Home ›› 09 Apr 2023 ›› Sport
“It makes no sense to reward Afghanistan and Ireland, two recent recipients of Test status, neither of whom have the grounds or the infrastructure to reasonably expect that status,” Ian Chappell wrote last December.
On Friday, following Ireland’s seven-wicket defeat to Bangladesh on Friday in their first Test in almost four years, the former Australia Test captain’s words seemed both true and false at the same time as their performance was beyond good enough, while the lack of red-ball cricket among the ranks was a genuine question.
Ireland’s performance in the match displayed patience, perseverance, and persistence as they were not ready to let the game go despite being pegged back against the wall, putting forth the question, when will they have more red-ball cricket?
Since being awarded Test status in 2017, Ireland have played only four Tests and only one at home.
In the ICC Future Tours Programme’s 2023-2027 cycle, Ireland will have 15 Tests, one of them already played against the Tigers, and two more soon in Sri Lanka.
Finances restrict home Tests
However, only three of those will be at home. The reason behind it, according to Ireland’s ICC board director Ross McCollum, was strictly financial.
“Our players are keen (to play Tests), but we have to be realistic. With the budget we have, it is much easier to play away,” he said.
McCollum stated that their yearly turnover is around 10-12 million Euros, and they needed around a million to host their debut Test against Pakistan at home.
The bigger question, though, is the currently non-existing Irish first-class system. The multi-day Inter-Provincial Championship, which started in 2013, was awarded first-class status in 2017 by ICC to hand Ireland their Test status but that tournament has been off since the Covid-19 pandemic broke out in 2020.
Explaining why creating a domestic red-ball structure is so difficult in Ireland, International cricket commentator Andrew Leonard also cited financial restrictions.
“It’s just money, put simply. Money and facilities. Ireland’s a sporting country but cricket is not one of the most popular sports. It’s just the truth of it. Ireland is constantly over-performing its funding, infrastructure, and facilities. And that’s a great credit to the players and the support staff who work so hard to do so,” the Irish commentator, who formerly worked for Cricket Ireland, told The Business Post.
Players in hope
Their performance in the Dhaka Test, though, might be enough to shake things up in that regard, at least the players hope so.
“Yeah, I hope so (that there are works on a first-class structure after this test). I believe that we need more first-class cricket. Our coach believes that. So, hopefully, we do what we can. It’s tricky because a lot of our focus is on the T20 World Cups and trying to qualify for 50-over World Cups, but at the same time, we have to make sure that we have a good first-class structure so we can develop Test cricketers,” Ireland skipper Andy Balbirnie told The Business Post following the Dhaka Test.
The development comes into question as there was a visible lack of red-ball cricket experience among the Irish contingent that travelled to Dhaka, with only four players having played more than 20 first-class matches.
Despite that, their performance did not seem too out of the way as Lorcan Tucker picked up his maiden century, Harry Tector became the first Irish batter to have two fifties in a Test, and Andy McBrine picked up a five-for and a fifty in the same Test. All of these resulted in them pushing Bangladesh hard and it could have been a different ballgame if they conjured up a 180-run lead in their second innings.
“I absolutely think this Test is a testament to the fact that Ireland should be playing more red-ball cricket and belong at the top table of Test cricket. If they could have got a lead of 180 on day four if they could have dragged things out, I really think 180 would’ve been a very difficult chase and it could’ve been a different Test,” Leonard said.
McBrine hoped for a first-class structure within the next two years.
“That’s not actually for me to say (about creating a first-class structure). I don’t know what’s going on behind the scenes but I’m hoping we, in the next year or two, should have a first-class systems game set up,” he told The Business Post.
Ben White, the leg-spinner who had his first-class debut in the Dhaka Test, also hoped for the same.
“Fingers crossed. Look, I’m not probably the person to be asking about that, but I would love to be playing first-class cricket on a regular basis and fingers crossed that can come into contention. Look at the way the lads played, especially the batters. The likes of Lorcan (Tucker), and Harry as well. They just put in a brilliant shift,” he told The Business Post.
As Ireland now travel to Sri Lanka for a two-match Test series, they will have some more red-ball cricket to quench that thirst, and their skipper was happy that they were going there with further experience.
However, these players want more, and the ball is clearly in Cricket Ireland’s court now with players hoping for a red-ball structure back home, and they have gained strength behind their cause with their performance in Dhaka.
