ZCZC
BSP-23
CRICKET-IRL-SRI-TOURS
Ireland Test plans suffer further blow as Sri Lanka match postponed
DUBLIN, Dec 18, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Ireland’s Test plans suffered a fresh
blow on Wednesday with the announcement that Sri Lanka have postponed their
one-off Test scheduled to take place in February 2020.
It comes just days after Ireland announced major changes to its schedule
for next year, with Cricket Ireland chief executive Warren Deutrom referring
to challenging “financial headwinds”.
Sri Lanka Cricket said in a statement that the Ireland tour was not part
of its original broadcast agreement and it would be rescheduled.
Cricket Ireland said it had agreed to SLC’s request to reschedule the
tour to ensure the Test would come under the next broadcast agreement.
“We understand that ICC (International Cricket Council) regulations
require all Tests to be broadcast, and it became clear only recently that
this one-off match was no exception,” said Deutrom.
“We were far progressed in our planning for this short tour, so we and
the travelling squad are obviously disappointed.”
Cricket Ireland on Monday announced a number of changes to its 2020
schedule, scrapping a Twenty20 series against Afghanistan and converting a
home Test against Bangladesh into a T20 match.
Deutrom said Ireland, awarded Test status in 2017, had been confronted
with “significant financial challenges”.
“We have additionally been very open about the financial and resource
constraints that we operate within, and especially a number of financial
headwinds that we have faced as we transition from an Associate Member to the
operations required of a Full Member,” he said.
He said costs had not been matched by expected revenues and there had
been a number of unforeseen financial blows, including the postponement of
the Euro T20 Slam.
Deutrom said white-ball cricket had been prioritised over the red-ball
game in 2020 because of the upcoming T20 World Cup and the start of the
Cricket World Cup Super League, which is the qualification process for the
50-over World Cup.
Since gaining Test status, Ireland have played just three Tests.
In May 2018 in their inaugural Test in Malahide, they were beaten by
Pakistan. This year they lost one-off Tests away to Afghanistan and England.
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