FULL MEMBERSHIP
CELTIC MANORS
Seven years on since they became a Full Member nation of the ICC, Ireland continues to face numerous funding and infrastructural challenges. With Scotland edging ever closer towards a position where full membership could be an option for them, Nathan Johns, formerly of the Irish Times, outlines the risks and potential pitfalls, and calls on English cricket to do more to help their two closest neighbours
NATHAN JOHNS
Freelance cricket writer, formerly Irish Times cricket correspondent
Stormont, hosting an ODI in 2015. The costs associated with putting on international cricket in Ireland has restricted them to just two Tests ever on home soil
When recent news broke of Zimbabwe receiving a touring fee upon landing on England’s shores next year, frustrated responses from administrators in Dublin and the Caribbean could be forgiven.
Zimbabwe will play a one-off Test in England in 2025. When Ireland did similar at Lord’s last year, no such fee was offered. Nor was it to the West Indies who tripled that number of Tests during their tour this summer.
Jealousy aside, England’s newfound generosity is a case of ECB chief executive Richard Gould acting on his public utterances. For much of his 18 months in charge of English cricket, he has spoken out against the disparity in revenue earned by ICC Full Member nations. The realisation that England, one of the rare countries with a fan base hungry for Test cricket, needs more teams who can give them a good game beyond India and Australia has hit home.
Gould’s announcement should be the first step of many. Zimbabwe are not only a tour fee away from fielding a team capable of challenging England on their own patch. Neither are the countries closer to home for England, though geography should play a major role in the longer-term plan to preserve Test cricket in a region where it remains popular.