Yes for many year's NZ got tours at the beginning or end of a series vs Australia
Steve Harmison has opined that all teams touring England should play in Ireland first, and grow a reputation for being good hosts offering challenging cricket, The ECB might support as this saves them organising warm up games, that are often uncompetitive, and if the tourists are better prepared for tests vs England the ECB will get better longer matches, easier to sell to broadcasters
For a start, how do the Irish potential fans get behind a side that plays no cricket. All we see is ladies series ( great for the ladies and sport ) but the men need to play and play lots. Chicken and egg, the more the play, the more they learn and the more competitive they get. And fans and sponsors support winning teams. And to win, the youngsters need to learn from the experienced players while we still have them. I really hope the new leadership at CI realise this and fast..
In this day & age of instant gratification, we sometimes forget that it takes time to build a sport. You refer to the 2005 Ashes, but this was 128 years after the inaugural Test in Melbourne in 1877 - and it only was a big thing because the Aussies continually pummelled the success-starved English since 1989. Australia refused to play New Zealand between 1947 & 1973 because they were deemed too poor. Australia's own Sheffield Shield competition = deemed the best in the world with just 6 teams, actually only had 3 teams (NSW, Victoria & South Australia) for its first 50 years! 20 years after Qld arrived, WA entered in 1947 before a further 30 years before Tassie put themselves on the map!
With respect to the recent Test series between India & England - yes it was enthralling & had loads of spice throughout to keep it in the headlines every day - but it was merely 4th v 5th in the world. Hardly the pinnacle in sport but it was a good contest with a new generation of Indian cricketers. Take out India & replace them for 5 Tests in England next year & we will see just how poorly English cricket is followed these days. They appear to have full stadiums but the crowd is only 1/5th the size of the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne each year if we were to be brutally honest.
The 2 Tier Test system can't come soon enough for Irish cricket. Give us more red ball stuff against more teams with the hope of promotion of Division 1. The spice will come & that tension will sell newspapers. Imagine playing in Dublin & Conor McGregor shows up & slags the touring side's supporters as part of his current agenda. Imagine signing someone of the ilk of Joe Canning, Henry Shefflin, TJ Reid, Patrick Horgan or Aaron Gillane to cricket. A project player / gimmick by all means but imagine the publicity in cricket-starved Ireland? Personally I would sign up as many from the Electric Ireland 2025 Minor Star Hurling Team of the Year as possible. The AFL & AFLW have raided the finest Gaelic Footballers over the years (and English soccer prior - eg Kevin Moran), so it is something that isn't new to GAA. God can only imagine if David Clifford could cross codes successfully!
The day will come when we beat a full strength Indian or Australian side at home one day. the day will come when we win a Cricket World Cup. That will make news. That will garner the respect of the cricketing world. Til then, we will graft away & hope.
Technology has bettered me. I’m happy to admit defeat. When you’re at the ashes remind a few of the Irish Aussies to watch the motherland play their own tests
we know they have two in October in Bangla! That is part of the issue tho. England fans already know their schedule next year and can make plans to travel/buy tickets well in advance. At this stage, we're still not sure if the plan to host NZ before they go to England next year will go ahead
It is August ... do we have the exact dates for the two Tests in October? I have been burnt with trips to Sri Lanka & UAE in the past that didn't happen. So am totally reluctant to do any preliminary bookings in the future. The closer you get, the harder it is as a fan to go because flights, accom are significantly higher plus alot harder to break work & family commitments.
Would agree with this. Still think we should strive for it tho, I do think the appetite for red ball amongst the general sporting population in Ireland tho is quite strong. If dormant. Based purely on how national broadcasters are drawn to the England test team, instead of the Irish white ball group. Probably because of our proximity to England, red ball always has this unfulfilled fascination
My response, tho, is to say I don’t share that cynicism. Yes, us media folk are trying to figure out the new world. But when I hear Irish broadcasters talk about the Irish team, often it’s out of a sense of duty. When they talk about English tests, they only do so in the biggest moments and genuinely sound in awe
Well I didn't hear it so couldn't specially comment about but great let them talk in awe .... let them build up the English & Indian sides because when - and yes I say when - we beat the Big 3 across all 3 formats on a regular basis they you may get your 2005 Ashes moment. But in fairness it still wouldn't compare to the All-Ireland Hurling Final. That said the coverage in March 2007 was something else. And the All Out 85 "Dial M for Murtagh" in 2019 was also well covered.
with the exception of the 2019 World cup final, nothing has gripped me like closely fought test match series.
