Big picture: Test debut for Northern Ireland With its lush, green outfield and the iconic Stormont Estate situated behind it, the Civil Service Cricket Ground in Belfast is a picturesque addition to the list of Test grounds. On Thursday, when Ireland take on Zimbabwe, it will become the 123rd venue […]
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Pakistan and Ireland await a damp finish in Florida
Ireland vs PakistanJune 16, Lauderhill, Florida, 10:30am local time Big picture: An end to two disappointing campaigns There are parties you don’t want to be at, and parties the host doesn’t want you at. And then there are parties no one wants to be at. Pakistan and Ireland find themselves […]
Rainy Florida awaits confident USA and demoralised Ireland
USA vs IrelandJune 14, Lauderhill, 10.30am local time Big picture – Weather likely to end Ireland and Pakistan’s hopes Florida is in the midst of a tropical disturbance that has brought intense rainfall. And there’s no respite for the remainder of the week. A flash-flood emergency in the region threatens […]
Test fledglings square off as Ireland, Afghanistan look to enhance red-ball credentials
Big picture – A rare Test for Afghanistan and Ireland Six-and-a-half years ago, these two sides were awarded Full Member status, but aside from the financial perks that brings, that promotion for Ireland and Afghanistan has seemed little more than theoretical. Neither side is part of the World Test Championship; […]
Root manouevres add intrigue to pre-World Cup oddity
Big picture: Back to the margins It’s no slight on the visitors, honest. But here we are again, all the same. Just as Ireland opened England’s international season at Lord’s back in June, with a contest so translucent that both teams found themselves peering straight through it towards more pressing […]
Australia must be on their guard against buoyant Ireland
Big picture While not yet certain, it feels as though this group is becoming a race for the second semi-final spot after New Zealand made a further statement with their big win over Sri Lanka. If that is indeed the case, then Australia and Ireland are firmly in that tussle. […]
Afghanistan and Ireland set to renew old rivalry at Super 12s
Big picture On geographical terms, Afghanistan and Ireland are perhaps two of the most peculiar rivals across cricket, but the intensity of this rivalry was borne out of a battle for Associate supremacy throughout the 2010s before both sides were elevated to Test status in 2017. Whether locked in a […]
Confident Ireland will look for another big result as they face injury-hit Sri Lanka
Big picture Both teams have arrived in the Super 12s with a bit of confidence, but also knowing they must still prove themselves in this phase of the tournament. For Ireland, a victory here would be their second successive giant-killing act – the feather of another former T20 World Cup […]