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A
remarkable moment:
It takes years and sometimes generations for sports milestones to be
carved out and when it is one of the toughest formats in any sport, it takes
more than that, ask New Zealand or India for the same and you will realize how
big it is to get your maiden Test win under your belt. It is this reason why
Ireland’s first Test victory should be celebrated not just by the Irish cricket
fraternity but by the international cricket community. Ireland achieved their
first Test victory only in their eighth attempt.
Long
and slow journey:
Most of the people would be surprised to know that cricket has old roots
in Ireland. Cricket can be traced right from 1730 in the country but unlike
England, Ireland didn’t have any union and hence the game’s growth was far too
slow. The cricket union was formed in 1923 but with cricket being one of the
least popular games; it took another 60 years for cricket in Ireland to find
its proper footing.
The modern history of cricket can be said to have
started in 1993. Mike Hendricks was appointed as the first full time coach and
the team was awarded associate membership in 1993, it was a big achievement but
the cricket structure and team though were still in the amateur stage. Between
1993 to 2002, Ireland played ICC trophy (then the pathway for the cricket world
cup) three times, missing the 1996, 1999, and 2003 World Cups. The 1997 ICC
trophy third playoff loss against Scotland was heartbreaking as the team lost
narrowly on getting the opportunity to play the World Cup at home.
Ireland played their first-ever ODI against England
in 2006 after qualifying for the 2007 World Cup. Even then (in 2006) the board
has only one full-time staff, Warren Deutrom, who was then chief executive
officer.
The 2007 ODI World Cup and was a game-changer for
Irish cricket, after stunning Pakistan, Ireland went on to win four ICC
Intercontinental trophies between 2005-2015 which led to the demand of them to
be awarded Test status.
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| Andrew Balbirnie and Loran Tucker were emotional when Ireland reached to the target |
Test
Status and the first victory: Ireland was awarded
Test status in 2017 and played their first Test in 2018 against Pakistan at
home. The journey though has not been an easy one, Ireland had realized that
getting Test status is one thing, and playing Test cricket is even more
difficult and above all expensive. The historic first Test at home in 2018
ended up costing Cricket Ireland 1 million pounds, thereby denting its
revenues. The result Ireland has since then not hosted a single Test. The cost
of hosting Tests and the inability to play against financially stronger cricket
nations have resulted in fewer chances ultimately leading to Zimbabwe, Ireland, and Afghanistan playing
lesser Tests.
It is the reason why Friday 1st March 2024, would be
scripted as one of the greatest days in the history of Irish Cricket, for the
day marked their first-ever Test victory in the longest format of the game.
Despite all the struggles that Ireland had seen, this victory is special,
especially for those who started this journey when Ireland Cricket was amateur,
or the ones who held it up when the country was required to prove that it was
worth playing Test match cricket.
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| Mark Adair took 8 wickets and played crucial role in the win |
The
future: While
Ireland has established itself as good limited-over cricket side, they have to
go a long way to establish itself a competitive Test match side. They have to
ensure that they can succeed both in the ground and outside the ground by
securing more Test matches in the future.
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