5 things that show that Ireland belong to Test cricket

Ireland began their Test journey by losing against Pakistan in Dublin. Ireland put Pakistan to bat first and were off to a good start by dismissing the openers quickly.

However, fifties from debutant Faheem Ashraf, Shadab Khan, and Asad Shafiq helped Pakistan reach 310/9.

In reply, the Irish were struggling at 7/4 but scores of 40 and 33 from Kevin O'Brien and Gary Wilson took them to 130.

Pakistan enforced the follow-on and Ireland had to bat again. However, this time they had Kevin O'Brien scoring a hundred and Stuart Thompson scoring 53 which helped them reach 339.

Pakistan needed 160 to win the match and chased down the total with 5 wickets to spare.

Ireland may have lost the match but their overall performance wasn't bad. There were some sparks shown by Ireland which showed that they were deserving of their Test status. Here are 5 things that show that Ireland belong to Test cricket.

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#5. Taking the match to the final day

Of course, it's not a very tough task to take a Test match to Day 5 but for Ireland who became full members of the ICC just a few months and do not have a very strong cricketing background, it is a pretty commendable thing to do on your Test debut.

Despite the first day being washed out, Ireland had every chance of losing the match before Day 5. For starters, their first innings came to an end very quickly. Their second innings could also have wound up quickly as they were 157/6 at a point but thanks to a certain partnership, they were able to take the match to the final day.

#4. The partnerships

O'Brien and Thompson added a fine partnership of 114

Ireland did not have many brilliant partnerships throughout the Test match but during the second innings, they had some pretty decent partnerships which were crucial for the team during the respective phases of the innings.

Trailing by 180 runs, the Irish needed a good start to the second innings and they got off to a good start thanks to the temperamental batting by openers William Porterfield and Ed Joyce.

The pair batted with calm and poise as they faced the Pakistan bowling attack. The duo added 69 runs for the first wicket before Joyce was dismissed for 32.

After the fall of the first wicket, the Irish began to lose wickets at quick intervals and were 157/6. At this stage, Kevin O'Brien and Stuart Thompson added 114 runs for the second wicket to keep Ireland in a decent position.

Provided the Irish produce similar partnerships in further Tests, their future in the format is bright.

#3. Getting early breakthroughs in both innings

Murtagh gave the Irish a couple of early wickets

Getting early wickets is very important in cricket regardless of the format. For a team like Ireland who were up against a stronger side in every aspect of the game, getting early wickets was crucial for them and they did get some.

In the first innings, Ireland dismissed both of Pakistan's openers thanks to Tim Murtagh and Boyd Rankin. Pakistan were 13/2 at that time.

In the second innings, Ireland had just 161 runs to defend. In the very first over, Murtagh dismissed Azhar Ali. Then in the fourth over, Rankin got rid of Haris Sohail before Murtagh shattered Asad Shafiq's off-stump in the following over. Pakistan were 14/3.

Provided the Ireland bowlers cash on their good starts in further Tests, then they could be a force to be reckoned with.

#2. The performances by Kevin O'Brien, Stuart Thompson and Tim Murtagh

Kevin O'Brien was terrific

Ireland lost their first Test but they had some very fine individual performances with both bat and ball in both innings.

Tim Murtagh was the pick of the Irish bowlers throughout the match. He took 4/45 in the first innings and two of his scalps were crucial wickets- Babar Azam and Shadab Khan who scored 55.

In the second innings, Murtagh picked two early wickets, dismissing Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq.

Kevin O'Brien was Ireland's star of the game. He scored 40 in the first innings before scoring a brilliant 118 in the second innings. He also took a wicket with the ball in the second innings.

Stuart Thompson was one of Ireland's best players throughout the match. He picked up three wickets with the ball in the first innings and conceded 62 runs from 22 overs. Thompson picked up one wicket in the second innings.

With the bat, Thompson failed to deliver in the first innings but scored a fine 53 in the second innings.

Such impressive individual performances show that Ireland can be a good fit in Test cricket.

#1. The ability of the players to adjust to the longevity of the format

Ireland

were

able to adjust to the longevity of Tests

The most important thing about Tests is longevity, the ability of the batsmen to stay in the crease for a good period of time and the bowlers bowling consistently for a good number of overs.

Many of the Irish bowlers like Tim Murtagh, Boyd Rankin, Tyrone Kane and Stuart Thompson were able to bowl more than 20 overs in the first innings.

The Irish batsmen were able to stay on the crease for quite some time during the second innings. Kevin O'Brien stayed in the crease for nearly 6 hours while Ed Joyce batted for more than 3 hours. The likes of Stuart Thompson, William Porterfield, and Tyrone Kane batted for more than two hours.

Adjusting to the longevity of the format is paramount in Test cricket and the Irish players showed glimpses of that in their first Test match. Hence, it is safe to say that Ireland can show longevity and all the previously mentioned in their further Tests.

To sum it all up, Ireland do belong to Test cricket.