Ireland have found a golden generation – and they did it without county cricket

County cricket was a common thread in the generation of Irish cricketers who thrived in the 2007-15 World Cups and secured Test status. Of the XI who toppled England in the 2011 World Cup in Bangalore, eight had played for counties, benefiting from their proximity to one of the world’s best domestic set-ups.

For the new generation of Irish cricketers, it is different. After Ireland gained Test status in 2017, the England & Wales Cricket Board ruled that Irish players would no longer count as home-grown in the county game. The loss of easy access to the English system led one senior figure in the Irish game to fret: “Test status could be the worst thing ever to happen to Irish cricket.” From developing players in partnership with the county game, now Ireland have to do it all themselves.

Yet a vibrant new crop of Irish players are emerging who did not spend formative years in the county game. Left-arm quick Josh Little will be absent at Lord’s; instead, he played in the Indian Premier League final on Monday. Wicketkeeper-batsman Lorcan Tucker scored a century on Test debut in Bangladesh in April; his undefeated 71 against Australia in the T20 World Cup effectively kept England in the tournament.

The Tector factor

In Harry Tector’s last 10 ODIs, he has scored four centuries – two against New Zealand, and one apiece against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh. Using his 6ft 4in frame, he has combined powerful drives with front-footed pulls – Ricky Ponting’s famed front-footed pull was one of his favourite shots growing up – while scurrying between the wickets.

No cricketer to represent Ireland, including Eoin Morgan, has ever been ranked as high as Tector’s number seven in the ODI batting rankings – and he is still only 23. For Ireland, “Harry Tector is probably a once-in-a-generation player,” says Gary Wilson, Ireland’s batting coach. Tector has also indicated that his qualities can transfer to the longest format; in three Tests in April, he scored three half-centuries, including 85 against Sri Lanka.

On his second evening as a Test cricketer, Tector realised how exacting the format is. Facing a first innings deficit of 155 runs in Mirpur, Tector walked out with Ireland 7-2, which swiftly became 13-4. Tector’s 56, from 159 balls, helped haul his side up to 292, even creating fleeting hope that Ireland could win.

“It was madness,” he recalls. “I had no clue how I was gonna go but it was great fun. I wasn’t super excited to play Test cricket – we’ve had so many Tests cancelled, I thought it would happen again. But then once I played it, I fell in love with it. It was absolutely class – I just loved the flow of it.”

For Tector, the challenge of Test cricket is multiplied by Ireland’s lack of a domestic first-class system; he played just a solitary first-class match in the four years before his Test debut.

“There can be no expectations because we have no preparation to do well at this level,” he reflects. “I can’t go back to a first-class career where I’ve scored runs because I don’t have one. So I can only really rely on form in the last two years in one-day cricket and T20.”

As with many Irish players, cricket was steeped in Tector’s family. Aged seven, Tector played at his school and was immediately hooked. The three Tector boys – Harry is the middle brother; all three captained Ireland U-19s – spent long summer days at YMCA Club, where his father is prominently involved, playing cricket and hockey, often staying over at nearby friends. At home, the family were “constantly playing on the patio.” Whenever he was asked what he wanted to do, Harry said, “I want to be a professional cricketer. But I had no idea how.”

While the onset of Tector’s career coincided with county cricket closing off as a route for young Irish players, an alternative set-up was being built at home. He says that Little, who is the same age, and Tucker, who is 26, “were all beneficiaries of being in the right place at the right time.” Tector was 13 when the national academy opened; immediately, he was training with men on the fringes of the Ireland side. “I was exposed to that level really early.”

Tector went to two U-19 World Cups. Just before his second, Ireland played a warm-up match with England in Christchurch. Harry Brook, England’s captain, scored a century; then, Tector, Ireland’s captain, did the same. After the tournament, in his final year at school, he thought: “I can do this.”

Rising to the challenge

Aged 17, Tector was playing in the interprovincial competition, Ireland’s domestic competition. He also benefited from an extensive Ireland Wolves programme, the national A team – “tours to Sri Lanka, Bangladesh where you get absolutely smoked, but you realise what you have to do to get to that level.” Yet, as he laments, a lack of finances means that the Ireland Wolves schedule has since been pared back.

Had he enjoyed access to county cricket, “I would have gotten better earlier,” Tector believes. Yet, compared to the previous generation, Ireland now play far more high-quality international fixtures. Tector already has 92 caps in matches classed as full internationals, more than Ed Joyce won during his entire Ireland career. This has accelerated his development, and rendered a major obstacle for Irish cricketers – “the wickets aren’t good enough,” allowing bowlers to succeed who “just bowl 75-mile an hour” – less problematic. The team now play so much that there is little time to train.

“I’ve done a lot of my learning at the highest level,” Tector reflects. “I was able to get better really quickly because I was so out of my depth at the start.

“That’s what international cricket has done for me. I think it’s made me swim really fast – it’s sink or swim, isn’t it?”

After laser-eye surgery, from the same optician who worked on Rory McIlroy – “that little difference might help” – the formative moment in Tector’s career came in 2021. Before he had felt like “a sitting duck” against short bowling. At Malahide, turning his height into an advantage, he attacked Anrich Nortje and Kagiso Rabada off the front foot, hitting 79 to help Ireland defeat South Africa.

The pace of his transformation is a testament to Tector’s zest for self-improvement. “His work ethic is second to none,” says Wilson. “He’s his own biggest critic.”

“I always would come away from a series and notice that I wasn’t proficient at a certain shot or batting a certain way and I’d go away and work on that,” Tector explains. “I’ve got a really long way to go to get to a place where I’m one of the best players in the world.

“I really, really enjoy batting and love the technical side of it. I love the mental side of it.” The only part of batting he dislikes is how it ends; teammates call him ‘headcase’ for his penchant for shouting – and occasionally throwing things – after getting out. “I need to get better,” he admits. “If I get in and I throw it away, that would really upset me.”

Four years ago, Tector was so upset not to be picked in Ireland’s side that he didn’t go to Lord’s to watch the Test. Since then, he has been part of Ireland’s victories in their last two games against England – the ODI at the Ageas Bowl in 2020, when his undefeated 29 helped steer Ireland home, and the T20 World Cup clash at the Melbourne Cricket Ground last November.

“I’ve never played at Lord’s before, only been twice – it’s just such a special ground to be playing a Test match,” he smiles. “If we go three in a row it will certainly be some achievement.”