Cruicéad
May 11, 2018 1:39 AM   Subscribe

The historic Ireland v Pakistan Test Match at Malahide today makes a dream come true. Cricket Ireland has all the information. Wikipedia explanation.
posted by Segundus (19 comments total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
It's freezing, literally blowing a gale and raining on and off in Malahide so I wouldn't bank on this going ahead.
posted by GallonOfAlan at 1:42 AM on May 11, 2018 [1 favorite]


It's great that guys like the O'Brien brothers, Porterfield and Joyce get to play test cricket, such a shame that it's only coming at the end of their careers. What does the pipeline for younger players look like? Anyone decent coming through?
posted by Pink Frost at 1:53 AM on May 11, 2018 [1 favorite]


Ah well. Who could have foreseen that a cricket match in Ireland might be threatened by rain?
posted by Segundus at 3:35 AM on May 11, 2018 [2 favorites]


For this and other cricket fixtures, Cricbuzz gives a very decent ball-by-ball update that you can have running in a discreet browser window so your boss doesn't notice.
posted by Hogshead at 4:31 AM on May 11, 2018 [1 favorite]


Yeah they did what they could, putting the match on during statistically the driest, sunniest time of the year, and it still looks like it'll rain for 4 of the 5 planned test days. This is a country where we had a forest fire warning last weekend because it didn't rain for 3 days straight. An a country where the national weather service defines the highest level of drought, "absolute drought", as 15 consecutive dry days.

I hope there is some play for Cricket Ireland's sake. They've spend €1 million on a 6,000 seater "popup stadium" but have sold broadcast rights of €1.8 million for the summer's matches. I hope they're insured for a washout.
posted by kersplunk at 5:09 AM on May 11, 2018 [1 favorite]


Good luck finding a doctor in Dublin.
posted by pracowity at 5:42 AM on May 11, 2018


Good luck finding a doctor in Dublin.

God yeah, as a Nordie who spends most of my life commuting I'm thankful every day The Brits! imposed the NHS on us.
posted by Damienmce at 6:24 AM on May 11, 2018


Day one abandoned.
posted by hawthorne at 7:33 AM on May 11, 2018


We’re a tiny country which already has Gaelic games, football, and rugby competing for national attention and athletes. I applaud the ambition here but even rowing seems to be more popular and have more interest in Dublin, so this gamble seems ill-advised even without the weather issues. Especially as the push is here - as far as I can see - to get more attention for women’s sports.

And that’s without the legacy issues of how cricket has been traditionally seen here not just as English but as super elite... I would be astonished if there was any large market here to be tapped.
posted by lesbiassparrow at 12:56 AM on May 12, 2018


I don’t know: I think this all shows that cricket can be a way of forging friendships with countries like Pakistan in a way that Gaelic sports can’t. And most cricketing countries take the view that the sport’s English roots just make it an ideal vehicle for humiliating England. Surely the idea of an Irish team kicking English arse at England’s own game has a certain appeal?
posted by Segundus at 2:38 AM on May 12, 2018


Incidentally, the fact that this is an all-Ireland team makes it only the third test cricket side to represent a national entity which does not correspond with a political state. I leave you to spot the other two.
posted by Segundus at 2:40 AM on May 12, 2018 [1 favorite]


Surely the idea of an Irish team kicking English arse at England’s own game has a certain appeal?

I think we have rugby for that. And football, but we're terrible at that at the moment, so rugby it is.

It's just that there aren't that many of us, and we already have a lot of sports, and unless something miraculous happening, I can't see cricket getting the traction it needs in terms of sponsorship or repeating audience. Selling this out is great, but American football with college teams can also sell out large stadiums on their odd visits, and I don't see that as a sign of any long-term or sustained interest.
posted by lesbiassparrow at 4:37 AM on May 12, 2018


Also I do feel that they got a bit unlucky in their timing of the test: it's hard to get on the news here what with our massive health care scandal, brexit and the eurovision all competing for time and attention.
posted by lesbiassparrow at 4:41 AM on May 12, 2018


Ireland struggling with Pakistan's swing: they're 5/36 after Pakistan's 9dec/ 308.
posted by hawthorne at 6:18 AM on May 13, 2018


Looks like they’re going to want the rain back...
posted by Segundus at 7:18 AM on May 13, 2018


And Pakistan will have to bat again. For a country's first test, that's a kind of victory.
posted by hawthorne at 7:23 AM on May 14, 2018


Yeah, 319 for 7? This ain’t over yet...
posted by Segundus at 12:50 PM on May 14, 2018 [1 favorite]


Hooley dooley, it's on. Pak 3/14 needing a further 146.
posted by hawthorne at 4:11 AM on May 15, 2018


Pakistan win by 5 wickets. I don’t think Ireland are going to feel bad at all, though.
posted by Segundus at 7:47 AM on May 15, 2018 [1 favorite]


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