'Quins' look to push on after reaching All-Ireland final

WHEN seemingly out of nowhere, your side becomes the first Munster team to reach an All-Ireland final, what next? Cork Harlequins Cricket Club senior coach Ted Williamson explains his ten year project.

Last year in Dublin on August 22nd under grey skies an underdog Cork side struggled under the might of a much more experienced team. Limerick put their opponents to the sword 3-32 to 1-22 to defend their senior All-Ireland hurling title.

Something slightly different was happening in Rathmines away from the glare of Croke Park. Brigade Cricket Club, who reside just across the river Foyle from Derry City FC, took the Clear Currency T20 Men’s Cup by only eight runs.

For Cork Harlequins it was their first time playing in an occasion of this magnitude. The first time any Munster side had gone this far.

Brigade had history on their side with a couple of national titles plus a well seasoned squad.

How does Ted view it now? “Massive regret”.

An important part of the story is their dramatic semi-final victory against Merrion. The winning moment? Senan Jones smashes the last ball of the game for six to break hearts at the Dublin club.

The script had been rewritten without Merrion seeing the changes - a team with three former internationals and several with interprovincial honours.

For added context, this Cork Harlequins side do not usually compete against Merrion 1st XI. They instead compete against Merrion 3rd XI in Division 4 of the Leinster league as part of an agreement with Cricket Leinster.

Cork Harlequins might once have considered themselves bottom of the pile in Munster cricket. Not so now. But you could have forgiven Merrion for having half an eye on the final.

Watching back their performance in the final you could definitely count a handful of low percentage errors which certainly would have made the game much tighter. But who would have the heart to tell Ted.

“I’d be one of those people who it’s very hard to let things go but especially when you underperformed to be honest with you”

Quins certainly didn’t play badly, and didn’t look out of place with thoughtful performances from younger charges such as Andrew Hickey, Zubair Hasan Khan, Brendon Kruger and of course their captain Matt Brewster.

The youth policy of Cork Harlequins has been one of their cornerstones - promoting Brewster to senior leadership and crafting a young side over the years even despite the results.

What about the next charges coming through? Ted describes this as part of a ten year project to replenish the squad he has just built, which has been developed over the last ten years at the club.

Maybe it’s more of a twenty year plan, but it certainly is a plan. ‘It can be only be a learning thing. Munster [rugby] had to lose a couple of finals first to experience what it was like’.

But learning as you go through the grades can be priceless: ‘You can’t inject experience into people it just doesn’t happen you can do your best as a coach but there’s nothing like being out there and feeling it - the highs and lows of a game or a season and it will stand to them’.

There may even be a lot to be learnt in losing. Especially when Brigade got to compete in the European Cricket League as a result of the national title. ‘We still talk about it. It was great seeing Brigade doing so well out in Spain but every time it pops up on social media you kind of went “what if”... that’s just human nature’.

New indoor training facilities which were opened by Irish captain Andrew Balbernie will definitely help them continue their journey as it allows training to continue throughout the year.

What’s next? The senior side begin their season on April 17th at home when they take on County Kerry CC in the premier division of the Munster League. Certainly, all eyes will be on them.

What does he want? To compete consistently in all of their competitions according to Ted. It’s one thing succeeding in a 20 over cup competition where a favourable draw can certainly help and the shorter length of the games can increase the chance of an upset. Longer form cricket will certainly test his side more as they develop.

However talks of “an upset” takes us back to that electric semi-final win. Immediately after, Williamson was quite insistent on how it should be viewed: ‘some people will say it’s a major shock, I’d say it’s a little bit of a shock’.

Indeed those who knew what was going on inside that camp at Farmers Cross might have known that sooner or later a result like this would have been on the cards with the efforts that had been put in to support the coaching and youth structure at the club.

Cork Harlequins were simply beginning to see the fruits of their labours; the return on their investment. Ted’s investment? He’s quick to acknowledge the role of all of those who have been a part of the project at Cork Harlequins that invariably allows that grassroots coaching and development to happen unhindered.

It’s worth thanking Ted Williamson for his time because he’s not a man with a lot of it. This season he’ll have his hands full with Cork Harlequins, as well as coaching Munster Reds in the provincial competition where he’ll coach veteran allrounder Kevin O’Brien, a man desperate to get back in Irish colours after being dropped late last year.

At one point, Williamson was one of Munster’s most promising cricketers having made his debut for Ireland in 1998. Now Irish cricket may need him for something different, to nurture talent outside of Ireland’s cricket hotspots, and his most important work may be happening right now with Cork Harlequins.