We certainly want to achieve Test status by 2020: Cricket Ireland’s chief executive

Ireland, after years finally have a string of international matches against the top teams over the next one year. The associates have in recent times have almost pleaded for more opportunities to compete against countries and they seem to be getting the chance.

They have just played Sri Lanka and a five One-Day Internationals against Afghanistan is ongoing. They are later scheduled to face Pakistan, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Bangladesh and West Indies in the coming year. The packed schedule also includes a historic series against England in England.

The sudden burst of matches is a big boost for Cricket Ireland’s plans to make cricket mainstream by 2020. It could also help Ireland in their ambition of becoming a Test side.

In a chat with Wisden India, Warren Deutrom, Cricket Ireland’s chief executive describes the ambitious ‘Making Cricket Mainstream by 2020’. The agenda focuses on 4 pillars strategic plan which can help Ireland become a Test playing nation. The CEO explained the whole scheme.

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“We tend to think differently in Cricket Ireland. We like to say, ‘OK, what is the amount we want to look like, where are we actually trying to go?’ So, at the start of our last strategy, it was let’s try and be a Test country. At that stage, the pathway to Test cricket didn’t even exist. What it did was it gave us something incredibly engaging and passionate, or something which I know has a real residence for Irish cricket fans to aim for. Even if we don’t achieve it by the end of this plan period, we’d certainly want to do it by 2020.”

“The whole plan has been put in by ICC – whether it’s going to be via the Test challenge or some of the new processes, we hope it will be announced in the coming weeks or months. We don’t know, but either way, there is a pathway to Test cricket. So clearly, we have a plan to reach. The idea is, rather than achieving a goal and then saying what do we do now, our plan is: This is the goal we want to achieve, let’s put all the building blocks in place bearing in mind the resources we have and see if we can make it work.”

“This time, we’ve set our sights even higher. Let’s try and be a mainstream sport in Ireland. We’re already doing that in a number of areas – in terms of visibility, media coverage, the number of matches we get on television and the crowds at the stadium, sponsorship or general culture of visibility and social media fans.”

“If you’re looking at measurements, they’re pretty robust. That’s where we are now. But where might we be by 2020? If we continue to grow at the current rate – and we’re doing that with a small number of fixtures – with opportunities opening up in terms of a 12-team ODI structure or other ICC discussions, why shouldn’t we aim for the stars?”