Georgeson terminates Ireland contract

Luke Georgeson and Cricket Ireland (CI) have announced the termination of Georgeson’s central contract by mutual consent. The news comes only two weeks after Georgeson had signed the contract, making himself available for selection for Ireland for their home season.

Georgeson, who is a New Zealand and Irish dual national, had originally signed a central contract with Ireland in April. He had previously spent two seasons playing club and interprovincial cricket in Dublin and Belfast. The 23-year-old was balancing his commitments in Ireland with his domestic contract in Wellington. He then committed to Ireland full-time earlier this month.

However, two weeks into his contract, and with less than a week until the Irish Interprovincial competitions begin, Georgeson has withdrawn from the agreement. The former New Zealand U19 player cited his lingering ambitions to play for his native country. In a Cricket Ireland media release, Luke Georgeson said:

“Unfortunately the circumstances have arisen where Cricket Ireland and I have mutually agreed to end my contract. The basis of this decision is that I have come to a clearer understanding that I still harbour ambitions of playing for New Zealand, and I underestimated how much I want to realise this dream until recent days.”

Under the ICC eligibility criteria, if capped by Ireland, Georgeson would be required to serve a three-year ‘cool off’ period starting from his last international before becoming eligible for New Zealand again.

Georgeson will remain in Ireland and will continue to play club cricket for Civil Service Northern Ireland CC this season. However, having made himself unavailable for selection to the national team, CI have decided not to select Georgeson for Interprovincial cricket. Georgeson was previously named in the Northern Knights’ core squad for 2022. However, CI will now select a player who is eligible for Ireland as a replacement.

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