"I just wait for a text": Paul Stirling embracing life as a gun-for-hire in the unforgiving franchise world

NICK HOWSON: Bound for a third appearance in the T10 League, the Ireland batsman faces an uncertain future but is ready for the ride ahead

Paul Stirling can't watch as his fate sits in the lap of the gods. Coaches known the world over list their priorities, strategists total the numbers, owners do the sums. The Belfast-born right-hander is just another figure in the algorithm which determines the squads for franchise competitions around the world.

Drafts and auctions are promoted as being full of glitz and glamour. But behind the dramatic stop clocks, the jittery technology, and the social media promotion is a grim reality. Many professional cricketers, particularly those sitting underneath the white-ball format's big-ticket items such as Rashid Khan or Andre Russell, are waiting for the call, hoping their name is next drawn from the raffle.

Following outings for three different sides in the Bangladesh Premier League, one in the Afghanistan edition and now gearing up for a third appearance in the T10 League, Stirling to starting to become a staple of the franchise circuit, albeit on the lower rung. 

Despite this position, it took until the penultimate pick of the optional final round of the draft - which requires owners to sink deeper into their pockets to continue the recruitment drive - for the 29-year-old to book his place in the shortest format. Not that Stirling knew, having blocked out the process completely.

"It is not something I regularly do, to be honest," he told The Cricketer. "I just wait for a text to say 'well done you got picked up'. Refresh your Twitter and it comes up. But there is nothing you can do.

"It is something that is out of your control. If you watch then you'd be on tenterhooks. It is one of those things that if you get it then great if you don't then there is an opportunity to do something else over the same period of time."

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At least, that is the hope. Stirling's new status as an overseas player saw him overlooked for The Hundred while the cancellation of the Euro T20 Slam, scheduled for last August before its postponement, has left another gap his calendar. 

Depending on Ireland's progress in their sixth appearance at a T20 World Cup later next year they will play at least 41 ICC accredited matches, including four Tests. Stirling will be key to their success during their busiest period since being granted full member status, yet ensuring he is playing enough cricket around his international commitments will be vital.

"There is no real rest," he admits. "We've got four tours in the first four months of the year (West Indies, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Zimbabwe). The standard of cricket we're going to be playing will probably be at the highest it has ever been at."

While Ireland's elevation in the international arena is a welcome one, it could lead to a division. County contracts are now reliant on individuals being enlisted as overseas players, who are now barred from playing in the developmental One-Day Cup. Having left Middlesex as a result, Stirling is among those players waiting for the call. A return to Lord's isn't even out of the question. International retirements might be the only answer.

"I am hoping for a Blast spot or if someone needs replacing," he added. "It is just looking into squeezing into a team there. The Middlesex door might not be closed. We'll see what happens but I am hoping for some T20 Blast next year and hopefully trying to play as much high-level cricket as possible outside of the international stuff.

"(Agent and former Ireland batsman-wicket-keeper) Niall O'Brien is putting the feelers out. It is something I'd like to continue to do but there are no guarantees. It is always going to be difficult to get one of the two overseas spots at the counties. Hopefully, it will go the right way.

^{Paul Stirling represented Kerala in the 2017 and 2018 editions of the T10 League}

"The change to overseas is really frustrating. You want to play at the highest standard you can. When you're an overseas player you're up against the best around and that makes it more difficult. There might still be some opportunities over there and I'll take them if they come. 

"We've got 12 months to work on our T20 cricket in particular, as much as we can. One or two of those competitions would be good and I think the Euro T20 Slam is still in negotiations so it would be nice if that went ahead."

Inter-Provincial four-day and white-ball cricket might end up being Stirling's refuge though he is unsure whether the standard can support the national team sufficiently. 

"County cricket has been great for all Ireland cricketers, for many years," said Stirling, who scored 6,207 runs across all formats during nine years at Middlesex.

"It is going to be a real challenge. It is the toughest test that Cricket Ireland have over how they're going to produce cricketers to be international players from their own base when you can't play day-in, day-out and learn from others. 

"I think that is going to be a struggle but if that is what we're up against that is what we have to deal with. Hopefully, we can get as many players abroad when we can to try and make-up that gap."

^{Stellar performances in the T20 World Cup Qualifier helped Ireland secure their place in Australia next year}

Stirling has at least enjoyed sufficient preparation for the start of the T10 League having led Ireland to next year's World Cup in Australia with a tournament-best haul of 291 runs. Many of those games were played at the same Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium where the T10 competition will be exclusively based.

Ahead of the litmus test of The Hundred next summer, 10-over cricket is a relatively untested idea at the highest level. The European Cricket League showcased it earlier this year and Stirling believes it could become an increased presence in the schedule - even infiltrating the international scene.

"I am surprised that there isn't another major T10 tournament in the world yet," he said. "I can't see it going any other way apart from more tournaments around the world, happening more often. 

"It is just the time factor, it is 90 minutes per match. You crowd get their monies worth, they get three games in a day and there is a lot going for it. I think it is only a matter of time until it catches on around the world.

"It is so fresh at the minute. But I don't see why not (it can't become international). The calendar is pretty saturated as it is but maybe it will kick-off. It is right in the franchise arena and hopefully, they'll be more."

With a domestic strike-rate of 141.69 and more runs in the first over of elite T20s since the start of 2018, Stirling is perfectly suited to the ideals behind T10, which makes no apology for its focus on attacking from the outset. "You might have a ball to get your eye in maybe," he gleamed. "But that is the biggest difference in the T20; teams are starting to go harder earlier. If not in the first over, definitely the second. But in T10 you go from ball one. They must go."

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