But until Abbotstown is up and running and the ICC are heavily subsidising a Second WTC division, a 3 test series is, at my most optimistic, 4 years away.
In the meantime, how does Cricket Ireland garner public interest?
The first thing they could do is better planning, using the best, most competitive test of 7 played last summer, .namely the Zimbabwe test at Stormont, as an example of how not to do it.
they had the whole summer to schedule it, but chose to have it at the same time as the North cup final and the Edgbaston test, also the date and venue was announced quite near the match, so not surprisingly attendance was poor and a broadcaster was not able to be found.
The planned New Zealand Test will be a good test to see if the new CEO and CI emphasis will be the Here Comes the New Boss NOT the Same as the Old Boss.
There is a narrow window to schedule it sometime before 22rd and 28th May, but with 4 or 5 days of cricket, you want fans to come for more than one day, this will involve booking time off work, and likely transport and accommodation, so this needs to set in stone months rather weeks before the match.
Similarly, make the test more relevant and, like the Women's Ashes, link them to the ODI's and T20's and have a 7 match16 point tournament
Similarly, make the Afghanistan test more relevant and , like the women's Ashes, link the result of the test to the ODI and T20 series to name an overall winner
Good article, Ireland just screams red ball cricket 🏏
See NZ for reference
Please cricket Ireland make it happen 🙏
Yes for many year's NZ got tours at the beginning or end of a series vs Australia
Steve Harmison has opined that all teams touring England should play in Ireland first, and grow a reputation for being good hosts offering challenging cricket, The ECB might support as this saves them organising warm up games, that are often uncompetitive, and if the tourists are better prepared for tests vs England the ECB will get better longer matches, easier to sell to broadcasters
For a start, how do the Irish potential fans get behind a side that plays no cricket. All we see is ladies series ( great for the ladies and sport ) but the men need to play and play lots. Chicken and egg, the more the play, the more they learn and the more competitive they get. And fans and sponsors support winning teams. And to win, the youngsters need to learn from the experienced players while we still have them. I really hope the new leadership at CI realise this and fast..
In this day & age of instant gratification, we sometimes forget that it takes time to build a sport. You refer to the 2005 Ashes, but this was 128 years after the inaugural Test in Melbourne in 1877 - and it only was a big thing because the Aussies continually pummelled the success-starved English since 1989. Australia refused to play New Zealand between 1947 & 1973 because they were deemed too poor. Australia's own Sheffield Shield competition = deemed the best in the world with just 6 teams, actually only had 3 teams (NSW, Victoria & South Australia) for its first 50 years! 20 years after Qld arrived, WA entered in 1947 before a further 30 years before Tassie put themselves on the map!
With respect to the recent Test series between India & England - yes it was enthralling & had loads of spice throughout to keep it in the headlines every day - but it was merely 4th v 5th in the world. Hardly the pinnacle in sport but it was a good contest with a new generation of Indian cricketers. Take out India & replace them for 5 Tests in England next year & we will see just how poorly English cricket is followed these days. They appear to have full stadiums but the crowd is only 1/5th the size of the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne each year if we were to be brutally honest.
