Dublin Sees Stars

Dublin played host to an array of cricketing superstars when former England captain and batsman, Mike Gatting, and ex-England opening bowlers Neil Foster and Neil Mallender visited the city as part of a roadshow run jointly by the ICC European Development Programme and the Irish Cricket Union from 1-3 March.

The roadshow kicked off on Friday with a coaching session for the Ireland women's squad, current European champions, with Gatting and Foster assisting Irish women's coach Richard Davies. The Irish youth teams also reached new highs last season, and on the Saturday morning Foster conducted a bowling clinic with 12 of their most promising young seam bowlers, while Gatting gave a selected group of batters a lesson in the art of playing spin bowling. Meanwhile, at Clontarf CC, Neil Mallender, now a first class and one-day international umpire, was sharing his experiences of umpiring at county and international levels.

On Sunday a series of lectures included an overview of the ICC European Development Programme by Ian Stuart, the latest coaching techniques introduced by ECB staff coach, Brian Kelleher, and fielding drills for young players by the Leinster Cricket Union's Development Officer Brian O'Rourke. Foster and Gatting also led sessions on batting and bowling to the gathering of over 50 local coaches. The weekend was rounded off by a ceremony to present Level 1 coaching certificates to successful candidates from a recent course held in Dublin.