Ireland For Test Status?

[Zinzan]

I don't think BD and the current Zim team should be the standards by which we judge new test nations. Ireland has a tiny population so it doesn't have much potential for growth.

Umm, Ireland have exactly the same population as New Zealand - around 4.2 million - so can't see why that's such a major issue

 

[Zinzan]

Jamaica and Barbados are whole different countries too, doesn't stop them playing together. You can have a united cricket team from two (or more) different countries, it's absolutely no insult to those who fought for Ireland's political independence.

What would be most ideal is if England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland (ROI and NI) played cricket together under one banner. And indeed this happened for most of cricket history, until recently when ICC decided they wanted to try to create the illusion of expansion by having "new" members like Ireland and Scotland.

Not that it made an ounce of difference as the best players seem to elect to play for England regardless.

Incidentally, on your ideal above, would you be comfortable with the side being known as Great Britain if they did play under the one banner?

 

[GIMH]

I'm sure if our side did officially include Ireland, they wouldn't be too chuffed with that name

 

[Richard]

Not that it made an ounce of difference as the best players seem to elect to play for England regardless.

Indeed they do - same way they always have done. Until recently that was regarded as absolutely fine and completely natural. ICC have tried, effectively, to change nature. So far they've essentially failed, and merely created more bad cricket (by making Scotland\Ireland play New Zealand, or whatever), and I hope that eventually it might be seen that the attempt to create separate British Isles national teams is a fruitless one and the inevitable bowed to.

Incidentally, on your ideal above, would you be comfortable with the side being known as Great Britain if they did play under the one banner?

It'd need to be the British Isles because Britain is only Wales, England and Scotland. And personally I'd be only too happy for a British Isles team to be called exactly that. Some patriotic idiots who think England is somehow a better thing to support than the Britain or the British Isles wouldn't though.

 

[GIMH]

Ireland don't recognise the term 'British Isles' so it certainly couldn't be called that.

Moot point anyway, but.

 

[Richard]

Yeah Irish people prefer the term "British And Irish Isles", which is fair enough for mine, but the geographically recognised term apparently is British Isles.

I'd honestly not be remotely bothered with anything, if it meant Welsh, English, Scottish and Irish people could all play cricket together happily under one banner with no worries about being perceived to be "poaching" others' players, nor worries about having to "defect" to somewhere else to get to the highest level.

 

[Scaly piscine]

Very very interested to see what happens at this ICC CEC meeting next week. They're drawing up the next FTP and there's talk that us dropping out of the new English 40 over comp may have had a lot to do with costs, but also had a lot to do with Warren Deutrom (Ireland's CEO) managing to get regular ODI fixtures and 'A' tours against the full members placed throughout the next FTP.

One dayers and FC matches against county teams would theoretically sound like the next logical step for Ireland, but I believe it's now time Ireland are treated like the 10/11th international side rather than the 19th county.

EDIT: oh, and on the topic - surely not one sane person with half a cricketing brain would suggest Ireland are even close to being ready for test cricket. After chatting to one of the fringe players whilst i was in Belfast last month, we both agreed it's at best 10 years away

Yea I read that about Ireland being too busy with other fixtures to participate in the 40 over competition. They seem like they're very well organised and are taking the initiative themselves. I think it's inevitable with Ireland that they'll become a consistently competitive international side. Similar with Durham and being a top county - it takes time but you've got the pool of talent there and the organisation to make the most of it then it will come to fruition sooner or later.

 

[GIMH]

It shouldn't be the geographically recognised term (and I realise that it is), it's a bit like calling Cote D'Ivoire the Ivory Coast

 

[Richard]

Yeah as I say I agree with those who say the term should be modified to the Irish interpretation rather than the currently official one. It is indeed more accurate.

 

[Lillian Thomson]

How does British and Irish Isles make more sense that just British Isles? Ireland is just part of the British Isles and no more worthy of special mention in the title than England, Scotland, Wales, Isle of Man or the Channel Islands.

 

[GIMH]

The point is that Ireland isn't 'British'

 

[Lillian Thomson]

It doesn't have to be. Though I would accept all British Isles born people being automatically qualified to play for England only on the condition that Israel are booted out of the Eurovision Song Contest.

 

[GIMH]

 

[Jamee999]

The United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland?

 

[Richard]

UK\ROI would be less of a mouthful.

 

[Lillian Thomson]

UK\ROI would be less of a mouthful.

Apart from when they name the ODI squad.

 

[sledger]

This whole thread reminds me of the time I caused a lot of butthurt on a forum elsewhere when I said that the greatest Briton to have ever lived was Michael Collins.

 

[Lillian Thomson]

This whole thread reminds me of the time I caused a lot of butthurt on a forum elsewhere when I said that the greatest Briton to have ever lived was Michael Collins.

Good example. He has a strong case, but if he'd opened the batting for England it would be stronger.

 

[andruid]

I do not think the ICC's policy of handing test teams to one nation at atime and then berating them for being out of their depth early makes any sense at all.

i abstain from the poll.

S****(*(!!! I just voted

 

[BoyBrumby]

This whole thread reminds me of the time I caused a lot of butthurt on a forum elsewhere when I said that the greatest Briton to have ever lived was Michael Collins.

Although I suspect he'd rather have died than admit it, Gen Collins was a British subject for most of his brief life.