What more does Ireland have to do to get Test status

[Ultimate_Game]

I think Ireland have everything that could be expected of them over the last few years and have checked most of the boxes to get full ICC membership and the test status. Clearly Ireland is more competitive than Zimbabwe, which has Test status and has achieved much more than what B'desh did when they got the Test status. I mean B'desh got the Test status just for winning one game against Pak in 1999 world cup whereas Ireland has beaten Pak, Bangladesh, Eng over the last 2 world cups and also tied with Zim. And considering the talent Ireland has produced so far - O'Brien brothers, Ed Joyce, Eoin Morgan, Boyd Rankin, Dockerel etc. they would be quite competitive in Tests especially in English/Irish conditions. I hope they get the Test status soon as it will send the right message to rest of the associate nations that ICC is not an old boy's club and with improved performances, one could get the Test status. Also, Ireland getting the Test status should take care of "talent drain" as upcoming Irish players won't leave Ireland for Eng just so that they could play Test cricket. Hoping to see Ireland play Tett cricket soon

[vvvslaxman]

If you are going to use the same yardstick we used for SL and Bangladesh they should have got. But they have realized the folly of granting test status to Bangladesh. So they will wait some more time before granting test status.

[Ultimate_Game]

If you are going to use the same yardstick we used for SL and Bangladesh they should have got. But they have realized the folly of granting test status to Bangladesh. So they will wait some more time before granting test status.

Downside is you wil see lot of talented players leave Ireland and play county cricket and try to qualify for England like Morgan. I think Ireland has been consistently good long enough to get the promotion. Plus it's a long time a non-subcontinent team was granted a Test status. If they get Test status I see them develop quite quickly as their players can participate in county cricket and they can have an annual series with Eng due to the sporting rivalry they have between them.

[gaurav92]

Ireland will be a far better Test side than Bangnros because of the Domestic Cricket structure that they are bred in. They play the English County Cricket, and get the requisite inputs from various other experienced Cricketers and Coaches. I think they should be given the Test status after this World Cup, they have some seriously good talent.

[ravishingravi]

I think they have shown more improvement than the Bangladesh and deserve the test status more more than them.

[Ultimate_Game]

Ultimately ICC has to reward good consistent performances. If you don't award test status to this Irish team, how will you ever have more Test teams? Do you think one fine day in the future one of the associate teams will suddenly start beating Tets nations and then that team will be granted the Test status? Ireland has shown enough improvement over the years and I dare say if you don't reward them right now they will get disheartened and lose their way.

[gaurav92]

^Yes but they shouldn't lose their way just because they aren't given test status. Just look at it this way, were they given Test status after doing well in 2007 WC ? No. So it took them 4 years again to play against big oppositions, and so far they have been very impressive. Now if they are not given Test status, they must work hard again, and show signs of further improvement in whatever competitions they get a chance, and I am sure ICC will be forced to give them a Test status. So there is nothing to be disheartened about, they will have to earn it.

[Ultimate_Game]

^Yes but they shouldn't lose their way just because they aren't given test status. Just look at it this way' date=' were they given Test status after doing well in 2007 WC ? No. So it took them 4 years again to play against big oppositions, and so far they have been very impressive. Now if they are not given Test status, they must work hard again, and show signs of further improvement in whatever competitions they get a chance, and I am sure ICC will be forced to give them a Test status. So there is nothing to be disheartened about, they will have to earn it.[/quote'] The thing is Ireland has consistently produced good players over the last few players. Their good performances haven't been due to just one or two good players but a bunch of players have stepped up - O'Brien brothers, Ed Joyce, Boyd Rankin, Dockerel etc. In fact they have been so good that they are competitive even after losing Morgan to England. This clearly shows that structure exists to generate decent talent in Ireland. But the fact is it's tough to sustain this level of performances and talent if absolutely no support is provided by ICC. With Ireland riding a wave of confidence and cricket being quite popular at the moment, ICC should make the most of it and grant them Test status. I mean don't add Ireland to the FTP yest but grant them Test status so that they can get a few Tests every year and as their performance levels increase add them to the FTP. I am afraid if ICC doesn't do anything right now they might go the Kenya way. Look at the Kenyan performances in 90s and early 2000s with Odumbe brothers, Odoyo, Tikolo, Obuya, Ravindu Shah etc. Their reward for reaching semis in 2003 was not even a single odi against top nations for the next few years and look how they have regressed. If we have to globalize cricket and reach out to new markets, we can't afford to close the door on teams like Ireland. in fact I am willing to bet that if Ireland host Bangladesh in Ireland/England, they will win the Test series.

[gaurav92]

Add Suji bros to that list as well, they were pretty good. Yes I agree that ICC should give them test status asap

[Deleted_User_1]

Demote Bangbros and give the test status to the fighting Irish!

[Raghav_12]

Demote Bangbros and give the test status to the fighting Irish!

Bangbros had whitewashed NZ just couple of months ago- a test playing nation for 80 years- by 4-0. Why they should be demoted. Is there a upper cap on the numbers of test playing nations we can have?

[straight.drive]

Bangbros present an interesting history. We made sure that they get rid of pakistanni tyranny and also pushed them to test status. Still the nation identifies itself with pakistan and their fans hate our cricket team. Interesting!!quite interesting!!!

[DaFan]

Bangbros present an interesting history. We made sure that they get rid of pakistanni tyranny and also pushed them to test status. Still the nation identifies itself with pakistan and their fans hate our cricket team. Interesting!!quite interesting!!!

Don't pretend to know about Bangladesh cause you obviously don't.

[ganeshran]

Give test status to Ireland, its not like the berths are limited or anything.

[jaggadaku]

Demote Bangbros and give the test status to the fighting Irish!

Why do you want to strip off Bangros Test status when they have finally started to show some improvement

[achilles]

What more do they have to do? Not let England rob their players any more

[rkk101]

I like the idea of granting Ireland test status, however, I like the notion of demoting The Banglas even more!!:haha:

[cowboysfan]

the whole of bangladesh is cricket crazy,they have some good players right now but dont have a great team,there is room for optimism there.Cricket doesnt even register in Ireland.Gaelic football,hurling(have you guys seen hurling?),rugby are far more popular in ireland. Majority of the Irish dont even know the rules of cricket.

[ganeshran]

I agree with cowboysfan, Bangla is acricket crazy nation, so there will always be a supply of good players in the pipeline. Ireland will find it difficult to sustain the same quality players.

[DomainK]

Lets not strip Bangladesh yet, but Ireland should be considered. Bangladesh should support Ireland getting test status because then Bangladesh will finally have a chance to win some test matches. Or will they?