Three new Ireland men's retainer contracts announced

Stephen Doheny, Neil Rock and Ben White have been awarded retainer contracts for 2021, after impressing Selectors on the recent Ireland Wolves tour of Bangladesh, and the fixture dates have been confirmed for the men’s Inter-Provincial Series 2021.

Men’s contracts update

Three emerging players have been awarded with retainer contracts after impressing Selectors on the recent Ireland Wolves tour to Bangladesh. Each player had come into the Wolves squad off the back of successful season’s in 2020.

Stephen Doheny, 22, plays for Merrion Cricket Club and was recently announced in the North West Warriors squad for the 2021 Inter-Provincial Series. A right-handed top order batter, and part-time wicketkeeper, Doheny has been part of the Shapoorji Pallonji Cricket Ireland Academy, Wolves and underage programme for several years. Doheny finished top run-scorer in the recent Wolves tour, with 192 runs at an average of 32, with a highest score of 81.
Neil Rock, 20, plays for Rush Cricket Club and was recently announced in the Munster Reds squad for the 2021 Inter-Provincial Series. A left-handed wicketkeeper-batter, Rock has been part of the Shapoorji Pallonji Cricket Ireland Academy, Wolves and underage programme for several years.
Ben White, 22, plays for CSNI Cricket Club and was recently announced in the Northern Knights squad for the 2021 Inter-Provincial Series. A right-handed leg-spinner, White grew up playing cricket for Phoenix in Dublin before making the move north of the border ahead of the 2021 season.

This brings the contracted players list to 21 players, with Gary Wilson’s retirement and David Delany opting to not take up a contract in 2021.

Central contracts: Mark Adair, Andrew Balbirnie, Curtis Campher, Peter Chase, Gareth Delany, Josh Little, Andrew McBrine, Barry McCarthy, James McCollum, Kevin O'Brien, William Porterfield, Simi Singh, Paul Stirling, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Craig Young

Retainer contracts: George Dockrell, Stephen Doheny, Shane Getkate, Neil Rock, Ben White.

Andrew White, Chair of National Men’s Selectors, said:

“Stephen Doheny is a very talented top-order batter, who will also keep wicket for the North West Warriors. He showed glimpses of his talent with Munster Reds in the T20 festival a few years ago, and more recently with Leinster Lightning last summer. The selectors believe he has grown as a cricketer on the most recent Wolves tours of South Africa and Bangladesh. Consistency of performance will be his focus moving forward, and we are confident in his determination to work hard with Graham Ford and the coaching staff on pushing his game to the next level.”

“Neil Rock is one of the shining lights of under-age cricket and our Academy programme. He stood out at the Under-19s World Cup in New Zealand, and on recent Wolves tours - especially in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. His natural talent is evident and we hope that this contract will allow him to work even harder to realise his dream and fulfil his potential. I look forward to him driving his standards to the highest possible levels.”

“Ben White has demonstrated an amazing work ethic and desire to improve his game. He has spent many hours in the winter at North County under the supervision of Peter Johnston and Albert Van de Merwe and is proof that if you continue to work hard opportunities do come along. The coaching staff and selectors saw on the recent Bangladesh tour that Ben has the attributes to push on and strive for higher honours. He admits himself that he is on a huge learning curve, but is determined to be better day after day.”

Inter-Provincial Series fixture dates

While all matches are subject to approval from sporting and health authorities on both sides of the border, approval has been given from both Sport Ireland and Sport NI to restart training at the inter-provincial level (under strict protocols), and it is anticipated that on-field action will proceed as scheduled below.

The first match of the new season will see defending 50-over champions Leinster Lightning take on the Northern Knights in Dublin, while the newly-announced Head Coach of the North West Warriors, Gary Wilson, will see his side take on the Munster Reds in the southern provinces first encounter in this format since being named the fourth side in the 50-over competition.

Richard Holdsworth, High Performance Director for Cricket Ireland, said:

“The 2021 Inter-Pro Series has generated a real sense of excitement and anticipation following the recent announcements about structural and selection process improvements aimed at making this a truly best v best competition.”

“For the first time we will have the opportunity to see the best 48 players in the country playing regularly across two formats. Combined with the appointment of Gary Wilson as Head Coach of the North West Warriors and the inclusion of Munster Reds in the 50-over competition – this is shaping up as an intriguing series with Leinster battling to keep hold of the two titles.”

“We have not quite confirmed venues for all matches yet, but expect to be able to confirm this shortly.”

© Cricket World 2021