‘Significant investment needed’ for Ireland’s progress in Tests
Warren Deutrom, Chief Executive of Cricket Ireland admitted that financial issues have forced them to scrap the proposed Future Tour Programme (FTP) which included a five-match T20I series against Afghanistan and a one-off tie against Bangladesh. Ireland, after gaining Test status in 2017 have played three matches so far. The official feels that the board needs ‘significant investment’ for Ireland to progress in the Test arena.
"We were proud to become world cricket's 11th Test playing nation and have a long-term commitment to that format of the game. Both fans and players alike have enjoyed the spectacle of Ireland competing in the Test arena, however we have been very careful in our approach to Test cricket and understand that it is a long-term proposition to build up a competitive side in the long game, and will require significant investment in permanent infrastructure before we can make regular Test cricket financially sustainable," stated Deutrom.
He further added that they have always been public about their financial constraints, especially the money that was spent during Ireland’s transition from an Associate Member to a full member. But their first priority will be to gain a foothold on the white ball formats rather than Test cricket.
“We have additionally been very open about the financial and resource constraints that we operate within, and especially a number of financial headwinds that we have faced as we transition from an Associate Member to the operations required of a Full Member. The first area of prioritisation for 2020, has been white-ball cricket over red ball,” added the official.
Ireland is scheduled to host Bangladesh, New Zealand and Pakistan before their tour to England. Deutrom further mentioned that Irish cricket fans would love to see their team in all three formats, but the lack of funds will let that happen any time soon. Along the same lines, they had to cancel the home test match in 2020.
"Like all Irish cricket fans, we would love nothing more than to be competing on all three fronts - Tests, ODIs, and T20Is. Unfortunately, our financial constraints have led us to cut the home Test match next year,” said Deutrom.
