the best
There weren’t many options, but qualifying for the 2024 T20 World Cup was definitely one.
Yes, it was completely expected, but qualifying so easily was a much-needed tonic after a disastrous ODI World Cup qualifier in Zimbabwe. Paul Stirling’s aggressive captaincy certainly helped. Ireland took their first series win in Zimbabwe and finished a close second.
worst
During the Test match against England at Lord’s, he was on the field for the entirety (it certainly felt much longer than 87 overs). Test skipper Andrew Balbirnie later admitted he had trouble finding where the wicket was when looking around the changing room.
It felt like all the Irish cricket chickens had come home to roost all at once. Without domestic red-ball cricket, they were woefully unprepared and also distracted from their ODI duties. Needless to say, Cricket Ireland performance director Richard Holdsworth has questioned how much left-handed cricket quick Josh Little has done for his country.
surreal
Definitely the ‘home’ ODI series against Bangladesh in Chelmsford, Essex. Despite putting in some promising performances throughout the ODI Super League, Ireland found themselves needing to win the series 3-0 to earn automatic qualification to the 2023 ODI World Cup. I did. Rain must be avoided.
It was thought, at least at Cricket Ireland level, that the best chance was for an uninterrupted series to take place in England. Of course, it rained in the first game, so luckily South Africa were automatically given the last spot. But they made it to the semi-finals, so that was really good.
moment of hope
Lorcan Tucker’s Test hundred on debut against Bangladesh. It capped off a great day for Ireland, where tourists suddenly seemed to be able to compete at the level required in foreign conditions. A similar example was Ireland scoring 492 in the second Test against Sri Lanka, with Curtis Campher and Paul Stirling scoring hundreds, Balbirnie scoring 95 and Tucker scoring 80. Simply put, this is how it felt like it should be. Lorcan will also be named in the Test Team of the Year. guardian and cricket.com.au – the first Irishman to do it.
While 2023 is full of moments, 2024 has a lot going for it.
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