Afghanistan, Ireland get Test status
/
0 Comments
Afghanistan, Ireland get Test status
Afghanistan and Ireland have been approved as Full
Members by the ICC, meaning they have become cricket's 11th and 12th Test-playing nations. This was signed
off on by the ICC Board in London on Thursday, during the ICC's AGM.
Afghanistan and Ireland's boards had applied to the ICC
to have their status upgraded from Associates, and this was put to vote at the
meeting on Thursday and unanimously supported.
Ireland
first gained ODI status in 2005 after finishing runners-up in the ICC Trophy
tournament, which they hosted, to gain their first World Cup berth. Two years
later they scored a shock upset of
Pakistan on St Patrick's Day in Jamaica and they've never looked back,
qualifying for two subsequent World Cups in which they defeated England and West Indies to
further press their case that they could maintain competitiveness with other
Test nations.
"Test cricket is the pinnacle, it's the best. Not being able to
play Tests was the reason cited by some players, who weren't able to achieve
that career fulfilment with Ireland, as the reason they went to
England," Cricket Ireland chief executive Warren Deutrom said.
"That reason is now removed, we can play Tests ourselves. Who can say for
certain that players won't leave in the future, but that can't be the reason
for it now."
Afghanistan's rise has been even sharper having first gained
ODI status in 2009 with a sixth-place finish at that year's World Cup Qualifier
in South Africa. It followed three consecutive promotions over the previous year
when they began in Division Five of the World CricketLeague. Like Ireland, they have demonstrated the talent
to stand toe-to-toe with Full Member nations, securing three straight ODI and
T20I series wins over Zimbabwe as well as a win over eventual champion West
Indies at the 2016 World T20. Most
recently they drew their maiden ODI series in
West Indies.
"Another
day that we can lock in our history and be proud," Shafiq Stanikzai, ACB
chief executive, said, adding there was still more work to be done. "Every
achievement is great, but it opens the door to challenges. We'll be hosting our
international matches in Greater Noida and Sharjah, there should be a day when
we can host inside Afghanistan."
The vote is not just
an endorsement of each country's respective on-field talents but a seal of
approval for efforts made in recent years to build up their domestic
structures. In the last three years, both countries have started a multi-day
competition with each receiving first-class designation from the ICC in the
last year, a harbinger of Thursday's Full Member affirmation.
Since
2005, both countries have demonstrated their readiness for five-day cricket through their dominance in the Intercontinental
Cup, the ICC's first-class competition for Associates. Ireland has won four of
the last five editions, with Afghanistan interrupting that streak with a victory in
the 2010 tournament. The two sides currently sit in the top-two spots in the
current edition of the competition, Afghanistan holding a one-point lead after securing an innings victory at
Greater Noida over Ireland earlier this year.
Afghanistan have only lost once in the 20
Intercontinental Cup matches they've played, that coming in the 2013 final to Ireland.
Ireland's record is just as enviable, with 24 wins, three losses and 10 draws
in 37 matches. But they will now be leaving that competition behind at the end
of the year, with the door to Test cricket now wide open to them.