The Ireland men's cricket team represents all of Ireland in international cricket. The Irish Cricket Union, operating under the brand Cricket Ireland, is the sport's governing body in Ireland, and they organise the international team. The team have a number of home grounds, including Malahide in County Dublin, Stormont, Belfast, Bready in the north-west and Clontarf in Dublin city. A further ground is planned for the National Sports Campus in Abbotstown, Dublin for 2030.[10] Due to the short season allowed by the Irish climate, and lack of large scale facilities, Ireland also occasionally play 'home matches' in venues in England and further abroad.
Modern Cricket was introduced to Ireland in the 19th century, though cricket may have partly evolved from earlier Gaelic games invented in Ireland.[15][16][17][18] The first match played by an Ireland team was in 1855. Ireland toured Canada and the United States in the late 19th century, and occasionally hosted matches against touring sides. Ireland's most significant early international rivalry, with the Scotland national cricket team, was established when the teams first played each other in 1888.[19] Ireland's maiden first-class match was played in 1902.
Ireland were elected to Associate membership of the ICC in 1993, but played their first full ODI in 2006 against England in the build-up to the 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup, their first successful qualification. At that tournament, a series of eye-catching results against Full Members, including a draw against Zimbabwe, and wins against Pakistan and Bangladesh confirmed Ireland's ODI status after the competition. Since then, they have gone on to play 197 ODIs, resulting in 78 victories, 101 defeats, 15 no results, and 3 ties.[20] Contracts for players were introduced in 2009, marking the transition to becoming a professional team.
Before attaining Test status, Ireland also played first-class international cricket in the ICC Intercontinental Cup, which they have won four times between 2005 and 2013. Due to their successes in the first-class ICC Intercontinental Cup competition, and further high-profile wins at the World Cups of 2011 (against England) and 2015 (against West Indies and Zimbabwe), they were labelled the "leading Associate"[23] and stated their intention to become a full member by 2020. This intention was realised in June 2017, when the ICC unanimously decided to award Ireland and Afghanistan Full Member status, which allows them to participate in Test matches.[24] Ireland's first test was a home fixture at The Village, Malahide between 11-15 May 2018 against Pakistan, and they have played tests somewhat sporadically since. Their first test victory was against fellow new boys Afghanistan in Sharjah on 12 March 2024.
Ireland remain the only test playing nation, where the women's team have played a test match before the men's team.[25] Ireland was a women's test nation seventeen years before the men, playing their only test also against Pakistan.
History
Early history
All-Ireland United Cricket team at Phoenix Park, Dublin, ca. 1858
The first mention of modern cricket in Ireland was in 1731 when the Military of Ireland and the Gentlemen of Ireland took each other on in the Phoenix Park, where the game still thrives in one of the world's oldest established cricket clubs. However, the origins of Cricket may, in fact, have come from Ireland, via the ancient Gaelic game of 'Katty', a precursor to the modern game of Rounders in Ireland. Katty was exported around the world by Irishmen serving in the British Army and the game was adopted as both a training and recreational activity by British Army soldiers. The evolution of Katty in the empire is reflected in the use of anglicised Gaelic terms such as crioc, crios, bail, googly, still used in cricket as we know it today.[15][16][17][18]
Modern Cricket was introduced to Ireland by the English in the towns of Kilkenny and Ballinasloe in the early 19th century. In the 1830s, the game began to spread; many of the clubs which were founded in the following 30 years are still in existence today.[26] The first Irish national team played in 1855 against The Gentlemen of England in Dublin. In the 1850s, the Englishman Charles Lawrence was responsible for developing the game in Ireland through his coaching.[26] In the 1850s and 1860s, Ireland was visited for the first time by touring professional teams. Ireland's first match against Marylebone Cricket Club (the M.C.C.) was in 1858.[26][16]
