Does Ireland deserve to play Test Match cricket?

The Ireland Cricket Team is known for its memorable performances at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007, where it defeated the cricketing giants Pakistan in the league stage, and then the Bangladeshis in the super eight round. The team continued to perform well in the World Cup 2011, where they defeated England by chasing down a mammoth target of 328 runs in only 49.1 overs. The Irish Team has always tried to make a strong statement whenever it has gotten an opportunity to play against a renowned international cricket team. And, they have not failed very often. With some highly talented players like Boyd Rankin, Niall O’Brien, Kevin O’Brien, etc. the Irish Team has always been successful in making the game a tough one for its opponents.

Entering the cricketing world as a minnow, Ireland has soon attained the image of a team which can create major upsets in some of the world cricket tournaments. With the Ireland team expected to qualify for playing in the ICC World t20 2014, some of the matches are surely going to be very exciting.

But, with its increasing success and recognition in the limited overs format of cricket, it is high time for the Ireland Team management to look forward for the team’s future in longer format of cricket as well. The 100% win record of Ireland in the one day matches against Afghanistan and Bermuda, and the 77% and 83% winning percentages against Kenya and Netherlands have already stated the dominance of the Irish in the cricketing world of the minnows, and that they need to rise up from this image of minnows to a high performing cricketing team. The Ireland Cricket Team has a huge pool of talented players, who have the ability to perform on the big stage when the team needs them. Hence, it’s the right time for the Ireland Cricket Team to step up and move into the domain of Test Cricket.

Though it might take them some time to adjust to the Test Cricket format, the Irish Team surely deserves to be a part of the elite group of Test Playing Nations.