Ireland take on India in the third of their T20 International matches today at Malahide in North Dublin.
So far the two games that took place last week and over the weekend have played out before capacity crowds of 7,500.
They have been perhaps the most colourful and exuberant crowds of the Irish sporting year with supporters of the travelling team making up the majority of the packed stands.
This has included a large cohort from the Irish Indian community and also a significant number that have travelled over from Britain to see their team play.
Cricket Ireland teamed up with Fáilte Ireland to produce a series of short video content featuring Kevin O’Brien and Rohan Gavaskar outlining trips from the Giants Causeway to the Ring of Kerry as well as the potential to study and work in Ireland.
Ali Nolan is featured talking about the benefits of Cricket Connect and the series is branded as ‘Ireland The Cricket Island.’
Cricket Ireland’s three matches are being broadcast here on TNT Sports but more importantly to a huge audience back in India, hence the predominantly Indian advertising around the ground.
Irish brands including Sport for Business members DMG Media and Ulster University, as well as Certa, Arachas, Clear and Sterling Reserve provide a strong base of commercial partners here but the size of the global market obsessed with the sport is huge and Cricket Ireland is making strong inroads into bringing some of that value back towards growing the game here.
The bid to stage the 2030 T20 Cricket World Cup jointly with England is live and plans are progressing for the construction of a national cricket stadium at the Sport Ireland National Sports Campus.
Exciting times for the sport, and a potential first ever victory over India today would be the highlight of the year for the international Men’s team.
