IN FOCUS – Ireland two wins away from a World Cup berth

The Irish team are set to play a set of crucial matches in the Netherlands in the first two weeks of July. They will take on the Dutch firstly in a four-day ICC Intercontinental Cup game at Deventer from July 1-4, followed by two very important ICC World Cricket League ODI matches at Amsterdam […]

SPECIALS – Ireland’s finest ODI wins

If there is one Associate nation today that reminds us time and again of its capability of being a full member, it is Ireland. After years of second-class treatment to cricket, shunned for being an English sport, the Irishmen finally made their international debut in 2006, and have quickly risen to become, by far, […]

REVIEW – Ireland’s youngsters impress in defeat

Attacking cricket and positive captaincy from both the sides ensured a result in the four-day game between Ireland and Australia A at Belfast even though only 16 overs were possible on Day 2. In the end, it was Australia A who triumphed late yesterday, the final day, by a margin of 93 runs. […]

VIEWPOINT – Time is ripe for a meaningful ODI league

The ongoing Champions Trophy is the seventh and last edition of this tournament, which initially started off in 1998 as a promising knock-out competition to help raise funds for the global development of cricket, but ultimately became a liability in the cricket calendar. Usually held every two years, the 2013 edition is instead being […]

IN FOCUS – Exciting Australian challenge ahead for Ireland

Following their so-near-yet-so-close ODI series against Pakistan, Ireland now are set to face Australia ‘A’ in a four-day first class match from June 14-17 at Stormont. The ‘A’ team will have at least six players who are part of the Ashes squad, and will be led by the Australian vice captain Brad Haddin. While […]

VIEWPOINT – Ireland’s season of opportunities

In the 2013 season, Ireland are all set to take some major steps towards reaching their long-term dream of attaining Test status by 2020. Easily the most impressive and consistent of all non-Test playing countries, the spirited ‘Boys in Green’ will be looking to make the most of every opportunity that comes their way in this extremely crucial […]

Who Would Have Thought It – Dutchmen pull off a coup

The year was 1964 and Australia had just won the Ashes 1-0, the sole victory coming in the third Test at Headingley – the game in which Peter Burge famously scored 160 to help Australia win by seven wickets. Towards the end of the tour, the Australians hopped over to the Netherlands to play […]

Specials – Kenya’s finest ODI wins

The 2003 World Cup was memorable in many respects, but nothing could match the amazing feat of Kenya, who became the first ever Associate nation to enter a World Cup semi-final. Buoyed by wins over Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe and a lucky forfeiture by New Zealand, the spirited African nation defied all odds […]

VIEWPOINT – The case for the non-Test nations

The Irish veteran Trent Johnston recently lashed out at all those who refer to the non-Test playing nations as ‘minnows’, a term which he feels is deriding to all developing teams. Johnston’s grudge was that teams like Bangladesh and Zimbabwe refuse to play teams like Ireland and Afghanistan, and went on to cite that […]

VIEWPOINT – The Irish conundrum

The International Cricket Council (ICC) are always trying hard to make us believe that they are constantly striving hard to develop the game, and spread it to all the corners of the world. They take pride in announcing development programs, which, we would all like to believe, are actually for the betterment of the […]