When I was 15 I played a Gaelic Football match for my local team in County Derry, Northern Ireland. It was quite a big game in which we won and brought us to the final, however the events that followed the match will always be remembered. Disgusting scenes of fighting between players, supporters and even parents overshadowed the victory after the final whistle. I recall a parent of the opposition players hit the sister of one of my teammates, and I would guess we were not just the victims that sour evening. My parents have said since they stayed on to make sure I got back on my team bus before they went home. Unfortunately, these scenes are not rare in the sport.
Two months ago an excellent schools football final between Belfast Boys Model School and St Mary's Christian Brothers Grammar School was marred by more scenes of conflict where the police were called to take action. Even though spectators at the game will say the actual game was on the best finals ever with some heart stopping action, it is unlikely to be remembered for the right reasons. I remember seeing this in the news that evening in March, but the focus was of course the fighting, not new Liverpool Football Club academy signing Ryan McLaughlin scoring a last minute penalty to win it for St.Mary’s. What a shame.
On Monday 30th May, I visited Stormont, Belfast, for the One Day International cricket match between Ireland and Pakistan. This was my first cricket spectacle so I was looking forward to it (not just because I got a free ticket, worth £25). I must admit I did have some preconceived notions about the sport. I thought it would be boring. I thought I would see a load of posh, upper class, la-de-da gentlemen sipping on their tea while discussing politics and applauding the odd catch or bat. How wrong I was, and I can say I had an excellent time in which I learnt a lot about the game and would recommend anyone to spend the day if they get the chance. I had a number of observations from my day.
After Paul Stirling (@stirlo90) was put out after his momentous 109 runs and was walking off, everyone applauded, including a Pakistani man sitting in front of us, who also got out of his seat and ordered his wife to do the same. Apart from Ronaldinho’s mercurial display for Barcelona against fierce rivals, Real Madrid, at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in 2005 where he got applauded by both sets of fans, I struggle to remember similar examples of affection from the opposition support in a sport I am more familiar with. It is quite unheard of. The shambles that is the ‘Respect the Ref’ campaign has been attempted in football, but there isn’t any point as players like Wayne Rooney and John Terry are still running around like petulant brats. I admire the rugby ethos of calling the ref ‘Sir’, and accepting his decision, as well as applauding the opposition off the field. Manners are golden and all that. It would be great to see football taking a leaf out of the cricket and rugby books, but it will never happen. Ever.
Walking around the cricket field I saw at least 10 groups of kids playing the game, just for fun. It didn’t matter the area, they just needed a bat and a ball. They made stumps out of twigs, used the portaloos, advertisement boards, bags or portable stumps they brought with them. What if someone had a portable cricket setup for kids to pay and use. A mini batting area for kids to whack balls flying at them would make a good few bob for sure. How about a fastest bowler competition or a target hitting competition? The winner gets an Ireland shirt (being sold for £35 at the shop at the field). A ticket for the game cost £25. I think this is steep. Maybe some will disagree, as they got the chance to meet their sporting heroes, and watch them play for 6 hours, but I was surprised at the price. Advertising for the game was somewhat non-existent. Had I not been told by Philip Wilson (pictured below with Pakistan’s Umar Gul), Matchmedia maestro, and creator of ‘Bumbles Balls’ cricket iPhone app (http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/bumbles-balls/id383483085?mt=8) about the game, I would have been clueless. Seems the game was only talked about within the cricket community. It appeared to be a great family day out, so why not offer a family ticket package to get everyone involved? Maybe a student deal, as some pints in the sun is always an interesting proposition.
Ireland beat England in the Cricket World Cup this year. It was a victory that inspired many. Another great underdog story that captured the hearts of all sports fans. We all knew who Kevin O’Brian was after that. The attendance for the Pakistan game was average, but I would have expected a massive push of advertising to raise the profile of the sport in the country. Get the players out to the schools, interact with the kids, get them excited to play the game.
I can safely say cricket is a proper sport. Some call it boring or tedious, I call it brave. Watching Umar Gul, the elegant and effortless Pakistani cricketer, bowl, was certainly an eye-opener. The ball must have been moving at 100mph at least, defying the laws of physics. I wouldn’t want to bat against him. On one occasion, although it didn’t get an Irishman out, he threw the ball from a massive distance and hit the stump. Pure skill and accuracy. I don’t know if everyone else was as impressed as I was, maybe these are simply the thoughts of a first-timer.
Before Pakistan came out to bat, I watched Ireland Strength & Conditioning coach, Brendan Connor, put the team through their paces. Sports science has been implemented in all sports to improve the athlete’s performance through analysis and training. I can see how cricket has a great need for this. Flexibility in reaching for a catch or bowling. Speed in making the stump as a batter or beating the ball to stop a certain 4. Power to bat the ball out for a 6. Leg extensions and strength for batters form. I came across this video (http://bit.ly/lYixP7) in researching how sports science is being used for cricket. Biomechanics (the study of human movement) has proved very important for analyzing bowling technique. Turns out choosing the wrong bowling technique can lead to serious trunk or shoulder injury. Brett Lee, the Australian bowler, broke his back at the age of 20, after his awkward form meant FIVE times his body weight was going through his knee joint. The bottom half of Lee’s body was front-on and the top half was sideward. This is called a ‘mixed action’. This led to counter-rotation, and then to injury. Recovering from injury, Lee was able to channel his power using science, and practicing a ‘front-on’ technique, as well as a training regime consisting of swimming and stretching to improve flexibility. Lee now throws at 100mph. The work of the sports science team for Irish cricket cannot go unnoticed and the standard of athlete is sure to be improved.
After my first cricket experience, I would love to see Ireland become a test nation, competing against the worlds best at the highest level. With extremely limited funds, they are certainly doing well at the minute and I am excited to see what he future holds for them. With scientific aid helping to produce better athletes, and a bit of publicity for the game in the nation, hopefully the cricket field’s grass will be greener for years to come.
