Afghanistan and Ireland Granted Test status!

[OpeningBatsman]

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[sourab10forever]

Quote

Test cricket is the ultimate form of game and it is said so because of the rigours it comes along with. Hence it is not a surprise that countries that are well equipped to handle the longer format of the game are given preference over some of the others; there were only ten Test playing nations, but with the International Cricket Council (ICC) meeting held in London today (June 22), Ireland and Afghanistan are the two new entrants to the elite group.

 

 

There was a voting held to decide whether the two countries should be allowed to make a debut in the five-day format and with the majority of votes backing the two nations to make it 12 Test playing nations.

 

 

Ireland have been knocking on the doors of the ICC for quite some time. Having played their first 50-over World Cup in 2007 and immediately making an impact by beating Pakistan, Ireland have since participated in every ICC event, causing a few upsets along the way.

 

 

Afghanistan, on the other hand, have grown tremendously since they received their One-Day status in 2011. Having failed to reach the World Cup the same year, the Asian side has made giant steps in ODIs and Twenty20 cricket. They qualified for the 2015 World Cup and won their first game in the mega event by beating Scotland.

 

 

The Asian side has been in the ascendancy for quite a while now. Their journey graph is on the upward curve and they are more formidable than any other associate nation, including Ireland, whom they beat in a recently held ODI and T20I series.

 

 

It comes as a no surprise that a team consisting of Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan, who are making all the waves for participating in different leagues around the globe, will be able to test their skills in the longest form of the game.

Source : Cricbuzz

[Rasgulla]

[bleaf27]

Two more teams for Rohit Sharma to score centuries against 

[Rasgulla]

Just now, bleaf27 said:

Two more teams for Rohit Sharma to score centuries against 

 minnow basher 

[Temujin Khaghan]

too late for Ireland and I hope Eoin morgon goes back to Ireland now

 

[Anwar_194]

Not sure about AFG, I am fine with Ireland. 

[tweaker]

Happy for both teams

[nevada]

Afghanistan will likely enjoy their first test victory against India with Rashid Khan bamboozling the clueless Indian batsmen.

[I6MTW]

Ireland has declined. They were test status worthy few years ago around 2011-2014. Now Afghanistan is much worthier of test status.

[StriKe]

Time to put a new rule to stop England stealing players from Ireland.

We should tour Ireland before England series

[nevada]

9 minutes ago, StriKe said:

Time to put a new rule to stop England stealing players from Ireland.

We should tour Ireland before England series

Can Morgan walk back into the Ireland side?

[Zero_Unit]

I am really happy for these two. About time. 

[Sidhoni]

Great news

 

Ireland might actually be tough to beat at home if they get back Morgan and Rankin

[wanted_desi]

Rashid Khan can give nightmares to any line up in second Inning. When will they play their first match? Hopefully, we get to see them playing against Pakistan/Bangla Boys and beating them. 

[Austin 3:!6]

Good both team has potential to beat Bangla

 

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

 

 

[Pollack]

Ireland has regressed. Good for Afghanistan.

[beetle]

yay...the more the merrier.

Welcome to the elite group  rookies.

[Cricketics]

Well done. We need to make the game bigger and not the game more pathetic by keeping it to just 8 teams.

 

 

Sanity prevails.

 

USA and Canada will be next in few years.

 

[Cricketics]

Now Ed Joice can live his dream and retire with peace. He has done so much for Ireland cricket and wanted to retire after living his dream to play a test match for Ireland.

 

Hope he gets to live that dream soon.