Ireland and Afghanistan Test Watch (2018-2023)

[Kriterion_BD]

Just days away from having some brand new Test playing teams. I've been waiting for this day for almost a decade now. I just wish Bangladesh had scheduled some matches against them (we only have 3 in the proposed FTP in 4 years).

My personal prediction. Ireland probably don't have the quality to compete at this level with their current lineup. I think their bowling, both pace and spin, are extremely weak, although they may be able to do well on green tracks at home. Their batting is OK, and with all the rain they get, they will draw a lot of matches that they otherwise wouldn't.

Afghanistan have a decent bowling attack, with world class spinners. Pace attack will be overly reliant on Dawlat, as the rest of their fast bowlers are either trundlers (Gulbadin, Naveen, Mirwais) or not good enough (Shapoor). Their batting is the weakpoint. Shahzad is a hack, and only Rehmat and Nabi are of Test quality. They probably have more depth in uncapped domestic players or guys who haven't played much so far (Javed Ahmadi, Usman Ghani), but their selectors seem hell bent of picking tried and true failures like Stanikzai until they retire from old age.

The main thing I want to see is how they do vis a vis Bangladesh in their early years. Both teams are better than BD in 2000 (Ireland's batting is stronger, and Afghanistan's bowling is stronger), and it took Bangladesh a long time to get our first results against top sides.

We lost 22 Tests vs Top 9 teams before our first genuine draw (in the West Indies in 2004). Although we were likely robbed of a first win in Pakistan in 2003 when Rashid Latif claimed a catch off the turf. We went another 41 Tests before our 2nd genuine draw (38 losses, 3 rain affected draws) in Sri Lanka in 2013. A few close losses in that period but mostly just got outclassed. Another 12 before our first real win at home vs England in 2016. All totaled, that is 78 Tests before our first genuine win. Wow! That is an atrocious record, and I really can't see Uganda taking more games to win a Test, let alone Afghanistan or Ireland!

Data from here: http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine ... ew=results

[Jemisi]

I am keen too

[Kriterion_BD]

I am keen too

Cuz you’re a stats whore like me lol.

Looks like India will be sending an A team. As many as 8 first string players will be rested.

[jaybro]

I feel that Ireland will take their Test Status very seriously but I think Afghanistan are more interested in t20 cricket, makes sense as their is more money and opportunity for their players and they have 2 world class t20 spinners in their side.

Not sure how Rashid will go in tests but I'm pretty confident Mujeeb won't have the same amount of success

[Kriterion_BD]

Yeah I don't think Mujeeb is anything special. Though he's done superbly in the IPL so far, so I might be wrong. Rashid will do well in Tests. They also have a Zahir Khan, another 19 yo wrist-spinner (chinaman) who ripped through the Irish in their IC Cup match. Nabi is very decent as well. They will struggle with batting and pace bowling.

[Kriterion_BD]

India have named a pretty strong (for Afghanistan) side. Only Kohli, Bhuvi, and Bumrah miss out (and Bumrah is questionable over Shami, Umesh, Ishant IMO).

Afghanistan have a solid spin attack - the only part of their ensemble that is Test class at the moment. India are weak players of spin (when the ball turns), so even on a flat track I reckon the AFGs have enough to be able to bowl India out once. The problem is even on flat track, I don't see the AFGs scoring much more than 400 across both innings. If it doesn't rain, AFG will almost surely lose by an innings.

[Jemisi]

I am keen too

Cuz you’re a stats whore like me lol.

Looks like India will be sending an A team. As many as 8 first string players will be rested.

[Kriterion_BD]

I feel that Ireland will take their Test Status very seriously but I think Afghanistan are more interested in t20 cricket, makes sense as their is more money and opportunity for their players and they have 2 world class t20 spinners in their side.

Not sure how Rashid will go in tests but I'm pretty confident Mujeeb won't have the same amount of success

I think both the Irish and the Afghans value their elevation to Test status highly. Yes, the Irish probably value it more, but I wouldn't say the Afghans value it less than the proper amount. You have to remember that unlike the Irish, the English, the Kiwis, or even the Zimbabweans...Indians-Pakistanis-Afghans-Bangladeshis have almost zero athletic/sporting achievements and so we treat cricket as more than just a game. OK yeah maybe some Asians are good at field hockey or squash, but who actually cares about those sports? In any team sport that actually matters (soccer, basketball, rugby) we suck.

The Irish and the Afghans also had to work their butts off to get Test status. They didn't get it served on a platter like Bangladesh did.

[jaybro]

The Irish and the Afghans also had to work their butts off to get Test status. They didn't get it served on a platter like Bangladesh did.

Look I could be wrong but IIRC Ireland have been pushing for Test status since the 2007 WC ???? Afghanistan only came on the scene around 2010, from what I recall it seemed that Ireland had been pushing the case for over 10 years and when it came down to giving them Test Status Afghanistan had surpassed Ireland as a better side, so the ICC gave them both status because they couldn't give Ireland status but not Afghanistan because Afghanistan were a better side. They also couldn't not give Ireland status because they were the ones pushing for it for so long ticking all the boxes asked of them.

Just how I remember it going down

[Kriterion_BD]

The Irish and the Afghans also had to work their butts off to get Test status. They didn't get it served on a platter like Bangladesh did.

Look I could be wrong but IIRC Ireland have been pushing for Test status since the 2007 WC ???? Afghanistan only came on the scene around 2010, from what I recall it seemed that Ireland had been pushing the case for over 10 years and when it came down to giving them Test Status Afghanistan had surpassed Ireland as a better side, so the ICC gave them both status because they couldn't give Ireland status but not Afghanistan because Afghanistan were a better side. They also couldn't not give Ireland status because they were the ones pushing for it for so long ticking all the boxes asked of them.

Just how I remember it going down

Yeah thats pretty much spot on. The Irish have worked really hard for years to get to this point. This is why I've always supported them. They have a professional board, and the players fight hard on the field to back up the suits in the board room. I was delighted when they and the Afghans finally got Test status last year. I wish them the best, and hope they go from strength to strength from here on out.