaching their talent.”They don’t really mind,” he said with his diplomatic hat firmlyscrewed on, albeit with a hint of a grin forming “and they don’treally say anything. They know that me being in England and playingprofessionally is going to have a huge impact on my game going forwardand my development as a cricketer is going to be over in London,mainly because the financial aspects allow me to play full-time. Thefacilities, the process, all the people around me at Middlesex aregrooving me to play first-class cricket and take me forward.”You can’t blame him, but you can feel sorry for Ireland; his absence,and others who follow him, leave a huge hole. Ireland need to enjoyhim while they have him.