Former Australia fast bowler Jason Gillespie believes Ireland should be fast-tracked to full Test status and that the country has the playing and administrative talent to make the step-up.
Gillespie, who has enjoyed considerable success as coach of Yorkshire, believes that the International Cricket Council needs to do something about the dwindling crowds attending Test cricket and believes the introduction of Ireland "sooner rather than later" may prove a masterstroke.
In his column on alloutcricket.com, Gillespie wrote: “Here is a country that is ready to play international cricket and to have its own fully professional cricketers. Possibly there would be some issues to get round in their domestic set-up, but if they’re given full Test status in the next few years I’m sure the administration in Ireland - which comes across as a very impressive organisation - would make a real fist of it and would produce a team that could compete strongly at international level, given some time and some resources.”
Gillespie is well acquainted with many of Ireland’s players through his involvement in county cricket and is confident they would quickly find their feet at Test level.
He added: "Eoin Morgan is obviously with England full-time now, but apart from him you've got Ed Joyce, William Porterfield, Boyd Rankin, George Dockrell, Peter Chase, Tim Murtagh, Gary Wilson, the O'Briens . . . We don't know how these guys will do until we give them a go and, for me, Ireland are ticking all the boxes: they've done well, they've punched well above their weight in limited-overs tournaments."
