Ireland do their bit to kick off welcome home Test
For one session alone, Ireland showed they can offer fleeting moments of competitive cricket against top Test opposition
On the pitch, Ireland did just enough to make the occasion worthwhile.
The last time Ireland filled the undercard for a contender awaiting their main event, England were left unimpressed. Lord’s 2023 was a stellar occasion for Irish cricket in terms of prestige, but the on-pitch display left memories of skipper Andrew Balbirnie looking around the dressing room unsure of how he could buy a wicket.
Ireland returned to that status quo in the afternoon of day one at home to New Zealand at Stormont. Bowling first at the toss seemed a curious decision given the lack of grass which is normally to be found on the Stormont surface, not to mention the bright sunshine throughout the day.
The afternoon heat, soft ball and sluggish pitch combined to create a familiar tale of an underpowered Irish attack struggling for any meaningful threat. If that was the story of the day, New Zealand could be forgiven for wondering what the point of this was, if Ireland could not give them a decent game ahead of a sterner task at Lord’s next week. England certainly felt that way back in 2023.
Mercifully, for a fleeting 2.5 hours in the morning, that was not the narrative. Even if for just one session, we were reminded that there is a point. Local romantics saw four Kiwi wickets in the first session. The Blackcaps received the red ball examination they craved.
When Tom Latham fell with the second ball of the match, the small Stormont crowd came close to raucous. Everyone and his dog could tell you that, coming around the wicket to the left-hander, Adair was going to look to swing it back early. Everyone bar Latham, evidently. The Kiwi skipper shouldered arms as the ball honed in on off-stump. There are two types of leave…
As Kane Williamson showed the value of playing the moving ball late, under the eyes, running balls down to the third man boundary alongside a gorgeous flick along the carpet, Devon Conway was looking to be aggressive on the front foot. A flick of his own was well timed but aerial. Liam McCarthy produced a stunning diving catch, arguably the moment of the day. Conway couldn’t believe it, but by going hard and aerial, he was always taking a risk.
Daryl Mitchell was dragged across the crease nicely by Adair. Still, the trap was somewhat clear, hoping that one moved enough to take the edge. The delivery that Mitchell ultimately nicked was on a fifth or sixth stump line.
Even Williamson, who for a while looked comfortable, fell to the oldest trick in the book. Short ball followed by a full one, McCarthy picking up (LBW) some scalp for his first Test wicket.
At 86-4, Ireland had had their fun. At least so decided the centurions Tom Blundell and Sachin Ravindra. The two of them knew when to leave outside off, when to take on the short ball, to pick off deliveries on the pads and even when to take down the spinner. Their afternoon onslaught was a return to the expected business of an injury-depleted, inexperienced attack toiling with little reward. Reuben Wilson could have had Ravindra caught at slip in the 50s, only for a diving Balbirnie at second to spill the chance. It was on Harry Tector’s line at first, only we’ll never know if it carried to him.
You can maybe quibble with a lack of aggression from Ireland in their plans. Ravindra was imperious when dismissing short balls, but could more catchers staggered through the leg side, both deep and otherwise, have given him more to contemplate? Could Tector’s part-timers have been brought on earlier in a bid to break concentration, as he ultimately did with Ravindra? Perhaps these ideas are mere clutching at straws, desperation in the face of a clear, mostly insurmountable talent gap.
Yet it wasn’t unbridgeable for all seven hours of play. That morning session already renders this whole week a success, competitively speaking. Ireland were good enough, even if only temporarily, to remind Kiwi batters of the importance of knowing the location of their off stump. They got something out of the day beyond a net session in front of a crowd.
Said group of spectators was always going to be sparse, given the attendance cap of 1500 daily. So the off-field, commercial success of this week is hard to define. Cricket Ireland will suffer a high six-figure loss hosting this Test. Officials believe the attendance of Northern Ireland’s First and Deputy First Minister, to go with other elected officials, builds some much-needed political capital as funding is still sought for Stormont’s redevelopment.
There are some ways in which things can go right this week, even if New Zealand cruise to victory. On day one, by providing enough new ball skill to ask probing questions, Ireland showed the world that paying them the time of day on the way to England is not a waste of time.