Cricket had flourished throughout the Ireland until the early 1880s. However, the Irish Land War, the Gaelic Revival cultural movement and its offshoot the Gaelic Athletic Association, founded in 1884, began to challenge the popularity of cricket. There were widespread calls to establish a national cricketing union in Ireland the 1870s to oversee the sport but landlords who owned the estates on which cricket was predominantly played declined to do so, many believing the game would distract their tenant farmers from working and thus impact the estates' income at a time when the land war was already depleting landlords wealth. One of those to call for a formal body to organise cricket was Michael Cusack, later the founder of the GAA. Cusack, was a keen cricketer, later tried to organise cricket under the umbrella of the newly formed Gaelic Athletic Association. His motion, however, lost out narrowly. Consequently, in 1902 cricket fell under the GAA's newly introduced Law 27 banning its members from playing "foreign", in practice, British, games. Until the ban was lifted in 1970, anyone playing foreign games, such as cricket or association football, was banned from the membership of the GAA, the organisation responsible for games such as hurling, Gaelic football, rounders, and Gaelic handball. Though an Irish Cricket union was set up in 1923 some clubs refused to recognise it, it was only in 2001 that Cricket Ireland became the official oversight body for cricket in Ireland recognised by all cricket clubs in the country.[15][16][17][18]
Thereafter Cricket in Ireland declined in popularity, especially in the era after the land war as the sport became associated with being a "garrison game" of the British Army. Participation became increasingly restricted to Catholic and Protestant public schools, the Anglo-Irish population, and unionists. Irish teams toured Canada and the US in 1879, 1888, 1892, and 1909. On top of this, Ireland defeated a touring South African side in 1904.[26] Their first match with first-class status was played on 19 May 1902 against a London County side including W.G. Grace. The Irish, captained by Sir Tim O'Brien, won convincingly by 238 runs.[27] An Irish Cricket union was eventually set up in 1923 but some clubs refused to recognise its legitimacy. It was only in 2001 that Cricket Ireland became the official oversight body for cricket in Ireland recognised by all cricket clubs on the island.[15][16][17][18]
Before 1993
After the 1902 tour of England, where four matches yielded one win, two draws and one loss, Ireland did not play first-class cricket again for five years.[28] Although the team had lost to the South Africans in 1894 – Ireland's first match against a Test-playing nation – Ireland defeated South Africa in 1904; it was the team's first victory against a Test side.[29] In 1909, the first annual first-class match between Ireland and Scotland was held, and an annual match against the MCC was arranged from 1924 onwards.[26]
The Irish played yearly first-class matches with the Scots, only interrupted by world wars, until 1999, but all their other cricket depended upon touring international sides finding it convenient to include a visit to Ireland in their schedules. However, Ireland sometimes surprised Test nations on these occasions, beating the West Indies by 60 runs in a three-day match in Dublin in 1928, for example; it was Ireland's first match against the West Indies.[29] In 1969, in a match played at Sion Mills in County Tyrone, the team defeated a West Indian side including Clive Lloyd and Clyde Walcott by nine wickets, after bowling them out for 25.[30] This was the last time Ireland defeated a touring side until 2003, when they beat Zimbabwe by ten wickets.[31]
The Scots and the Irish were mostly competing with Sri Lanka for the title as the best non-Test nation at the time – indeed, Ireland drew with Sri Lanka in a rain-hit first-class match in 1979, Ireland scoring a total of 341 for 7 in two innings, while Sri Lanka made 288 for 6 in one innings. Ireland, along with Scotland and the Netherlands, has at times played in competitions for English county cricket sides, including the Benson & Hedges Cup and the Friends Provident Trophy (previously the C&G Trophy). Since there is no nationality restriction in county cricket, non-Irish people were allowed to compete for Ireland in these matches. For example, Hansie Cronje of South Africa played for Ireland in 1997,[32] as did New Zealander Jesse Ryder in 2007.[33]
Associate Member (1993–2007)
Ireland joined the ICC as an Associate Member in 1993, a year before Scotland.[34] This meant Ireland could play in the ICC Trophy for the first time in 1994, and they finished seventh in the tournament.[35] Three years later they progressed to the semi-finals of the competition but lost the third place play-off with Scotland, thus missing a place at the 1999 cricket World Cup. Ireland finished eighth in the 2001 tournament.[36] After this, Adrian Birrell was hired as coach.[17]
