Pringle: Ireland will find the Test arena very tough
As Test cricket gets squeezed by ever more T20 cricket, it is heartening to hear that Ireland and Afghanistan crave Test status. But is it wise for them to be awarded it, which some sources say could happen as soon as 2018 with the promise of a Lord’s Test a year later?
Aside from already crowded schedules, Test cricket requires a depth of playing power that both Ireland and Afghanistan are some way off creating. Sure, league cricket is played in both Eire and Northern Ireland, but judging from the lack of media coverage about it there, it is regarded very much as a niche sport – hardly a rousing recommendation for something that must serve as a feeder system to their Test team.
Test cricket already has enough mismatches to have set TV broadcasters muttering darkly about the dilution of the product, so would the addition of two more to a bunch that already includes Zimbabwe and Bangladesh really be acceptable? As it happens, I would have welcomed their inclusion as part of a two-division Test model, but the self-interest of Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, with some politicking from India, put paid to that when the International Cricket Council proposed it a few months ago. Under that proposal only two poor sides would be in the top echelon at any one time. This way, presuming it is ratified, there will be four.
That is not to say I do not admire what Ireland and Afghanistan have achieved cricket-wise over the past decade, just that it is not yet enough, in breadth or depth, to sustain a Test team. In white-ball cricket, a pool of 20 players can see you compete, the length of the game not testing depth
Test cricket already has enough mismatches to have set TV broadcasters muttering about dilution so would the addition of two more be acceptable?
and sophistication of talent like a Test match would. They need, in any case, to be beware of an ICC bearing gifts. Kenya were awarded one-day international status over ten years ago, but their cricket has gone backwards ever since, the result of a complete lack of meaningful cricket against suitable opponents. A lack of investment in the game at local level, due to the alleged mismanagement of funds, has not helped but one-day international status has brought no benefit at all and may even have been a hindrance.
One of Ireland’s arguments for wanting Test cricket is that it would prevent a talent drain to England. So far they have lost Eoin Morgan, Ed Joyce and Boyd Rankin, though the last two did return after disillusionment set in. It is a spurious argument, especially as Brexit is likely to put a stop to players from Eire playing in county cricket as EU-qualified players, something they do presently.
Once Brexit has washed through, talented players wanting to play professional cricket with an English county will have to either play as an overseas player or become ‘English’. Unless Cricket Ireland can set up its own well paid system of professional cricket, which is not impossible with increased largesse from the ICC, the best cricket talent is always likely to head east across the Irish Sea.
Those who welcome Ireland’s and Afghanistan’s inclusion reckon they will barely get in the way, playing one Test against the likes of England maybe once every five years, possibly as a warm-up for another series. If that is the case, it is a sop to Test status and should not be countenanced.