Ireland Cricket Team

Ireland deserve chance 'to play Test cricket'

Ireland deserve an opportunity to play Test cricket having proved themselves in all forms of the game, the head of the country's cricket board has said.

Ireland deserve chance to 'play Test cricket' 

Top of their tree: William Porterfield (centre) and his Irish team mates celebrate winning the Cricket World Cup Qualifier final against Canada 

By Telegraph staff and agencies 9:03PM BST 23 Apr 2009CommentsComment

"Ireland is now in the same position Zimbabwe and Bangladesh were when they were elevated to test status," Cricket Ireland chief executive Warren Deutrom said.

"We have proven ourselves in all forms of the game to be head and shoulders above our rivals and we simply want the ICC to tell us what it is we are required to do."

"A diet of regular competition against senior players and senior teams is absolutely what is required next."

Ireland sprung a major surprise two years ago by beating Pakistan on their way to the Super Eight stage of the World Cup and Deutrom has since overseen a reform in Cricket Ireland's governance and balance sheets as they seek to join the elite.

Last week Ireland secured a place in the 2011 edition by winning the qualification tournament in South Africa, and Sunday's nine-wicket final win over Canada maintained Irish dominance among associate members of the International Cricket Council, the game's world governing body.

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Ireland have won the past three Intercontinental Cups – a four-day competition for second tier nations – and were above Zimbabwe in the one-day rankings for the best part of two years having jumped to 10th in April 2007 after the World Cup.

Deutrom said Ireland should be given the chance to play Test cricket as well as the minimum eight one-day internationals required over a two-year period to remain on the ICC's ODI table – a seat it earned with victory over Pakistan.

"We need to be assured that we are actually able to fulfil the minimum requirements and to at least stay on the table. We haven't got that at the moment but it has to be given," he said.

"Ireland should then be given at least the opportunity to play a Test match against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh, or whoever is going to be ranked nine or 10 in the world in 2010."

Deutrom said Ireland risks losing more players to Test teams with the 2012 to 2016 calendar soon to be finalised, a process he believes association nations appear set to be shut out of.

After Ed Joyce swapped his Irish colours for those of England in 2005, fellow Middlesex batsman Eoin Morgan was this month included in England's preliminary squad for June's Twenty20 World Cup.

"At the moment we are losing our best players because they naturally want to gravitate to the form of the game that best challenges their talents and that currently is Test cricket," Deutrom said.

"This is not just for Ireland," he added regarding the urgency for a solution. "It's for all association nations."

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South Africa cricket team

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Zimbabwe Cricket Team

Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) (formerly known as Zimbabwe Cricket Union (ZCU)) is the governing body for the sport of cricket in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe Cricket is a full member of the International Cricket Council, and operates the Zimbabwean cricket team, organising Test tours, One Day Internationals and Twenty20 Internationals with other nations. It also organises domestic cricket, including the Stanbic Bank 20 Series, the Coca-Cola Metbank Pro50 Championship and Castle Logan Cup in Zimbabwe. It is one of the most developing cricket-playing nations. It is ranked at No. 11 in the ICC ODI Cricket rankings; it is not currently ranked on the ICC's Test Cricket rankings due to its suspension from that form of the game.


Zimbabwe cricket went through major upheaval during the 2000s. During the 2003 Cricket World Cup, senior team members Andy Flower and Henry Olonga staged their "black armband protest" at the "death of democracy" in Zimbabwe, a reference to the country's political situation. Both players subsequently retired from international cricket. In 2004, the majority of the remaining senior players quit the international game following a player protest triggered by the removal of then-captain Heath Streak, resulting in a very young and inexperienced side being fielded in subsequent series against Sri Lanka and Australia. Zimbabwe's resounding defeats in those series led to the withdrawal of Test status that, apart from a brief resumption in 2005 with series against South Africa, New Zealand and India, remained in place until early 2011. Recent improvements in Zimbabwe's on-field performances, including a notable victory over Australia in the 2007 ICC World Twenty20 group stages and an overhaul of coaching staff has, however, led to the side's Test status being reinstated, with matches now planned against Bangladesh, Pakistan and New Zealand in late 2011

As part of the lead-up to their Test return, Zimbabwe Cricket announced major upgrades to the Harare Sports Club and Mutare Sports Club grounds. Plans for a new Test ground at Victoria Falls were also revealed.ZC also signed a three-year deal with Reebok worth $1mn. The deal will see Reebok sponsor the Domestic competitions and make the kits of the Zimbabwean national cricket team

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The New Zealand cricket team, nicknamed the Black Caps, are the national cricket team representing New Zealand. They played their first Test in 1930 against England in Christchurch, New Zealand, becoming the fifth country to play Test cricket. It took the team until 1955–56 to win a Test, against the West Indies at Eden Park in Auckland.[1] They played their first ODI in the 1972–73 season against Pakistan in Christchurch.

The current Test, One-day and Twenty20 captain is Brendon McCullum. McCullum replaced Ross Taylor who replaced Daniel Vettori after Vettori stepped down following the 2011 World Cup. Vettori had replaced New Zealand's most successful captain, Stephen Fleming, who led New Zealand to 28 Test victories, more than twice as many as any other New Zealand captain. The national team is organised by New Zealand Cricket.