With the introduction of the ICC Intercontinental Cup in 2004,[37] Ireland had a chance to play first-class on a regular basis. After failing to progress beyond the group stages in the 2004 competition,[38] Ireland won their first Cup title in October 2005 with a six-wicket win over Kenya.[39] The 2005 ICC Trophy, which was hosted in Ireland – the group stages in Belfast, Northern Ireland, the final stages in Dublin, Republic of Ireland – saw the Irish make the final, which they lost to Scotland.[40] Though Ireland were runners-up, they had secured their place at the 2007 World Cup as well as an extra $500,000 over the next four years from the ICC to encourage development of Irish cricket.[41] They also gained official ODI status.[41]
Ireland's inaugural ODI was played in front of a full house of 7,500 spectators at Stormont, Belfast, on 13 June 2006 against England. It was the first time Ireland had played the full England side. Though Ireland lost by 38 runs, they were praised by Andrew Strauss, England's stand-in captain.[42][43]
August saw them participate in Division One of the European Championship, against Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands and Scotland. The games against the Netherlands and Scotland had ODI status. In the tournament, and what was the team's second ODI, Ireland recorded their first ODI win, beating fellow Associates Scotland by 85 runs after man-of-the-match Eoin Morgan made 99.[44] Although the match against the Netherlands was a no-result, Ireland won the European Championship title.[45] Ireland's second Intercontinental Cup title came in the 2006–2007 competition. They faced Canada in the final and won by an innings and 115 runs, the four-day match concluding within two days. This made Ireland the first team to successfully defend the Continental Cup.[46]
For the 2006 season, the C&G Trophy was reorganised to include a round-robin stage instead of being entirely knock-out. Whereas Ireland had only one match guaranteed in the tournament before, they now had more fixtures against English county sides. Ireland recorded one win in their nine matches.[47] Ireland participated in the competition until it was restructured again in 2009. In that time they played 25 matches and won two.[48][49] The latter of those victories was against Worcestershire; in that match Ireland bowled Worcestershire out for 58, which was their lowest ever one-day total. It was the first time that Ireland had bowled out a county for less than 100.[50][51] Ireland were invited to participate in the reformatted competition from 2010 onwards, but chose not to do so, and instead focused their limited financial resources on international cricket.[52]
One-Day International status without test status (2007–2016)
At the start of 2007, Ireland saw more than three months of almost constant cricket. First was a visit to Kenya, where they took part in Division One of the ICC World Cricket League. They finished fifth in the league after four narrow defeats, and Kenya won the league.[53] Before the World Cup, the team participated in a high-performance camp in South Africa.[54] Ireland's performance in their inaugural World Cup in the 2007 Cricket World Cup took many pundits by surprise. In their first game, on 15 March, they tied with Zimbabwe, primarily thanks to Ireland's first ever World Cup century by man-of-the-match Jeremy Bray and economical bowling in the final overs by Trent Johnston and Andre Botha.[55] In their second match, played on Saint Patrick's Day, they beat the fourth-ranked team in the world, Pakistan, by three wickets, thus knocking Pakistan out of the competition.[56]
Rain and bad light reduced Ireland's target to 133 from 47 overs.
These two results were enough to advance Ireland to the Super 8 stage of the tournament. In their final group stage game, the West Indies beat them by eight wickets.[57] In the Super 8 stage, they lost their five matches against England, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, and Sri Lanka, but recorded a 74-run victory against Test playing nation Bangladesh, the 9th ranked team in the world. The team received a heroes' welcome in Dublin.[58]
After the World Cup, former West Indies cricketer Phil Simmons took over the role of coach from Birrell.[59]India were scheduled to play South Africa in a series of One Day Internationals in Ireland in June 2007. Ireland also played one-off matches at Stormont against the two teams. Missing several players from their World Cup squad, Ireland lost both games.[60] Ireland hosted a quadrangular tournament in Dublin and Belfast in July involving the West Indies, the Netherlands, and Scotland. Ireland and the West Indies both won their games against Scotland and the Netherlands with their direct encounter ending in no result due to rain. The West Indies won the tournament because of a bonus point won against the Netherlands.[61] Trent Johnston stepped down as captain and was replaced by William Porterfield in March 2008.[62]
