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The Irish crickets are the representatives of Ireland internationally. The Cricket Union of Ireland, known as Cricket Ireland, is responsible for checking the proceedings of cricket in Ireland and keeping an eye on the Irish international team. People of Ireland have loved the sport since they first played it in the nineteenth century. Cricket was introduced in Kilkenny and Ballinasloe by the English people.
The Irish cricket team played for the first time in 1855 against The Gentlemen of England in Dublin. Since then, they have visited the United States and Canada. They also invited guests to various sports events. Initially, Ireland and Scotland had competitions against each other in 1888, and their rivalry became one of the most popular rivalries.
Ireland had a victory over a South African side in 1904. The Ireland Cricket team’s first match against first-class competitors was against a London County team with W. G. Grace on 19 May 1902. The Ireland Cricket team won this match by 238 runs. The game became popular till the early 1880s. Cricket’s popularity suffered due to the land dispute of the Irish Land Commission in the 1880s. It also got hampered because the Gaelic Athletic Association prohibited foreign games, especially those of British origin. Therefore, participating in sports like cricket, by people of Irish sports, like Gaelic football, and hurling was banned till the ban was taken off in 1970.
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Before 1993
Ireland did not participate in top-tier cricket matches for five years after they travelled to England in 1902. Their tour to England comprised four matches – two ended in draws; in one match, they had a victory, and in the other, they were defeated. Ireland played against the South African team in 1894 and lost it after playing for the first time against any Test-playing nation. However, in 1904, the Irish players triumphed over the South Africans and won their first Test match.
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The first match of top-class status happened between Ireland and Scotland in 1909. The arrangements for the annual match against the MCC started in 1924. The Scots and Irish played occasional Irish matches until 1999, except for the interruption due to the World War. Ireland gave an incredible performance in Dublin in a three-day match in 1928. Ireland competed for the first time against the West Indies and won over it by 60 runs.
In 1969, Ireland again defeated a West Indian side by nine wickets in a match played in County Tyrone at Sion Mills. Clyde Walcott and Clive Lloyd participated in this match on the side of the West Indies. In 2003, Ireland defeated Zimbabwe by 10 wickets. After that, Ireland failed to defeat the touring side. In 1979, Ireland participated in a first-class match against Sri Lanka. However, it ended in a draw as it had to be called off because of the rain. Ireland scored 341 in two innings for 7, and Sri Lanka scored 288 for 6. The players of Ireland and Scotland mainly competed against Sri Lanka for the title of the first-class non-Test nation.
The Netherlands, Ireland, and Scotland participated in competitions on the side of the English county teams. These tournaments included the Friends Provident Trophy and Benson & Hedges Cup. The Irish players represented Ireland in the County matches as there is no restriction for nations.
Test Cricket – 2017
CEO Warren Deutrom of Ireland Cricket officially announced in January 2012, highlighting Ireland’s desire to participate in Test Cricket before 2020. It is because they wanted to stop the participation of the Irish cricket team playing Test Cricket and traveling to England illegally. Deutrom announced the target by declaring a new strategic plan for Irish cricket in 2015. The strategy had challenging goals, like keeping cricket’s rating as one of Ireland’s top five popular team sports, increasing the number of players, etc.
The ICC released information in October 2017, stating Ireland to host Pakistan in 2018, and Pakistan won. The Afghans defeated Ireland in the first “tour” test against Afghanistan in March 2019. Ireland is supposed to play in sixteen Test matches between 2019-2023 as per the ICC Future tours programme. Cricket in Ireland is in good shape now. The game is gaining immense popularity as more people are showing interest.
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