Ireland optimistic about achieving Test status by June this year

The ICC has decided to allocate $280 million to the associate nations.

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Ireland. (Photo by Morne de Klerk/Getty Images)

The Ireland cricket team could be looking at themselves playing Test cricket by June later this year after a recent announcement made by the International Cricket Council (ICC) put in place a new process for all associate nations that will allow them to become full members.

Cricket Ireland chief executive Warren Deutrom attended an event in Dublin to announce that Turkish Airlines would be the new chief sponsor of its men’s senior team. Deutrom confirmed that Ireland had voted in favour of the changes in ICC’s governance.

Henceforth a newly-formed membership committee will decide on the matter, provided the applicants who wish to be full members satisfy a set of pre-decided criteria.

“The decision made by the ICC this week to clear the way forward for new full members to arrive by virtue of receiving merit-based criteria is so important because that speaks directly to what we’ve been arguing over the last few years,” Deutrom said on Thursday.

“It’s going to be about 20 to 25 criteria and it’s going to be across governance, administration, cricket structures, development and performance, financial sustainability. Every prospective member has to be able to satisfy all of those criteria. We’ve done a bit of a desktop exercise in looking into it and we are reasonably encouraged by our ability to satisfy those criteria,” he added.

As soon as an associate member applies for the full membership, the committee will screen the application. It will then pass a recommendation on to the ICC board. A final decision on the membership status would most probably be taken at the ICC annual conference which is scheduled to be held on June 22.

“So, with a fair wind, with us satisfying those criteria – that’s the first hoop to jump through. The second is the membership committee and the third is a decision by the ICC membership. If we manage to hurdle all those barriers then we could be a full member and a Test member by June 22nd this year,” Deutrom said.

The ICC has decided to allocate $280 million to the associate nations. Warren Deutrom is also hopeful of receiving more funds, regardless of whether they receive Test status or not.

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