DUBLIN - When you've waited as long as Ireland have to play your first Test match, a few more hours' delay may not seem that significant. But despite the great skies, there was also a sense it would take a lot more than some bad weather to dampen the pride felt by so many within Irish cricket as their side stood on the brink of becoming just the 11th nation to play Test cricket. Yet while many Irish sports fans are starting to get acquainted with cricket, the sport has deep roots in the "Emerald Isle". That success redoubled Irish ambitions to play five-day Test cricket, still regarded as the sport's supreme format. If conditions in Malahide remain cold and overcast they could yet favour Ireland, although neither side will relish batting first under cloudy skies.

Source: Bangkok Post May 11, 2018 12:00 UTC