The 2007–08 ICC Intercontinental Cup began in June, with Ireland playing their first match in August. In November 2008, the team's campaign ended. After finishing second in the round-robin stage of the competition, Ireland faced Namibia in the final. Ireland won by nine wickets, securing their third consecutive Intercontinental Cup title.[63] In March 2008 Ireland toured Bangladesh, playing three ODIs against the hosts and losing all of them.[64] In July, Ireland played a tri-series against New Zealand and Scotland in Aberdeen but lost both matches.[65]
Reigning champions Ireland hosted the European Cricket Championship (Division One) in late July and they won their third European title, winning every match, including the decisive encounter against Scotland by seven wickets.[66] In early August, Ireland hosted five other Associate nations at the 2009 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier in Belfast; this was Ireland's Twenty20 International debut. Ireland would have faced the Netherlands in the final, however the match was rained off and the teams shared the trophy.[67] By getting to the final of the tournament, Ireland qualified for the 2009 ICC World Twenty20 in England in June 2009. Later in August, Ireland were due to play three ODIs at home against Kenya. Ireland won the first game, the second game could not be finished due to rain and the last match was completely washed out.[68] In October, the team visited Kenya for a tri-series of ODIs with the hosts and Zimbabwe. Only two of Ireland's four games in the round-robin stage could be played, the others were rained off. Ireland lost their first match to Zimbabwe,[69] but won their second against Kenya, though they failed to qualify for the final.[70][71]
In the run-up to the 2009 ICC World Twenty20, Ireland were deprived of batsman Eoin Morgan, similarly to Ed Joyce several years earlier, who was selected to play for England, making him ineligible to play for Ireland again.[72] Ireland played their first Twenty20 International against a full ICC member side on 8 June 2009 and in their opening match of the tournament defeated Bangladesh by four wickets and knocked them out of the tournament.[73][74] Ireland progressed to the second stage of the competition. They were grouped with New Zealand, Pakistan and Sri Lanka and lost all three of their matches. In 2009, Ireland played nine ODIs, winning the seven they played against Associate nations, losing their only match against a Test team (England), and one match was abandoned.[75]
Ireland played 17 One Day Internationals in 2010, winning 11 (including a victory over Bangladesh) and losing six.[76] Ireland were knocked out of the 2010 ICC World Twenty20, hosted by South Africa in April and May, after being beaten by the West Indies and a washed out match against England.
Captain William Porterfield batting against England during Malahide Cricket Club Ground's inaugural ODI in 2013.
The 2011 Cricket World Cup was held between February and March and hosted by Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka. Though Ireland did not progress beyond the first round they secured a historic victory against England.[77] Ireland beat England by 3 wickets with Kevin O'Brien hitting the fastest century in World Cup history, managing the feat in just 50 balls.[78] In passing England's total of 327 for victory, Ireland broke the record for the highest successful run chase in the World Cup.[79]
Shortly after the tournament ended, the ICC announced that the World Cups in 2015 and 2019 would contain ten teams; the Associate countries, who were most likely to miss out in a tournament with fewer teams strongly objected, and, led by Ireland, urged the ICC to reconsider. In June the decision was reversed.[80][81] After the World Cup Ireland played Pakistan, England, and Scotland in ODIs but lost each match.[77] A further ODI against Sri Lanka was rained off. In all, Ireland played 12 ODIs in 2011, winning four.[82]
Ireland qualified for the 2015 Cricket World Cup, and were promoted to the ICC ODI Championship, leaving the World Cricket League, but not the ICC Intercontinental Cup. In their first match of the World Cup, Ireland defeated the West Indies by 4 wickets, chasing down 304 runs with 25 balls to spare.[83]
In their second match they beat the United Arab Emirates by two wickets with four balls to spare; the target was 279. Out of only five successful World Cup chases of 300 runs or more, Ireland have provided three.[84][85]
In May 2017, Ireland travelled to England to play a two-match ODI series for the first time, though they ended up losing both games.
