No spoof. Real deal.
Ireland captain Johnston mulling international retirement](http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/04/18/sports/CB-SPT-CRK-WCup-Ireland-Johnston.php)
The Associated Press
ST. GEORGE’S, Grenada: Ireland captain Trent Johnston is considering retirement from international cricket following his team’s exit from the World Cup.
Ireland was comprehensively beaten by Sri Lanka in Grenada on Wednesday, the eight-wicket defeat rounding off a hugely successful debut at one-day cricket’s premier one-day tournament.
With his team of amateurs, foreign-born players and journeymen professionals rated no hopers at the start of the competition, Johnston led the side to wins over powerhouse Pakistan and test team Bangladesh, as well as a thrilling tie with Zimbabwe.
Many of Ireland’s players, including Johnston, now face the prospect of returning home to regular jobs including postman and fitness instructor.
Although the fixture list is still full, Johnston now wants to take some time out to decide on a future that may see several more players turning professional.
“It might be my last game,” Johnston said. “I’ll sit down with my family and see where we are going. It’s pretty hard to go on after a cricket World Cup and the seven weeks we’ve just had like this.”
Wednesday’s game was the last of Ireland’s nine at the competition and, along with last week’s nine-wicket trouncing by Australia, its heaviest defeat.
Although it was a tough way to round off the tournament, that Ireland even got so far was a testament to Adrian Birrell’s coaching, the players’ teamwork and the leadership of Australian-born Johnston.
After all, Ireland was supposed to go lose its thee first-round matches and go home early.
“If someone had said to me we’d be beaten by eight wickets by Sri Lanka in last game of Super 8s, we’d have taken that,” Johnston said.
A tall fast bowler, Johnston began his career with Australian state side New South Wales and played with the likes of test stars Mark Taylor, Michael Slater and Brett Lee.
His highest one-day international score is 45 not out and he has a total 10 wickets. However, those figures do not include his performances against other second-tier sides like United Arab Emirates, Kenya and Canada, who have been Ireland’s peers the past few years.
The 32-year-old Johnston would get the chance to add to his 15 one-day appearances if he were to play on under new coach Phil Simmons. Its victories over Pakistan and Bangladesh ensured its formal status will change from a temporary one-day international nation to permanent.
The change puts Ireland in the ICC’s one-day rankings and means that top nations may start planning visits to the country for a full scale one-day series before or after major tours to England.
The prospect was tempting enough to stop Johnston confirming his retirement immediately.
“I don’t know if I’ll be going on,” Johnston said. “I don’t know. But if I turn around, I’d love to be a part of what Phil wants to achieve.”
