Test Cricket in Ireland?

d'Oracle

Venues in Ireland and Scotland are in the running to host Pakistan's international matches against Australia next year, as the expense of hosting a series in England becomes clearer to the Pakistan board.
Discussions between the ECB, Cricket Australia and the PCB are already underway for Pakistan to 'host' Australia for two Tests and two T20Is in England next summer. But the venues have yet to be finalised and the prohibitive costs of organising a Test series in England for a financially-struggling PCB means other options are being looked at.
"There are proposals from Scotland and Ireland and we are seriously looking at them," a PCB official told Cricinfo. "They are cheaper than the options in England, which are quite high, in terms of accommodation and travel. We were scheduled to play a match in Glasgow against India which was eventually washed out, so we will look at it."
Cricket Australia would be comfortable if the engagements were held in the United Kingdom. "It's their [Pakistan's] series, so it's up to them to work out the venue," a Cricket Australia spokesman said.

http://content.cricinfo.com/pakistan/content/current/story/405445.html

Wouldn't that be sweet.
Now stick in a 4 dayer each against Ireland as a warm up......

D3PO

d'Oracle wrote: »

http://content.cricinfo.com/pakistan/content/current/story/405445.html

Wouldn't that be sweet.
Now stick in a 4 dayer each against Ireland as a warm up......

why stop there make it a full test

seriously though having an official test venue would certainly be a positive step towards the ultimate goal of Test cricket over here.

eightyfish

d'Oracle wrote: »

Wouldn't that be sweet.
Now stick in a 4 dayer each against Ireland as a warm up......

Brilliant. I'd go.

The problem is that the crowd would probably be depressingly small and it'll probably rain (as in the SA and India matches in Belfast last year.)

Caretaker

quick question...

how exactly would ireland go about getting to play test cricket. i know we're an associate nation but what does it teke to get status?

ps. Scotland cricketer Craig Wright is my brother-in-law

TrueDub

Caretaker wrote: »

quick question...

how exactly would ireland go about getting to play test cricket. i know we're an associate nation but what does it teke to get status?

That's the problem - nobody knows, and the ICC refuse to give a pathway, or even to discuss the criteria we'd need to meet to get to the top table. Essentially the ICC are running a cartel and we can't get in!

Caretaker wrote: »

ps. Scotland cricketer Craig Wright is my brother-in-law

Is he still a Scotland cricketer? They seem to be dropping like flies...

D3PO

Caretaker wrote: »

quick question...

how exactly would ireland go about getting to play test cricket. i know we're an associate nation but what does it teke to get status?

Nobody knows for sure heres my view on it

the first thing required is to have a solid domestic game foundation including a proper first class structure which we dont have.

Secondly I think we will need to show that we can be relatively competative within Test match cricket

thirdly and im sure the most important of all although Im sure the ICC will deny it it needs to be financially lucrative to them

TrueDub

As you say, nobody knows for sure, but I'm not sure on your criteria:

D3PO wrote: »

the first thing required is to have a solid domestic game foundation including a proper first class structure which we dont have.

I'm open to correction, but I don't think Bangladesh had a first-class domestic competition when they were elevated.

D3PO wrote: »

Secondly I think we will need to show that we can be relatively competative within Test match cricket

I doubt this - Bang still aren't competitive in tests, and Zim were abject long before they were excluded.

D3PO wrote: »

thirdly and im sure the most important of all although Im sure the ICC will deny it it needs to be financially lucrative to them

Much more likely - although test cricket doesn't make money for anyone, even India, so it's more that we'd need to prove we can bring money to the table for ODI and T20 series.

I think it'll work like this - if India want us there, we're in, if not, we're snookered. The voting blocs on the ICC tend to be along locational lines, with India, Pakistan, Bangladesh & Sri Lanka banding together, and Zim tagging along. In opposition you have England, Aus, NZ and SA. WI flip-flops depending on what the issue at hand is.

Ireland would be seen to be part of the latter group, giving that gang an extra vote at the table and changing the balance of power. If you were India, the richest cricket nation, who had just got your hands on the reins of power after decades of colonial patronising, would you allow another opposition voice?

D3PO

TrueDub wrote: »

I think it'll work like this - if India want us there, we're in, if not, we're snookered. The voting blocs on the ICC tend to be along locational lines, with India, Pakistan, Bangladesh & Sri Lanka banding together, and Zim tagging along. In opposition you have England, Aus, NZ and SA. WI flip-flops depending on what the issue at hand is.

Ireland would be seen to be part of the latter group, giving that gang an extra vote at the table and changing the balance of power. If you were India, the richest cricket nation, who had just got your hands on the reins of power after decades of colonial patronising, would you allow another opposition voice?

ok so lets lobby for the Afgans to be given test status aswell. Voting status quo and we get what we want :D

legend73

TrueDub wrote: »

As you say, nobody knows for sure, but I'm not sure on your criteria:

I'm open to correction, but I don't think Bangladesh had a first-class domestic competition when they were elevated.

Well stand corrected then.

1999-2000: A new first-class format National League is launched. The home and away tournament has divisional teams from Dhaka, Chittagong, Sylhet, Khulna, Barisal and Rajshahi.

2000: Bangladesh attains the status of a test playing country on 26 June. Bangladesh's inagural test match takes place in Dhaka against touring India on 10-14 November, 2000

legend73

TrueDub wrote: »

I doubt this - Bang still aren't competitive in tests, and Zim were abject long before they were excluded.

Zim were dropped due to poor performances, however obvious political pressure was at the forefront of that decision. So competivenss is a criteria for staying elevated but maybe not for entry.

TrueDub

legend73 wrote: »

Well stand corrected then.

1999-2000: A new first-class format National League is launched. The home and away tournament has divisional teams from Dhaka, Chittagong, Sylhet, Khulna, Barisal and Rajshahi.

2000: Bangladesh attains the status of a test playing country on 26 June. Bangladesh's inagural test match takes place in Dhaka against touring India on 10-14 November, 2000

I do stand corrected, thanks for clearing that up.

legend73 wrote: »

Zim were dropped due to poor performances, however obvious political pressure was at the forefront of that decision. So competivenss is a criteria for staying elevated but maybe not for entry.

I'm not sure about the political pressure side of things - the reason Zim align themselves so closely with the sub-continent bloc is to protect themselves & their test status. This is why the ICC probes into Zim cricket have been stopped, stalled or quietly buried several times.

However, your point is well made - you do need to become & stay competitive to retain your place. Zim was awful, really awful for at least 2 years before "voluntarily stepping down" from test cricket. Bang have struggled for quite a while.

Mind you, it took New Zealand 32 years to win a test match!
http://stats.cricinfo.com/ci/engine/stats/index.html?class=1;team=5;template=results;type=team;view=results