Test status (2017–present)
In January 2012 Cricket Ireland chief executive Warren Deutrom publicly declared Ireland's ambition to play Test cricket by 2020. Their desire to achieve Test status was in part to stem the tide of Irish players using residency rules to switch to England for the opportunity to play Test cricket. Deutrom outlined the ambition as he unveiled the new strategic plan for Irish cricket to 2015. The plan set out a series of stretching goals including increasing the number of participants in the game to 50,000, setting a target of reaching 8th in the World rankings, establishing a domestic first-class cricket structure, and reinforcing cricket as the fifth most popular team sport in Ireland.[86][87]
Deutrom had already sent a letter to the ICC in 2009 stating his board's intention to apply for Full Membership – a potential pathway to Test cricket – and to seek clarification on the process.[88] Former Australian bowler Jason Gillespie said that if Ireland got Test status it "would be huge news in world cricket, and it would be a massive positive story for the world game".[89] Following Ireland's victory over the West Indies in the 2015 Cricket World Cup, former fast bowler Michael Holding said that the International Cricket Council should grant Ireland Test status immediately, saying "they need to be recognised now".[90] The ICC said in 2015 that Ireland would be granted Test status in 2019 should they win the 2015–17 ICC Intercontinental Cup and beat the 10th ranked Test nation in a four-match Test series in 2018.[91]
However, on 22 June 2017, after more than a decade of playing top-class international cricket, full ICC membership was granted to Ireland (along with Afghanistan) at an ICC meeting in London, thus making them the eleventh Test cricket team.[92] In October 2017, the ICC announced that Ireland's first Test match would be at home against Pakistan in May 2018.[93][94] Ireland played their first 'touring' Test in India in March 2019 against fellow newcomers Afghanistan, where they lost by 7 wickets. This was followed by a four-day Test match against England at Lord'sin July 2019.[95] According to the ICC Future Tours Programme for 2019–23, Ireland are scheduled to play sixteen Tests, but along with Afghanistan and Zimbabwe, are not included in the first two editions of the ICC World Test Championship.[96]
Ireland's second innings total was the lowest in Tests at Lord's, the seventh-lowest in Test cricket, and the lowest since South Africa were dismissed for 36 runs in the first innings of the fifth Test in Melbourne in 1932.[101]
In October 2019, Andrew Balbirnie was appointed Test and ODI captain and one month later, in November he also took over the captaincy of T20I from Gary Wilson, thus becoming all format captain for Ireland.[102]
On 16 January 2022, Ireland claimed their first away ODI series win over a fellow Test nation by beating the West Indies by two wickets at Sabina Park in Jamaica.[103] On 31 March 2023, Ireland claimed their first win against Bangladesh on Bangladeshi soil in the third match of their T20 three match series.[104] Ireland achieved their first-ever series win in Zimbabwe, after winning a three-match series 2-1 in December 2023.[105] The following week they followed up their T20 success with a 2-0 one-day international series victory, which was their first ODI series win in Zimbabwe.[106]
After losing their first seven tests, on 1 March 2024 Ireland won their first test defeating Afghanistan in Abu Dhabi by six wickets.[107]
A couple months after their first test victory, Ireland secured their first T20 victory over Pakistan in two attempts, winning by five wickets with one ball remaining.[108] In July 2024 Ireland beat Zimbabwe by four wickets at Stormont and recorded a second consecutive Test victory and a first on home soil.[109] In September 2024 Ross Adair's maiden century powered Ireland to their first T20 win over South Africa to share the series 1-1.[110] Ireland followed this up with a 69-run victory over South Africa in the final match of their ODI series, their second ever victory over South Africa in the ODI format.[111]
The Irish Cricket Union (ICU) – the governing body of Irish cricket – was officially founded in 1923, although its predecessor had been active since 1890.[26]
In common with a number of other Ireland sporting governing bodies, the Union was formed to represent cricket throughout the island of Ireland, rather than just the Republic of Ireland. In common with its counterparts for rugby union, rugby league and field hockey, the Union therefore does not use the Irish tricolor, but instead employs its own flag, which is used by such bodies as the International Cricket Council to represent the team and in ICC tournaments; "Ireland's Call" is used as the national anthem.[121][122]
In 2007, the ICU announced major changes to bring it into line with the main cricket governing bodies.[what were they?][123] After the World Cup, Irish cricket had poor results in the 2007 Friends Provident Trophy, as many players were unavailable. The Irish cricket team was an amateur side and most of the players had full-time jobs with commitments conflicting with cricket.[54]
Warren Deutrom, the chief executive of the ICU, has stated that it wants to "seek actively to place Irish players into top-level cricket, by developing relationships with [especially] county cricket which will incorporate appropriate player release for Irish international duty, and feeder systems for developing Irish cricketers".[123] The reorganised ICU sought closer links with the English county teams, to encourage the development of age group cricket, and to introduce a professional element into the Irish game. They also want to take the Ireland cricket team on winter tours more often.[123]
In an attempt to prevent the game losing players to counties or other commitments such as jobs, it was suggested that central contracts should be introduced.[124] This was done in June 2009, with the first two going to Trent Johnston and Alex Cusack.[73] The number of full-time contracts was expanded to six in January 2010 with support for a further nine players; the contracts were split into three categories.[125][126] In January 2012 the number of contracts was increased to 23, and coach Phil Simmons highlighted the process of becoming professional as an important factor in the team's success.[127]
Team colours
In Test matches, Ireland wears cricket whites, with the optional sweater or vest with a green v-neck with the Cricket Ireland logo on the centre. The shirts feature the Cricket Ireland logo on the right breast, the manufacturer logo on the sleeve and the sponsor logo on the left breast. The fielders wear a navy blue cricket cap or a white sunhat with the Cricket Ireland logo. The batsman helmets are coloured similarly.
