Five-match series not the answer

The concept of a five-match series involving teams representing the North and the South, outlined here a week ago, is not a viable proposition as far as Mike Hendrick is concerned. The national coach believes that if implemented such a scheme would cause the provincial unions to lose their identities and in any event he doubts that that the unions would go along with the idea in the first place.

But, he insists, the present Interprovincial Championship must be run along professional lines. "It's essential to instil a sense of discipline and a sense of identity in the players," Hendrick believes. "Ideally, there should be a squad from each of the provincial unions involved in off-season training, as happens in the case of the national panel of players," he says. "And each of the provinces should have its own coach and its own manager; such a set-up would not only improve the playing standards but would also provide opportunities for young club cricketers, who would regard a place in the provincial squad as a goal to aim at."

Hendrick is undoubtedly right. His own professional approach may not always appeal to the amateur traditionalists in Irish cricket - and they haven't gone away, you know - but it has worked for the members of the national team, whose self-belief and competitive spirit is almost tangible.

But if as Hendrick suggests the best plan is to retain the Interprovincial Championship in its present form, or at least something similar, infinitely better planning and administration methods will be vital.

The matches in the series are between representative teams, just one rung below full national recognition; but anybody who was at the recent Leinster versus North West match at Malahide would have found that hard to believe. Just consider that there were no scorecards. No public address system to tell the spectators what was happening, which player was which, who had just got out, or who had just come in, or how the wicket fell - simply zilch information about anything. And, as if to add insult to injury, the scoreboard wasn't working properly.

Imagine such a shambles at Donnybrook, say, last October, when Leinster and Munster met in a match which was effectively the Guinness Interprovincial Championship decider? On such an occasion, could anyone seriously envisage a comparable lack of information, with no match programme, no PA, and with the spectators being left in the dark about what was going on?

When the rugby provinces are involved in competitive matches on a Saturday, all other games, barring junior ones or meaningless friendly matches, are cancelled. So why not the same in cricket? The Interprovincial Championship matches should be played on Saturday to ease the demands on the players and if local competitive games have to be re-scheduled for midweek, then so be it.

So if, as Henderick suggests, the Interprovincial Championship is to be retained, then let the Irish Cricket Union and/or the local unions concerned shake off the shackles of amateur attitudes and plan and stage the competition properly. The basic needs are pretty simple: a scoreboard which works properly, scorecards, a PA system and an efficient announcer and - before a ball is bowled - a concerted and planned pre-match publicity drive.

That means leaflets stuck in letter-boxes in the surrounding locality, posters in shop windows and the like, plugs on local radio stations - maybe even on the national station if ever the RTE sports gurus can get away from their GAA and English football obsessions - and as much exposure as possible in local and national newspapers. A sponsor is essential, and a pro-active sponsor at that, not some miserly outfit believing that giving a paltry few hundred quid is enough to get his name on the trophy.

Meanwhile, Hendrick, skipper Angus Dunlop and the squad will be at Castle Avenue today preparing for tomorrow's NatWest third round match against county champions Leicestershire. "They're the professionals, we're the amateurs, and we're the underdogs," says Hendrick.