Cricket Ireland is preparing to host India next week in two T20 internationals at Malahide that will be broadcast around the world. It’s horizon expanded considerably again this week though with details published of the International Cricket Council’s Future Tours Programme (FTP) 2018-2023 – the first time Ireland has been included in this important schedule for world cricket.
The FTP is a schedule of international cricket tours for ICC’s full members with teams playing bilateral cricket home and away between May 2018 and March 2023. It covers all three formats of the game. By being granted Full Membership of the ICC in June 2017, Ireland now enters the FTP process for the first time.
In the headline numbers it means that Ireland will be 13 full test matches, including one against England in 2019 as well as a minimum of 62 one day internationals and 65 T20 Internationals. These will be in addition to World Cup and other matches.
“From the moment we were granted full membership of the ICC, two of the key priorities for Cricket Ireland were to play our first Test match and to negotiate a multi-format fixture schedule as part of the FTP,” said Cricket ireland CEO Warreen Deutrom.
“We have now delivered both – and we believe the players and fans of Irish cricket will be excited by the comprehensive programme ahead.”
“We are looking at a minimum of 140 men’s matches across the three formats from 2018 to early 2023, both home and away. This does not include any additional bilateral matches we will play against Associate Member sides, ICC events or qualifying tournaments, or other bilateral content against those Full Members where a playing window is yet to be finalised.”
“All in all, this is a significantly-enhanced programme for players, coaches and administrators, and a feast of regular world-class cricket for our valued fans and stakeholders.”
“In the Test arena we will be looking forward to playing our second-ever Test against Afghanistan in February 2019. A Test match between Ireland and England is also scheduled to take place in England during this period, with a time, date and venue still to be advised.”
“While we will typically play one home Test per year in Ireland, we are looking at building that up over time and have two home Tests scheduled in the 2022 season.”
“This is an incredibly exciting and varied programme that we firmly believe will help make cricket more visible and mainstream in Ireland over the next five years.”
“The creation of an FTP is an incredibly complex process, added Richard Holdsworth, Performance Director of Cricket Ireland.
“It has involved 12 national cricket bodies negotiating fixtures and dates across a five-year period. There are so many variables involved during discussions, and one small change by one nation can often have flow-on effects for a number of other planned fixtures for other nations.”
“This is a scale of cricket unknown to Irish cricket fans and one we welcome as we begin our journey as a Full Member.”
The International Cricket Council will be present in Dublin next week and Sport for Business will bring you all the news from a major week for the sport.