The New Zealand cricket team became known as the Black Caps in January 1998, after its sponsor at the time, Clear Communications, held a competition to choose a name for the team.[2] Official New Zealand Cricket sources typeset the nickname as BLACKCAPS.

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New Zealand Cricket Team

The New Zealand cricket team, nicknamed the Black Caps, are the national cricket team representing New Zealand. They played their first Test in 1930 against England in Christchurch, New Zealand, becoming the fifth country to play Test cricket. It took the team until 1955–56 to win a Test, against the West Indies at Eden Park in Auckland.[1] They played their first ODI in the 1972–73 season against Pakistan in Christchurch.

The current Test, One-day and Twenty20 captain is Brendon McCullum. McCullum replaced Ross Taylor who replaced Daniel Vettori after Vettori stepped down following the 2011 World Cup. Vettori had replaced New Zealand's most successful captain, Stephen Fleming, who led New Zealand to 28 Test victories, more than twice as many as any other New Zealand captain. The national team is organised by New Zealand Cricket.

The New Zealand cricket team became known as the Black Caps in January 1998, after its sponsor at the time, Clear Communications, held a competition to choose a name for the team.[2] Official New Zealand Cricket sources typeset the nickname as BLACKCAPS.

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This afternoon an England men's cricket team will contest the final of a global tournament for only the fifth time since such a thing became possible in 1975. Our track record on such occasions is not good: every time England have lost, three times when victory seemed the far more likely outcome.

The team that will take the field against Australia in Bridgetown, Barbados, today has a different feel to it: they are fearless and flamboyant, playing intelligent, winning cricket by adapting to the conditions and executing their game plan expertly. At a glance, too, they seem different in the make-up of the side and some find that hard to accept.

It could be argued that four of the top five in England's batting order are not really English. Michael Lumb, Craig Kieswetter and Kevin Pietersen were born and raised in South Africa and Eoin Morgan, whose innovative batting provided the spark for England's new approach, was born in Dublin and has represented Ireland. In the current Test team the captain, Andrew Strauss, and Matt Prior were born in and spent their early lives in Johannesburg.

What is easy to forget is that the lines have always been blurred when it comes to nationality, particularly in cricket. The Australia team that took part in the very first Test match back in 1877 featured a player called Billy Midwinter. He would play eight Tests for Australia, but between the first and last of those he would also play four for the country of his birth: England.

More recently Basil D'Oliveira, Tony Greig, Allan Lamb, the brothers Chris and Robin Smith and Graeme Hick have all come from southern Africa and played for England. So this is nothing new and the England team that lost the 1992 World Cup final contained Lamb and Hick, plus Derek Pringle (born in Kenya), Dermot Reeve (Hong Kong), Chris Lewis (Guyana) and Phil DeFreitas (Dominica). Gladstone Small (Barbados) and Robin Smith were also in the squad. It is not just cricket: the current England rugby XV boasts two "New Zealanders". And it's not just England: the All Blacks regularly feature Fijians, Tongans and Samoans.

The motivations for these moves are varied, but there are strict rules regarding nationality when it comes to sport in this country. A residential qualification period has to be served before players can represent England and there are no exceptions to that rule in the XI who will play today despite Pietersen's mother being English, Kieswetter's Scottish; both are as British as, say, Greg Rusedski. It is also worth noting Lumb's father, Richard, played for Yorkshire for many years when in order to do so you had to have been born in the county.

It should be a concern that some other countries, notably South Africa, seem to be rather better at producing cricketing talents with international potential. But every member of Paul Collingwood's team is proud to be part of it, will give their all and has earned the right to be there. So they weren't all born here – what's the fuss?

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Sri Lanka's national cricket team achieved considerable success beginning in the 1990s, rising from underdog status to winning the Cricket World Cup in 1996. Since then, the team has continued to be a force in international cricket. The Sri Lankan cricket team reached the finals of the 2007 and 2011 Cricket World Cups consecutively. But they ended up being runners up in both those occasions. The batting of Sanath Jayasuriya, Aravinda de Silva, Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara backed up by the bowling of Muttiah Muralitharan, Chaminda Vaas and Lasith Malinga, among many other talented cricketers, has underpinned the successes of Sri Lankan cricket in the last two decades.

Sri Lanka have won the Cricket World Cup in 1996, the ICC Champions Trophy in 2002 (co-champions with India), have been consecutive runners up in the 2007 and 2011 Cricket World Cups, and have been runners up in the ICC World Twenty20 in 2009 and 2012. The team have won the ICC World Twenty20 championship for the first time in 2014. The Sri Lankan cricket team currently holds several world records, including world records for highest team totals in all three forms of the game, Test, ODI and Twenty20

