DUBLIN – As part of Cricket Ireland’s ongoing relationship with Sydney-based Randwick Petersham Cricket Club, Clontarf player John McNally has been selected to take part in the International Cricket Programme and to play with the club during the 2024-25 season in Australia.
McNally has played for Ireland Under-19s Men, most recently at the ICC Men’s Under-19 World Cup earlier this year, as well as playing for Leinster Lightning and Munster Reds in List A and T20 cricket during the 2024 inter-provincial season.
The International Cricket Programme aims to provide cricketers with the opportunity to develop their games by spending a season in Australia with access to a high-quality training and matches, as well as strength and conditioning support – essentially acting as an ‘Academy’ for aspiring and professional cricketers.
Links between the Cricket Ireland Overseas Scholarship Programme and Randwick Petersham CC first emerged after the club hosted the Ireland Men’s team ahead of the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup in Australia. The scholarship was then first awarded in 2016 to current Ireland Men’s international Barry McCarthy, and has been awarded every year since, excluding 2021 and 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Previous participants on the Scholarship Programme are: Barry McCarthy, Andrew Balbirnie, Jack Tector, Harry Tector, Stephen Doheny, Tim Tector, Scott Macbeth, and Jake Egan.
National Academy Manager and Under-19s Head Coach, Pete Johnston had this to say on John McNally’s selection for the programme:
“John McNally is a thoroughly deserving beneficiary of this opportunity with Randwick Petersham and the Internation Cricket Programme. John was an integral part of the Ireland Under-19s who finished a best 8th at the U-19s World Cup in January. He highlighted his ability with an outstanding 50 against Pakistan Under-19s in a game that Ireland narrowly lost, while with the ball he was economical and took 5 wickets in the tournament. Currently he is Clontarf’s leading run scorer and has had an excellent start to his Leinster Lightning career with strong performances especially in T20.
“Throughout his cricketing endeavours, John has also been diligent around his education and completed a very successful Leaving Certificate. He will now defer his University commitments for a year to make the most this window of opportunity which he feels will benefit his independence, life skills and cricket immensely. The ICP will give John a professional environment and programme to help him thrive in his development and with Randwick Petersham for whom we are very grateful to for this continued joint-partnership”.
John Stewart, Randwick Petersham CEO, said:
“The partnership between Randwick Petersham and Cricket Ireland is a unique agreement that sets us apart from other Premier Cricket Clubs in Sydney and Australia. Fortunately, all eight Irish cricketers who have played and trained with Randy Petes have fitted in superbly within our culture. Their professionalism is unrivalled and they have certainly made many friends at the Club with their willingness to immerse themselves in the club on and off the field.
“We always follow each player with interest after they leave us, and its always a proud moment for the Randy Petes to see our representative players doing well.”