The Irish Cricket Union is the governing body of the sport in Ireland, operating under the Cricket Ireland brand and organizes the international team. Ireland Cricket History.
Cricket has been played in Ireland since 1792. When the Irish Army and the Irish Gentlemen competed against each other in Phoenix Park.
Cricket was introduce to Ireland in the 19th century and the Irish team played its first match in 1855. Ireland toured Canada and the United States in the late 19th century, and occasionally hosted matches against visiting parties. The feud with the Scottish national cricket team began when the teams first played each other in 1888. Ireland’s first first-class match was play in 1902.

The Ireland cricket team represents all of Ireland. He competes internationally in Tests, ODIs and Twenty20s. He is the 11th full member of the International Cricket Council (ICC), which was given Test status on 22 June 2017, along with Afghanistan.

Ireland Cricket Team

In 1993, the Irish Cricket Union, the forerunner of Cricket Ireland, was elect to the ICC as an associate member. Associates are the next level of the team below Test cricketers. His success at the Intercontinental Cup and World Cup earned him the nickname “Leading Associate” and the intention to become a full member by 2020. This intention was fulfill in June 2017 when the ICC unanimously decided to give the award to Ireland. And full Test status for Afghanistan, which allows them to participate in Test matches. Ireland played its 1st ODI series against England in 2006.

Ireland first qualified for the Cricket World Cup in 2007, and have played in the 2011 and 2015 tournaments since then. He also qualified for the 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2014 World Twenty20 tournaments. Ireland also plays international cricket in the ICC Intercontinental Cup, which it has won four times since 2005, including the recent 2013 match.

History of Test Cricket

After more than 200 years of playing cricket, Ireland finally became a full member of the ICC in 2017 and became the 11th team in the Test format. Later in May 2018, Ireland hosted its first Test against Pakistan in which it lost by 5 wickets. Although they lost that match, the team’s leading bowler Tim Murtag shone in the series with 6 wickets in 2 innings. Kevin O’Brien scored 100 (118 off 217 balls) on his Test debut in the second innings of the match.
In March 2019, Ireland played its first touring Test in India against Afghanistan which resulted in its defeat. The team played its third Test against England in July 2019 on English soil and surprised everyone as it bowled out England for just 85 runs in the first innings. Tim Murtagh took his first 5 wickets for just 13 runs. Despite this, they failed to chase the 182-run target and were all out for just 38, taking them to eighth in the list of lowest total Tests. So far the team has played 3 Test matches and lost all three.

History of ODI Cricket

In 1980, Ireland started playing 50 over matches. He played in his first 50 overs match which was call the Gelatine Cup in England. It was officially the team’s first limited overs match. In 1993, the ICC allowed him to be a part of ICC Associates, and for the first time since the game was establish in the country, he was granted membership. The following year, they competed in their first ICC Trophy, finishing 7th out of 20 teams in the campaign. He worked hard to the best of his ability and returned strong enough to finish his campaign by qualifying for the semi-finals of the same tournament in 1997.

He tried to play in the ICC Cricket World Cup but failed in 1996, 1999 and 2003. Finally, after struggling in 3 World Cup qualifiers, they played their first World Cup match in the 2007 ICC World Cup. On Caribbean soil. Although West Indies and Pakistan were in his group, they managed to qualify for Super 8 in this edition and they knocked out Pakistan in the group stage. He finished 8th in the Super 8s. The team once again came to prominence in the next edition of the ICC World Cup which was play in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. He failed to reach the round of Super 8 but in a chase of 328 runs in Bangalore, he surprised everyone by defeating England in the group stage. Kevin O’Brien chased down a 50-ball century against England, the fastest century in World Cup history. Ireland Cricket History.

Best Performance

In the next edition of the World Cup, they chased down a target of 305 and beat the Windies in the group stage with the help of Paul Sterling’s 92 off 84 balls but to qualify for the 2019 ICC World Cup against England. I failed. Clay Ireland played its first ODI series against England in 2006 and has played 170 ODIs so far, winning 71 of them. Paul Sterling holds the record for most runs scored in an Irish ODI history.

In 131 matches played from 2008 to 2021, he scored 4874 runs in 128 innings for his country. He has 12 centuries and 26 half-centuries. Kevin O’Brien, who stunned everyone with his match-winning innings against England in the 2011 World Cup, is the country’s leading wicket-taker. He has taken 114 wickets in 56 matches since 2006. Ireland Cricket History.

History of T20 Cricket

When the new T20 format came along, the Irish Cricket Club tried to form a squad that fit the new format. And they succeeded in doing so in 2007. Although they tried to get a place in the inaugural T20 World Cup, they failed. Qualifier round in 2007. In 2009, they tried again and managed to stay in the top 8 after the group stage. In the next 4 consecutive World Cups in 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2016. They only managed to finish their campaign in the group stage.

Ireland played its first T20 match against Scotland in the 2008-2009 World T20 qualifiers. He has played a total of 101 T20 matches and won 42 times. In this format too, Paul Sterling is the team’s leading run-scorer and has so far scored 18 half-centuries, scoring 2167 runs at an average of 29.28 in 81 matches. He is the 6th fastest player to score 2000 runs in T20I format. And the second highest run scorer in a calendar year. He scored 748 runs in T20 while playing for his team in 2019.

All-rounder Kevin O’Brien is the only player to score 100 runs in this format for Ireland. And has an unbeaten record. The most ducks in the T20 format (12). Currently, the Irish team is rank 13th in the ICC T20 rankings. And will play in the qualifiers for this year’s T20 World Cup. Ireland Cricket History.

Summary

Ireland has always played in the shadow of England. They even lost one of their best limited overs players from England. Who is now the captain of their ODI team – Ian Morgan. Ironically, it has been the England cricket team that has caused the most distress on the big stage. Such as the 2011 World Cup defeat in India. Despite strong performances over the years, many feel they have been give Test status too late. And yet have few opportunities to play at Test level. Hopefully that will change soon. For more details click here