5 reasons why Ireland should have received Test status earlier

76, 123, 139, 142, 147, 168, 177, 177: Ireland’s recent ODI scores against top teams have not lived up to expectations. Perhaps Test cricket came too late

 

 

“Had to pull the car over. Can't see through the tears. Today the dream has come true. Congrats to everyone involved with Ireland Cricket,” - Kyle McCallan, former Ireland captain, following Ireland’s induction to cricket’s innermost circle. 

Sabina Park, 2007. Bangalore, 2011. Nelson, 2015. Greatest hits for a country with a history of gritty fighting against the odds. Ireland took down Pakistan, England and the West Indies, giants of the game with their attractive brand of cricket. They were always in the corner, nagging away at the full members for more. More games, more attention, more media, trying to catapult cricket in Ireland to the top echelons of sport in the country. 

After years of pushing, prodding and occasional groveling, Ireland were finally given full membership and Test status. The question remains: Is it too late? Here are five reasons why Ireland should have received full membership much earlier:

 

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#1 Ireland’s players are past their prime

 

Ed Joyce (38) and his family have given everything they had for Irish cricket

 

William Porterfield: 32, Ed Joyce: 38, Kevin O’Brian: 33, Tim Murtagh: 35, Niall O’Brian: 35, Gary Wilson: 31. There you have it. Ireland’s greatest stars, their match-winners are all over 30. It’s unfortunate, really. They came to the fore in 2007 in their 20s, grew in stature, begging the ICC to recognise them, and now, it seems, they’ve fizzled.

Cricket Ireland should have prepared for Full Membership in 2007, when they knew they had a young group that could take on the world, with decent resources to fund their rise but a lack of initiative from the board and the ICC sees a much weakened Ireland today, one that has shown it cannot really compete against the better nations, let alone Afghanistan.

Test status came far too late, meaning Ireland will need to build their team from scratch in a few years, not an ideal situation for a newly inducted Test team.