In limited-overs cricket, Ireland wears an emerald green (in ODI) or lawn green (in T20) uniform with dark blue and white accents and feature the Cricket Ireland logo on the right breast, the sponsor logo on the centre and the manufacturer logo on the left breast. The fielders wear a dark blue baseball-style cap or sunhat.
Dark blue, sometimes referred to as 'presidential blue', taken from both the Irish Presidential seal and the Irish quarter of the British Royal coat of arms, is historically considered a secondary national colour of Ireland, and frequently appears along with green on the kit of all-island teams e.g. hockey and rugby union.
In ICC-regulated tournaments, the sponsor logo goes to the non-leading arm sleeve, making space for the inscription "IRELAND" written in white, on the centre section of the shirt.
The current kit supplier is Macron, who signed a four-year deal in April 2023.[128]
This lists all the active players who have played for Ireland in the past year (since 1 June 2023) and the forms in which they have played, or any players (in italics) outside this criterion who have been selected in the team's most recent squad. In addition, it includes all players contracted by Cricket Ireland in March 2023.[129]
^From the 2023 edition onwards, T20 World Cup Qualifier refers to the Regional Final of the ICC Europe region.
^The 2020 T20 World Cup was due to be held in Australia, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was delayed to 2021 and held in India. Australia held the 2022 T20 World Cup.
^Although the match was set to begin on 11 May, the first day was lost due to rain and play began on 12 May.
^ abWhile four days of play were scheduled for the one-off Test, the match reached a result in three days.
^Netherlands are a test nation in the women's game, but not yet in the men's. In the event Netherlands achieve full member status, they would, upon the men's team's first test, join Ireland in this category.
^Ireland secure European title, Cricinfo, 9 August 2006, archived from the original on 10 July 2012, retrieved 10 November 2008 Retrieved 10 November 2008.
^Martin Williamson (9 February 2007), Life is good beyond the Test world, Cricinfo, archived from the original on 17 October 2008, retrieved 10 November 2008 Retrieved 10 November 2008.
^ abAndrew McGlashan (1 September 2007), Tough at the top, Cricinfo, archived from the original on 4 September 2007, retrieved 10 November 2008 Retrieved 10 November 2008.
^S Rajesh and HR Gopalakrishna (15 March 2007), Bray makes it Ireland's day, Cricinfo, archived from the original on 25 March 2007, retrieved 5 November 2008 Retrieved 5 November 2008.
^Dileep Premachandran (17 March 2007), Shamrocks turn Pakistan green, Cricinfo, archived from the original on 20 March 2007, retrieved 5 November 2008 Retrieved 5 November 2008.
^Will Luke (23 March 2007), Chanderpaul hundred sinks Ireland, Cricinfo, archived from the original on 20 February 2009, retrieved 5 November 2008 Retrieved 5 November 2008.
^Ireland retain European title, Cricinfo, 31 July 2008, archived from the original on 11 July 2012, retrieved 4 November 2008 Retrieved 4 November 2008.
^ abWilliamson, Martin (31 December 2011), The Ireland story and others, Cricinfo, archived from the original on 10 January 2012, retrieved 25 January 2012
Townsend, David (2021). Do They Play Cricket in Ireland? The 25-year Journey to a Test Match at Lord's. Chichester, West Sussex, UK: Pitch Publishing. ISBN9781785318405.
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