Ireland may have to wait until 2018 for their first ever Test match says Warren Deutrom

Ireland and Afghanistan were welcomed to the ICC full member’s squad recently. They were voted up in the first division consisting of the elites. Ireland has been around as an associate nation for a long time now. They have been qualifying for the World Cups and have the talent to play in the Tests as well.

They have some sound players in the team despite the fact that some of their best players have switched colours just to play Test cricket recently. However, that won’t be the case now as they are eligible to play the longest format of the game. However, it may be a while before they actually play their first Test match.

First Test in 2018?

Cricket Ireland Chief Warren Deutrom has been pretty vocal about their willingness to play the first Test soon. When asked about the same he said that normally the new members play the first home series against one of the elites within a year but that seems difficult given the schedule of the full members.

All the teams schedule their series very early in the season and now it seems impossible to fit in one more series in there. “History would suggest that new full members play their first Test, at home, against a big nation within a year. But I know how much busier the full members are with their own schedules so trying to find a gap within 12 months in an already-congested schedule is incredibly difficult,” Warren said.

However, he also said that there are many aspects to it and they have waited for years to earn the Test status and now they want to give their best when they play. “It is probably somewhere between not wanting to wait years for our first Test match versus making sure we have the appropriate sense of occasion,” Deutrom told News Letter.

He said that they have had many conversations before but it is hard to conclude anything right now. “We are going to do our best, we will have as many conversations as possible, but I can’t put any members on the spot, although quite a few have been generous to say ‘let’s have a conversation’. I don’t want to express disappointment if no-one is available because I know how packed those schedules are,” he added.

About the finances

ICC has certain financial benefits for the full members and Ireland chief says that the cash flow will start in early 2018. “My understanding is that, like any other business, the ICC will have budgeted for cash-flows in this year so to throw a couple of extra million in the pot may or may not be possible, I suspect it will be the beginning of next year when the financial distributions for being a full member will commence.”

He also added that currently, they want to prioritize and plan their cricket. Deutrom revealed, “My heart says it would be great to have the cash now, my head says it may well be better that we have six months sitting down and planning our priorities. The game should be patient while we get those right. There are a whole series of things that are questions to be answered.”