Ireland target first Test appearance in 2018

By Stephan ShemiltBBC Sport

Last updated on .From the section Cricketcomments45

Ireland celebrate
Ireland first announced plans to gain Test status in 2012

Ireland are aiming to play their first Test in 2018, according to Cricket Ireland chief executive Warren Deutrom.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) said earlier in February that the Irish would gain Test status this year, and that they could play their first match before then.

"There are no plans to play Tests in 2017 - we are looking towards 2018," Deutrom told BBC Sport.

"I don't see any reason why that can't happen. I'd be surprised if we didn't."

The ICC's plans come after a lengthy debate over the future of Test cricket, including how to spread the game and give each series more context.

The agreed solution is for a nine-team Test league, running over a two-year cycle - starting in 2019 - with every side playing each other once.

Three more teams - probably current Test side Zimbabwe and likely newcomers Ireland and Afghanistan - would be guaranteed a schedule of matches over the same two-year period.

The ICC said it will make a decision on granting Test status to Ireland and Afghanistan at its next board meeting in April, with that likely to be ratified at the annual general meeting in June.

It is thought there would be no barrier to both sides being able to play Test cricket immediately, but the schedules of other nations would probably mean a wait is necessary.

Deutrom admitted that, ideally, a first Irish Test would be at home, but that it would be difficult to turn down a "dream" scenario of an away match against England.

Even then, finding space in England's summer would be incredibly difficult, with Pakistan and India set to tour in 2018.

England's future programme could be linked to that of the Irish, with the ICC expressing its desire for teams that tour the country to also play at least one Test against Ireland.

Ireland first announced plans to gain Test status in 2012, a year after earning a famous victory over England at the 2011 World Cup.

They had already beaten Pakistan at the 2007 tournament and, in 2015, beat West Indies and Zimbabwe before narrowly failing to qualify from the group stage.

In October, Ireland's Inter-Provincial competition became the first domestic tournament outside of a Test nation to be granted first-class status.

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45 comments

  • Comment posted by Stuart, at 12:34 21 Feb 2017

    Many congratulations Ireland (and Afghanistan). This is a long time coming and thoroughly deserved for years of banging on the door in the shorter formats.

    As a proud Englishman, I'm very much looking forward to the new friendly but intense rivalry I hope will develop over the coming years.

    Welcome to the club!

  • Comment posted by unification, at 12:28 21 Feb 2017

    And why not? Teams have to start somewhere and to have another Test nation to add to the mix can be no bad thing considering the prospect of playing Zimbabwe in a Test looks non-existent at present.

    If they can get their infrastructure going and to be as good as their ODI/T20 sides, then I can see them being competitive in time. Just look at the steady progress of Bangladesh as evidence.

  • Comment posted by In Wenger We Trust, at 12:18 21 Feb 2017

    They are going to get tonked a LOT to start with, but only way they are going to get better is to test themselves against the world's best. For the short term, getting the likes of Morgan and Rankin in an irish shirt are key.

    Good Luck Ireland!!

  • Comment posted by U15690032, at 14:07 21 Feb 2017

    Seeing the progression of Bangladesh, and ultimately their win over England last year, you have to say they are a welcome member of the Test-playing community. Such a vibrant team.

    OK, it's taken Bangladesh a while to get to that level, but it would be great if Ireland can also be allowed to take a big step in that direction.

    Good luck to them.

  • Comment posted by U16655770, at 13:53 21 Feb 2017

    It will be great to see Ed Joyce finally get a test career. He should be allowed captain the side for the test team at least and lead the side out. Nobody deserves it more.

    Irish fan here and there will be one sided games I'm sure but since our games will mostly consist of Zim/AFG then it should certainly help our experience...

  • Comment posted by footyfan94, at 19:24 21 Feb 2017

    You would imagine they will get plenty of 1 and 2 test match series against sides touring England to gain match time in similar conditions

    You would imagine with Morgan being a patriotic Irishman approaching the latter stages of his career he will return to ireland and with many talented Irishmen in the county game such as Rankin, Porterfield, Joyce etc. I see no reason why they cannot progress

  • Comment posted by bucket92, at 13:20 21 Feb 2017

    The game is stagnating; with teams like Ireland getting involved it could open up a new audience. Think of the number of Irish people in every country all over the world! And Afghanistan will hopefully encourage more middle east teams to start playing. The game needs to grow and this is a good start.

  • Comment posted by Rewstep, at 13:00 21 Feb 2017

    Great news and done at the right time with the team on the up and up! Would have been easy to let them whither and go away so fair play to ICC for being brave. Netherlands next, please!

  • Comment posted by Gus the cat, at 14:05 21 Feb 2017

    About time too. Maybe Morgan could get a game. Whose to say at home that they couldn't beat Zimbabwe, Bangladesh and I reckon the Windies as well.

  • Comment posted by Nomorebeer03, at 13:41 21 Feb 2017

    If they get "tonked" they get "tonked"! Let them deal with it, every game will be like a cup final for them, making them dangerous!

  • Comment posted by U16545153, at 12:45 21 Feb 2017

    Morgan will be able to play test cricket for his real country

  • Comment posted by twinbob2, at 18:20 21 Feb 2017

    Good luck to them.
    The more countries that play proper cricket, ie Test Cricket , and not T20 the better. I am sure with time they can do quite well.

  • Comment posted by Rewstep, at 13:40 21 Feb 2017

    13. I'm with you on test leagues; one-sided tests are only fun if it's one of the big teams imploding. My view is that Ireland's test status is just reward for hard work but this will translate into more ODI and T20 with whoever is touring England playing a one-off test. The real problem is whether there has ever been 5 consecutive rain free days in Ireland...

  • Comment posted by BigRob, at 13:01 21 Feb 2017

    Good news.

  • Comment posted by Dave, at 22:44 21 Feb 2017

    Fantastic news, I've really enjoyed watching Ireland at tournaments this past decade and it'll be great to see us compete at test level.

  • Comment posted by another disappointed England fan, at 19:47 21 Feb 2017

    If they get in give them time and don't moan if they thrashed a few times

  • Comment posted by QPR4Me, at 23:06 21 Feb 2017

    #39.
    The ECB stands for the England and Wales Cricket Board. Wales would have to leave the ECB before it attempted to start the long process that may lead to Test Status. Wales is not about to do that!

  • Comment posted by boating-voter, at 09:20 23 Feb 2017

    FWIW my two penn'orth:
    Great news for Ireland and Afghanistan, big congratulations to both Boards and to ICC for having the vision.
    Growing Test Cricket across the world is essential for it to survive. A (relatively) rapid expansion at an appropriate standard could create a new natural 'second tier' which automatically takes us - in time - to formal promotion and relegation and a league system.

  • Comment posted by bunyrab1t, at 20:46 21 Feb 2017

    37: Contrary to popular opinion, it doesn't rain all the time, even in Ireland. Uncovered pitches could lead to home advantage (conditions the home team are used to) & a reasonable chance of a result within 5 days because of the pitches encouraging attacking bowling. So what if the scores are lower?

    Whether an Irish team will ever be good enough - well, how long did it take NZ to beat England?

  • Comment posted by MrChance, at 20:40 21 Feb 2017

    Weather stops play. Problem Ireland will have is having 5 days of uninterrupted play. One only has to look at how many of the home ODIs have been completed without stoppage due to weather. Hardly Ireland's fault but it means they will always struggle.

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