5 reasons why Ireland should have received Test status earlier

#5 Their many successes

Kevin O’Brian took down England single-handedly in Ireland’s famous win in the 2011 World Cup

While one may know the Irish team for the occasional successes versus top teams, their men’s, women’s and youth teams have performed consistently at the associates level for years. Their performances, which have since declined (they’re ranked 18th in T20I cricket, below Papua New Guinea and Hong Kong), were better than Bangladesh’s and Zimbabwe’s at the same point in their development.

They did more, with less, than other countries and the commitment they showed in meeting their goals was enough for the ICC to show enough confidence in them to promote them to the highest stage. Let us all hope, for the sake of cricket, that it is not too late.