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Cricket Across The Irish Sea Essay

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What lies ahead for cricket across the Irish Sea? By Sandipan Banerjee Ireland may be one of the two newest Test playing nations the cricketing world right now but the sport has a deep-rooted association with the island across the Irish Sea. The first ever formal cricket match was played in this country back in 1792, when the Military of Ireland and the Gentlemen of Ireland took each other at the Phoenix Park in Dublin –– a match, considered to be one of the oldest by the cricket historians. By the middle of the 19th century, cricket emerged as the most popular sport in the island. Then came the dark era of Irish cricket. With the emergence of nationalist movement and Gaelic games, cricket suffered the most. It was projected as a …show more content…

The amount is not even half of what Zimbabwe, the lowest ranked Test team (Before June 22, 2017 when ICC provided Test status and full-membership to Ireland and Afghanistan) is getting (annually $93 million). Additionally Ireland will be included in the new 13-team One-Day International (ODI) league, providing guaranteed fixtures against top nations. This means, Cricket Ireland will now have a package of matches which they can sell to broadcasters and commercial sponsors in order to be financially stronger. According to Warren Deutrom, the chief executive of Cricket Ireland, these new developments could double Ireland’s annual turnover. The extra cash has to be invested in grassroots development and in improving the domestic structure (which is already better than a few existing full-members like Zimbabwe and Bangladesh) of men’s and women’s cricket. The authorities also have to address the issue of player migration, which many consider as the primary problem of Irish cricket. Following the recent financial upgrades, Cricket Ireland will soon be in a position to pay country’s leading professional cricketers significantly so that the tendency of heading towards English County cricket can be controlled. Even the cricketers with an Irish origin, who are playing at the domestic circuit of Australia, can now seriously think about coming back to Ireland, if the board offers well paid off deals. In Ireland, cricket may not be the most popular sport,

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