A few days ago it was announced to the cricketing world that Ireland and Afghanistan were granted Test match status by the International Cricket Council (ICC), taking the number of countries playing at the pinnacle of cricket from ten to twelve. Both countries were confirmed as full members after a unanimous vote at an ICC meeting during its annual conference in London last Thursday.
Despite the huge success of the shorter format of the game, most notably T20 matches, Test cricket, as many would know, is regarded as the sport’s supreme format. Every cricket playing nation hopes to reach Test status someday. In fact the game’s governing body lays out strict criteria which must be achieved over a period of time before Test status is awarded. Bangladesh was previously the last country to be granted Test status in 2000.
After much toiling, Afghanistan and Ireland have now joined an exclusive club that also includes founder members Australia and England, who played the first Test match at Melbourne in 1877, South Africa, New Zealand, the West Indies, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe.
As alluded to earlier, for Ireland and Afghanistan to have achieved Test status they both have had to overcome tremendous obstacles in their journey to the game’s supreme format. Many believe that Afghanistan’s story is among the most extraordinary in international sport this century. According to a recent article in The Economist, cricket first took hold among Afghan refugees who had fled the Afghan-Soviet War to Pakistan during the 1980s. It was reported that they played with tennis balls or, if these could not be located, sticks and plastic bags wrapped up to make balls. Also, the governing body for cricket in Afghanistan was founded in 1995 by a returning refugee.
In 2004, a team largely made up of refugees who had learned the game in Pakistan played their first official international match. They qualified for their first World Twenty20 in 2010, and played in their first World Cup in 2015.
Similarly, Ireland have struggled and have had their fair share of challenges. Ireland have steadily progressed in the game and first qualified for the World Cup in 2007 when they pulled off a shock win over Pakistan; they have qualified for both World Cups since. Ireland first gained ODI status in 2005 after finishing runners-up in the ICC Trophy tournament.
Afghanistan’s rise has been even sharper having first gained ODI status in 2009 with a sixth-place finish at that year’s World Cup Qualifier in South Africa. It followed three consecutive promotions over the previous year when they began in Division Five of the World Cricket League. As stated by ESPNCricinfo, like Ireland, they have demonstrated the talent to stand toe-to-toe with Full Member nations, securing three straight ODI and T20I series wins over Zimbabwe as well as a win over eventual champion West Indies at the 2016 World T20. Most recently they drew their maiden ODI series in West Indies.
According to ESPNCricinfo, since 2005, both countries have demonstrated their readiness for Test cricket through their dominance in the Intercontinental Cup, the ICC’s first-class competition for Associates. Ireland have won four of the last five editions, with Afghanistan interrupting that streak with a victory in the 2010 tournament. According to official rankings, the two sides currently sit in the top-two spots in the current edition of the competition with Afghanistan holding a one-point lead after securing an innings victory at Greater Noida over Ireland earlier this year.
The ICC has noted that the decision to grant Test status was not just an endorsement of each country’s respective on-field talents but a seal of approval for efforts made in recent years to build up their domestic structures. Both teams have come a far way and fully deserve accolades. For many associated with cricket in Afghanistan and Ireland — players, staff, coaches, volunteers and fans —achieving Test status was a very historic and proud moment – one which at times never seemed highly unlikely.