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The Pakistan cricket team, nicknamed as Green Shirts, is the national cricket team of Pakistan. Represented by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), the team is a full member of the International Cricket Council, and participates in Test, ODI and Twenty20 International cricket matches. Currently Pakistan is ranked number four as per the ICC Test rankings.Pakistan have played 777 ODIs, winning 417, losing 337, tying 6 and with 17 ending in no-result.
Pakistan were the 1992 World Cup champions, and also came runners-up in the 1999 tournament and are the current Asian Champions. Pakistan, in conjunction with other countries on the Subcontinent, have hosted the 1987 & 1996, with the 1996 final being hosted at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.
The team has also played 58 Twenty20 Internationals, the most of any team, winning 34, losing 22 and tying 2. Pakistan won the 2009 ICC World Twenty20 and came runners-up in the inaugural tournament in 2007.
Pakistan have played 370 Test matches, with winning 115, losing 101 and drawing 154.
The team has the 3rd-best win/loss ratio in Test cricket of 1.13, and the 5th-best overall win percentage of 31.33%.
Pakistan was given Test status on 28 July 1952, following a recommendation by India, and made its Test debut against India at Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi, in October 1952, with India winning by an innings and 70 runs.
Previously, Pakistani cricketers had competed as a part of the Indian national team before the partition of India.

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 Governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), it is a full member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) with Test and One Day International (ODI) status.
The Indian cricket team is currently ranked fifth by the ICC in Tests, third in ODIs and eighth in T20s.
On 2 April 2011, the team won the 2011 Cricket World Cup, its second after 1983.
It thus became only the third team after West Indies and Australia to have won the World Cup more than once.
Its is first cricket team to win world cup on home soil. In both Tests and ODIs, win-loss ratio of recent years is much higher than that of older periods, when it was a weaker team.
Currently Mahendra Singh Dhoni is the captain in all forms of the game while Duncan Fletcher is the coach.
Under the leadership of Dhoni, the Indian team has set a national record for most back-to-back ODI wins (9 straight wins) and has emerged as one of the most formidable teams in international cricket.
Although cricket was introduced to India by European merchant sailors in the 18th-century and the first cricket club in India was established in Calcutta in 1792, India's national cricket team did not play their first Test match until 25 June 1932 at Lord's.
They became the sixth team to be granted Test cricket status. In their first fifty years of international cricket, India proved weaker than Australia and England, winning only 35 of the 196 test matches.
The team, however, gained strength near the end of the 1970s with the emergence of players such as Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev and the Indian spin quartet—Erapalli Prasanna and Srinivas Venkataraghavan (both off spinners), Bhagwat Chandrasekhar (a leg spinner), and Bishen Singh Bedi (a left-arm spinner).
Traditionally much stronger at home than abroad, the Indian team has improved its overseas form since the start of the 21st century.
It won the Cricket World Cup in 1983 under Kapil Dev, was runners-up in 2003 under Sourav Ganguly, and won the World Cup a second time in 2011 under MS Dhoni.
India have also been the Runners-up in 2000 ICC KnockOut Trophy, and the Joint Champions along with Sri Lanka in 2002 ICC Champions Trophy led by Sourav Ganguly in both the instances.
India also won the inaugural World Twenty20 under Mahendra Singh Dhoni in 2007. The current team contains many of the world's leading players, including Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag who hold numerous cricketing world records.

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Bangladesh Cricket Team

The team is administered by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB).Bangladesh is a full member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) with Test and One Day International (ODI) status.
It played its first Test match in 2000 against India in Dhaka, becoming the tenth Test cricket playing nation.
Bangladesh's first official foray into international cricket came in the 1979 ICC Trophy in England, leaving the tournament with 2 wins and 2 defeats. Seven years later, on 31 March 1986, Bangladesh played in its first ODI match against Pakistan in the 1986 Asia Cup.
Cricket has gradually become very popular in urban areas of the country. Although football was the most popular game for a long time, cricket gained momentum and soon surpassed football, especially after Bangladesh won the 1997 ICC Trophy in Malaysia.
By winning the tournament, Bangladesh qualified for the 1999 Cricket World Cup for the first time, where they defeated Pakistan, creating one of the biggest upsets in their cricketing history. In 1997, Bangladesh became a regular ICC member with the right to play ODIs. It attained the status of a Test playing country on 26 June 2000.
Bangladesh hold the record for most consecutive losses in Tests (21 between 1999 and 2002) and ODIs (23 between 2001 and 2004).
After gaining full member status with the ICC, Bangladesh had to wait until 2004 for its first ODI win since the 1999 World Cup.
The team on the losing side on that occasion was Zimbabwe, who also participated in Bangladesh's maiden Test victory in 2005; by securing a draw in the second match, Bangladesh won their first Test series.
In 2009 Bangladesh toured the West Indies for two Tests and by winning both secured their first overseas series victory.
As of April 2012, Bangladesh has played 73 Tests, winning only 3. Its first victory was against a young and inexperienced Zimbabwe team, which was hit by a player crisis and the other two were against a West Indian team crippled by a players' strike. Of the 63 matches it has lost, 35 were by an innings.
The lack of a first-class tournament in the country before it was granted Test status has been cited as one of the reasons for the side's struggle to adapt to the longest form of the game, and Bangladesh's performance has led to repeated calls for it to lose its Test status.
The team has been more successful in ODIs, having won 72 of its 262 matches,and has also played 18 Twenty20 Internationals, winning four.

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