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For years, Ireland have been the underdogs of the cricketing world, playing the best sides on the planet, usually being defeated by heavy margins, but slowly and surely getting better.
Then on Monday Irish cricket reached a turning point, defeating the West Indies in a convincing manner.
Throughout the years of the ICC Cricket World Cup and T20 World Cups, teams such as Ireland, the Netherlands and Kenya have fought and clawed victories against larger, full-member nations.
These wins have seemed to be flukes, with not many performances to back up that one victory. This win for Ireland seemed different though. It was as though they had come not only to win, but to assert themselves to the rest of the cricketing world as proper threats in the competition.
They played brilliantly against the Windies, out-bowling, batting and fielding them, and if it was not for the stand of 154 between Darren Sammy and Lendl Simmons for the sixth wicket partnership, and the follow-up partnership of 61 from Simmons and Andre Russell, Ireland would have been chasing under 150.
Ireland have a wealth of talent under their belt, with William Poterfield, Kevin and Niall O’Brien, Ed Joyce, Paul Stirling and John Mooney playing well for the Irish, and young stars coming through the ranks thanks to a strong system. They are not small fish in a large pond anymore, proving they have everything they need to compete at international level.
It has also been confirmed that if they win the ICC Intercontinental Cup they will gain status as a Test playing nation by 2019. This would be a huge stepping stone for Irish cricket, with Ireland’s own stars staying in Ireland to play cricket for their country, rather than going to ply their trade in the English county system, and potentially the Test team, such as Eoin Morgan has done.
It would reaffirm their status as a proper cricketing nation, and with the strong support of their government, Ireland could forge a rich cricketing history. Irish cricket is slowly rising through the ranks, and this ICC World Cup just may their launching pad from cricketing minnows to legitimate contenders for a quarter-final berth.
Ireland is a powerhouse among the minnows of world cricket, and it may not be long before they become a strong Test team, fighting for a place alongside Zimbabwe and Bangladesh.
The luck of the Irish is oddly not even apparent in Ireland’s rise to cricketing fame; dedication and hard work will catapult them to Test status.
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