Southern XI captain Trent Johnston expressed huge disappointment at the news that the North-South regional match had been cancelled due to a water-logged pitch. Cricket Ireland Director of Cricket Mark Garraway confirmed that the pitch has been ruled unplayable for tomorrow's fixture and that the match will not be refixed. 

 

"It was supposed to be a two-match series, but tomorrow's match won't be refixed. The return match will be a stand-alone match - a sort of a final," he said.

 

Speaking from a rainy Strabane where Railway Union were yet to bowl a ball in their first round Irish Cup game, Johnston admitted that the timing of the first regional game could have been better, but that he was looking forward to the novel series. 

 

"Yes I think this is a good start to get the interpros back on track, with a few high-profile matches and high-profile players. But I think further down the line Cricket Ireland will introduce more teams into the competition," said Johnston. 

 

Asked why it was decided to bring back the interprovincials now - albeit in a different format - the fast bowler answered, "I think there's too big a gap between club cricket and international cricket now. These games are a stepping stone and an opportunity for Ireland A players, and even those outside Ireland cricket, to play against the senior team players."

 

Selecting the 12 players for the Southern team was the hard part, the easier part will be captaining the team Johnson insisted. "We (Johnston and other Southern selector Brian McNeice) could have picked two teams. It's very early in the season so we only had two rounds of league matches to pick players from, so we went on reputation to an extent, how players did last season, and how they are doing early on this season.

 

"There are some injuries, like Alex Cusack with shin-splints, and of course Kevin O'Brien has just gone to Gloucester so he is a big loss."

 

But the South captain anticipates that he will enjoy captaining the side when they finally do play the Northern team. "What I was going to say to the lads tonight was just to go out and play their normal cricket. Keep playing the way they did to get onto the team. I was going to hold maybe myself and boys like John Mooney back and give other guys a go."

 

So is this an opportunity for those outside the Ireland set-up to get their names in the mix? Johnston certainly thinks so. "I hope so. All the selectors will be there - it's a waste of time otherwise and I'm sure they wouldn't be bringing it back if they didn't think it was a worthwhile exercise.

 

"The time is gone when the Ireland team could just consist of 15 players. We need more like a squad of 22 at this stage, so we need to see the talent that's out there."

 

With Kevin O'Brien recently departed, he will be a loss for the South team when the second game goes ahead. "Look, it's always going to make a difference taking out a guy with a World Cup record, you can't replace him," admitted Johnston. "And likewise, Cusack, who is out with shin-splints, has been a fantastic player for Ireland for a number of years, but I'm confident that the guys coming in can do a good job.

 

"Guys like John Anderson who had a great season last year, and I always like having a leg-spinner in my side, like Ben Ackland who is doing really well in England this year and like Andrew Poynter who has started the season off very well. They can't replace these other players but they will have something to prove, so that might even be a better thing," said Johnston.

 

Does the former Ireland captain believe his side has a good chance of success when he does finally lead them onto the field? "Absolutely. We've got some great players in there. Players like Tom Fisher who had a great season last year and Max Sorenson who just qualified. We have Albert Van der Merwe who hasn't bowled a lot so this is a good opportunity for him."

 

Mark Garraway said it was a "shame" that tomorrow's game had to be called off, but he added, "The date for the return match will be confirmed in the next 10 days".