The 2 Tier Test system can't come soon enough for Irish cricket. Give us more red ball stuff against more teams with the hope of promotion of Division 1. The spice will come & that tension will sell newspapers. Imagine playing in Dublin & Conor McGregor shows up & slags the touring side's supporters as part of his current agenda. Imagine signing someone of the ilk of Joe Canning, Henry Shefflin, TJ Reid, Patrick Horgan or Aaron Gillane to cricket. A project player / gimmick by all means but imagine the publicity in cricket-starved Ireland? Personally I would sign up as many from the Electric Ireland 2025 Minor Star Hurling Team of the Year as possible. The AFL & AFLW have raided the finest Gaelic Footballers over the years (and English soccer prior - eg Kevin Moran), so it is something that isn't new to GAA. God can only imagine if David Clifford could cross codes successfully!
The day will come when we beat a full strength Indian or Australian side at home one day. the day will come when we win a Cricket World Cup. That will make news. That will garner the respect of the cricketing world. Til then, we will graft away & hope.
So let's go through the only Test playing nations - do you think they have had their 2005 Ashes moment? I think not many have.
And check the home crowd numbers when a non-Big 3 side has been playing.
Forgive me Larry, I’ve accidentally deleted your most recent comment
So much for "free press" ... Larry being censored. I will remember this when I take over the helm! Lol.
Technology has bettered me. I’m happy to admit defeat. When you’re at the ashes remind a few of the Irish Aussies to watch the motherland play their own tests
Give me a list of dates for Ireland's next 5 Tests & I will.
Anyway I hope to be living in Ireland when the Ashes is on in my new role.
we know they have two in October in Bangla! That is part of the issue tho. England fans already know their schedule next year and can make plans to travel/buy tickets well in advance. At this stage, we're still not sure if the plan to host NZ before they go to England next year will go ahead
It is August ... do we have the exact dates for the two Tests in October? I have been burnt with trips to Sri Lanka & UAE in the past that didn't happen. So am totally reluctant to do any preliminary bookings in the future. The closer you get, the harder it is as a fan to go because flights, accom are significantly higher plus alot harder to break work & family commitments.
Would agree with this. Still think we should strive for it tho, I do think the appetite for red ball amongst the general sporting population in Ireland tho is quite strong. If dormant. Based purely on how national broadcasters are drawn to the England test team, instead of the Irish white ball group. Probably because of our proximity to England, red ball always has this unfulfilled fascination
My response, tho, is to say I don’t share that cynicism. Yes, us media folk are trying to figure out the new world. But when I hear Irish broadcasters talk about the Irish team, often it’s out of a sense of duty. When they talk about English tests, they only do so in the biggest moments and genuinely sound in awe
Well I didn't hear it so couldn't specially comment about but great let them talk in awe .... let them build up the English & Indian sides because when - and yes I say when - we beat the Big 3 across all 3 formats on a regular basis they you may get your 2005 Ashes moment. But in fairness it still wouldn't compare to the All-Ireland Hurling Final. That said the coverage in March 2007 was something else. And the All Out 85 "Dial M for Murtagh" in 2019 was also well covered.
with the exception of the 2019 World cup final, nothing has gripped me like closely fought test match series.
But until Abbotstown is up and running and the ICC are heavily subsidising a Second WTC division, a 3 test series is, at my most optimistic, 4 years away.
In the meantime, how does Cricket Ireland garner public interest?
The first thing they could do is better planning, using the best, most competitive test of 7 played last summer, .namely the Zimbabwe test at Stormont, as an example of how not to do it.
they had the whole summer to schedule it, but chose to have it at the same time as the North cup final and the Edgbaston test, also the date and venue was announced quite near the match, so not surprisingly attendance was poor and a broadcaster was not able to be found.
The planned New Zealand Test will be a good test to see if the new CEO and CI emphasis will be the Here Comes the New Boss NOT the Same as the Old Boss.
There is a narrow window to schedule it sometime before 22rd and 28th May, but with 4 or 5 days of cricket, you want fans to come for more than one day, this will involve booking time off work, and likely transport and accommodation, so this needs to set in stone months rather weeks before the match.
Similarly, make the test more relevant and, like the Women's Ashes, link them to the ODI's and T20's and have a 7 match16 point tournament
Editing final paragraph
Similarly, make the Afghanistan test more relevant and , like the women's Ashes, link the result of the test to the ODI and T20 series to name an overall winner