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The omens were not good as Ireland made their entrance to the Test arena on a spring day six years ago.
As I walked to the picturesque Malahide Village ground just north of Dublin, the sky was filling with cricket’s mortal enemy – the dreaded steel grey clouds that bring only misery.
The rain began to fall – we sat twiddling our thumbs in the press box, the Irish and Pakistan players occasionally gazed up in a forlorn search for a speck of blue and a few spectators could be spotted cowering under their brollies in the temporary stands.
Puddles littered the outfield as it just kept coming down and eventually the first day was abandoned to the frustration of everyone, including the burger and snack sellers expecting a bumper windfall.
The party-pooping deluge was hardly a surprise in a land where you’re lucky to enjoy two or three dry days on the trot, but Cricket Ireland fought long and hard for Test status and they were eventually awarded Full Member status in 2017.
Ireland’s entry to the sport’s elite was heralded with much fanfare but it’s been a slow-burner with only eight Tests since 2018.
Financial restraints – along with inherent weather concerns – have seen Cricket Ireland plump for T20s and ODIs over a format in decline, relentlessly eroded by the ever growing popularity and supremacy of the white-ball game.
Pakistan went on to beat Ireland in that inaugural Test match and six more defeats were to follow for the newcomers before Friday’s breakthrough six-wicket success over Afghanistan in Abu Dhabi.
It was always going to be a long road for a team who only occasionally don the whites and therefore struggle to adapt to the exacting qualities required to be competitive over five days.
Ireland sniffed a shock victory over England at Lords in 2019, needing 182 in the second innings for a momentous win but it was not to be as they were skittled out for a mere 38.
Patience has been the watchword from the Irish camp after each defeat and the history of Test cricket shows just how long it can take to notch up a maiden win.
New Zealand had to wait all of 45 games before tasting victory, while it’s hard to believe it took mighty India 24 matches, and it was 12 for South Africa.
So not bad at all from Ireland despite their first win coming against a side who are also newbies to the Test ranks.
Renowned as short-form giant killers over the past two decades, Ireland can now finally celebrate a red-ball success.
Afghanistan set a victory target of 111 and the Irish were struggling at 39-4 before captain Andrew Balbirnie guided the tourist home with an unbeaten 58.
It was fitting that a player who has ridden the highs and lows in Irish cricket for so long made the decisive impact and he hopes it will prove an inspirational win.
“There’s a lot of talk in world cricket at the moment about the relevance of Test cricket but you ask this group how special this is and it’s right up there,” he said.
“I think it’s a lot bigger than cricket – hopefully we’ll inspire some people back home to be Test match cricketers and hopefully we can back them up to do that.
“We have to look at how busy the schedule is as there’s a lot of cricket going on. We’re not going to get 10-15 Tests a year but that’s fine.
“However, when we do get that opportunity we’re going to our best to create a result and create history. We’ve done that now and we’ve got that monkey off our back – it’s very special to be part of the group to do that.”
By Alvin McCaig
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