No-hopers give a great hope to Irish film-maker Davey
World Cup-bound Irish cricketers the heroes of his documentary, he
didn’t realise that he had just managed a casting coup. A chance meeting
with
Sydney-born Irish budding film-maker conscious of the fact that the
country of his birth didn’t just have a cricket team but had also
qualified for the 2007 World Cup.
Today Davey sits on about 10 hours of exclusive footage that tells the
incredible story of 15 no-hopers who have caused one of the biggest
upsets in World Cup history. The three-wicket win over once-world
champions Pakistan means Ireland, who had confirmed their Kingston
to Dublin booking after the group stage, have got a one-month extension
in the West Indies as the Super 15 have almost made their entry into
the Super Eight.
This also means a healthy headache for Davey, who wonders how his
limited budget would see him survive in the
April-end. “I will have to use the Irish charm and hope that Saint
Patrick will be on my side,” he says.
Though Davey plans to edit his work to about 50 minutes for the
festival circuit and eventual television release in cricket-playing countries,
the heart-warming and still-evolving storyline could interest even
some
sub-plots, is Oscar-material. The game against
A simple, sheep farmer’s son — Boyd Rankin — takes three wickets.
Andre Botha, who left
to play international cricket, comes up with dream figures of 8-4-5-2.
“Never ever dreamt of a spell like that, forget on a day like that,” he says.
The O’Brien brothers — Niall (72) and Kevin (16 not out) — combine forces
for an inspirational match-winning partnership. Coach Adrian Birrell, who
all his life worked in grassroots cricket, finally getting global recognition
just a few months before amicably parting ways with his boys,
who lovingly call him ‘AB’.
Add to that the suspense because of the rain delay, the subsequent fall
of wickets, the roller-coaster run-chase, emotionally-attached wives
and die-hard slogan-shouting fans from the stands, and, finally, the
ultimate climax. Captain Trent Johnston, despite a suspected fracture in
the arm suffered while taking a breathtaking catch, coming up with a six
to score the winning runs.
The screenplay too is impressive as one finds out while talking to new-ball
bowler David Langford-Smith who, as a farm equipment salesman, has the
normal middle-class cash-crunch because of his 300-dollars-a-week pay check.
“We are ordinary people who play cricket only because it’s our passion, but we
defeated the multi-millionaire pros who stay in palaces,” he says.
It’s stories like these that inspired Davey to pick up his camera and follow
the Irish cricketers. “It’s something I can relate to, since I have got an
ordinary job in
have turned into a film-maker. The key thing is the fact that these guys will
go to their normal lives after all this,” he says.
To stress his point, he narrates the shooting schedule he had with pace bowler
Paul Mooney. “I had gone to meet Mooney during Christmas and he got off
from his tractor to come and meet me. And I tell you, he was quite nervous
since this was during the lunch break,” he says with a smile.
What makes Davey sound excited about his movie is the capacity of the players
to touch the right chord with their attitude. He talks about the catch that John
Mooney took at the end of the
bunch of Irish fans on the other side. “He soloed the ball after catching it. It is
a move in Gaelic football — the most popular game in
to the Irish fans. They loved it. These guys don’t just limit themselves to cricket,
they are multi-talented,” he says.
Nor does the movie, as Davey reveals how this is a cricket story with many
folds to it. “It is cricket-centric but it is also about the political situation in
and the
some borders and barriers”.
Forget
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