Ireland For Test Status?

[Furball]

There is no way on Earth Kevin O'Brien will ever play for England barring a Pattinson-esque call (the sort that usually happens once every 50-odd years or so) and it's exceedingly unlikely Will Porterfield will either. Niall O'Brien I don't think even wants to and even if he did would still be relatively unlikely (although certainly England could do worse), and Joyce appears already to have been deemed too old.

Only Morgan in that lot is likely to play Tests for England.

Yes he does.

 

[Richard]

Ah right, okeydokey. Thought he'd said sometime in the past that his only international ambitions lay in ODIs with Ireland.

If O'Brien did play Tests for England I could see him doing a reasonable job, certainly better than Read or Geraint Jones, but I don't think he's as good as Ambrose or even Foster.

 

[Athlai]

Ah right, okeydokey. Thought he'd said sometime in the past that his only international ambitions lay in ODIs with Ireland.

If O'Brien did play Tests for England I could see him doing a reasonable job, certainly better than Read or Geraint Jones, but I don't think he's as good as Ambrose or even Foster.

I believe Niall said he would love to play Test cricket (for England), think he's happy to stick with ODI's for Ireland.

 

[Richard]

Well if he should ever play a Test that would then of course make him ineligible for Ireland ODIs.

Would be rather amusing to see England's Test wicketkeeper-batsman playing ODIs for another team.

 

[Chemosit]

Then it should be stripped. I've said since 2003 that this should happen with Zimbabwe.

but using what as a guideline? if you have a 2 tier system a team gets relegated when they fall below the standard needed to stay up.

Leave it to the ICC and we will have USA playing Tests v China while NZ, Zim and whoever else get ditched cos they don't make enough $$.
Perhaps an exageration, but maybe not knowing the ICC...

 

[Richard]

Obviously most people at I$C$C are more concerned with $$$s than the integrity and best interests of the game, but I'm talking purely on personal ideals.

Personally speaking it was pretty patently obvious to me when Zimbabwe landed in England in 2003 - after the retirements of the likes of Campbell, Flower, Whittall etc. - that they were no longer up to Test or ODI standard. And equally obvious, with the political situation as it was, that things were only going to get worse. I'd have stripped that series of Test status myself and declared that any game played by Zimbabwe until further notice was not a full Test.

The days of teams making tours without Tests or ODIs being involved these days though are sadly rare. So if that meant Zimbabwe being axed from the international calendar, so be it, and so much better everyone would've been.

Sadly Zimbabwe's vote is important to the BCCI "clique" and they were able to keep hold of that vote by keeping Zimbabwe in-fold.

 

[andruid]

Obviously most people at I$C$C are more concerned with $$$s than the integrity and best interests of the game, but I'm talking purely on personal ideals.

Personally speaking it was pretty patently obvious to me when Zimbabwe landed in England in 2003 - after the retirements of the likes of Campbell, Flower, Whittall etc. - that they were no longer up to Test or ODI standard. And equally obvious, with the political situation as it was, that things were only going to get worse. I'd have stripped that series of Test status myself and declared that any game played by Zimbabwe until further notice was not a full Test.

The days of teams making tours without Tests or ODIs being involved these days though are sadly rare. So if that meant Zimbabwe being axed from the international calendar, so be it, and so much better everyone would've been.

Sadly Zimbabwe's vote is important to the BCCI "clique" and they were able to keep hold of that vote by keeping Zimbabwe in-fold.

which is why perhaps the should look a some kind of on-field earned qualification for Test status rather than leaving everything to a board room full of old farts

 

[Richard]

A qualification written by... "a board room full of old farts". Yup, the game is controlled in the way it's controlled and that's not going to be changing any time soon.

 

[Uppercut]

The point that Warren Deutrom made was that, while Ireland aren't ready to play tests yet, no one is telling them what they have to do in order to achieve it. That's a key flaw in the system. It still baffles me that Bangladesh got test status and Kenya never did.

 

[BoyBrumby]

I note Boyd Rankin is in the England fast bowling program for the winter.

Interesting.

 

[Uppercut]

****ing serious.

 

[Richard]

The point that Warren Deutrom made was that, while Ireland aren't ready to play tests yet, no one is telling them what they have to do in order to achieve it. That's a key flaw in the system. It still baffles me that Bangladesh got test status and Kenya never did.

That's why all the conspiracy-theories about the Indo-Pak-SL bloc wanting their vote have never gone away. There is no way anyone can really be sure of the true reasons. But to rule the possibility out would be foolhardy, because it undoubtedly is possible, if not neccessarily likely, that that was indeed the main reason behind Bangladesh's patently undeserved promotion.

 

[Richard]

I note Boyd Rankin is in the England fast bowling program for the winter.

Interesting.

In that England are again showing interest in a player who has something going for him but needs to do far more to convince of his international calibre?

No big news for mine.

 

[Uppercut]

In that England are again showing interest in an Irish player?

No real news for mine.

Me neither.

 

[Richard]

I thought that was so obvious it barely even needed saying, even though you clearly think it did need saying - and that I needed to be the one to say it.

 

[Chemosit]

if england started backing their home grown talent rather than pinching it from abroad, they would probably end up with a much better side and give encouragement to young english players to play the game. Every time they pick an irishman over an englishman it does long term damage to both nations.

 

[Chemosit]

also re the rule made by old farts, at least there would be a visible list of criteria and standard to be met rather than a case by case arbitary decision which is always going to be open to corruption.

 

[CricketGuy007]

ireland have proved over the past few years by beating some big test playing countries!They are the same level as bangladesh if not better

 

[laksh_01]

Articles for both sides...

Why Ireland can't play Test Cricket (1)
Why Ireland can't play Test Cricket (2)

Why Ireland can't play Test Cricket: Cricket Ireland response

 

[Uppercut]

The problem is that a lot of the arguments stated in the first two pieces could also be applied to Bangladesh. It's clear to see that the right decision is to demote Bangladesh to Associate level. But if they're not going to do that, it implies that Ireland also have the right to full member status.

I know Ireland shouldn't really become a test side just yet. They're not really ready for it. But the thought of a home five-day game with Bangladesh or Zimbabwe is just too appealing for me to be put off.