Test Cricket Prediction and Discussion Thread [self - mod]

[Party24*7]

A decade is a very long time. We don't even know whether test cricket will be played till then. Bangladesh got their test status in 1999. 24 years have passed and even now they struggle against the top teams. Overall, test cricket is dying outside the pig-4 nations. Even in South Africa and Pakistan, the situation is not very hopeful. The less talked about West Indies and Sri Lanka, that better. And regarding Ireland, I would still stick to my argument that they were given test status before they were ready for it.

This is correct not many teams are interested in test format now, even few are willing to play ODI. Pakistan lost 3 consecutive home test series and main reason is they are playing too much T20. The current generation who started playing or watching cricket in Era which is dominated by T20 so it's natural that they won't take much interest in test or ODI. The ODI world cup is approaching and I don't think there is any enthusiasm for that event.

Test cricket is only being played seriously by the top four teams. Other than that test ticket is not something that excites a lot of people or even the teams. I absolutely do not think that test cricket has any future in today’s day and age. I really think that ICC should forget about test cricket and the resources that they are spending to make test cricket better, they can spend that on T20 cricket, and by doing so a lot of other countries and teams are going to be interested in cricket. And that is something cricket badly needs right now.

[elevates]

Test cricket is only being played seriously by the top four teams. Other than that test ticket is not something that excites a lot of people or even the teams. I absolutely do not think that test cricket has any future in today’s day and age. I really think that ICC should forget about test cricket and the resources that they are spending to make test cricket better, they can spend that on T20 cricket, and by doing so a lot of other countries and teams are going to be interested in cricket. And that is something cricket badly needs right now.

The top 4 test playing nations have a good revenue generating model from.test cricket. That is one reason other cricket playing nations avoid test. Next the cricket boards of these top 4 are big revenue generator for ICC. The last one is that they have a good talent pool for test cricket and due to that they have a somewhat good fan base.

Other boards are struggling to generate revenue by themselves they are dependent on the amount they get from ICC. That is the reason those test playing teams are compelled to play test cricket. The way things are going in cricket it is just a matter of years that test cricket would fade away then ODI and only T20 format will be played.

[Party24*7]

Test cricket is only being played seriously by the top four teams. Other than that test ticket is not something that excites a lot of people or even the teams. I absolutely do not think that test cricket has any future in today’s day and age. I really think that ICC should forget about test cricket and the resources that they are spending to make test cricket better, they can spend that on T20 cricket, and by doing so a lot of other countries and teams are going to be interested in cricket. And that is something cricket badly needs right now.

The top 4 test playing nations have a good revenue generating model from.test cricket. That is one reason other cricket playing nations avoid test. Next the cricket boards of these top 4 are big revenue generator for ICC. The last one is that they have a good talent pool for test cricket and due to that they have a somewhat good fan base.
Other boards are struggling to generate revenue by themselves they are dependent on the amount they get from ICC. That is the reason those test playing teams are compelled to play test cricket. The way things are going in cricket it is just a matter of years that test cricket would fade away then ODI and only T20 format will be played.

The other cricket boards are actually not in favor of continuing test cricket in my opinion, because of bad revenue.
We all know that ICC basically is being run by the top four cricket boards.
As they are generating, go to revenue from test CRICKET, they are not going to let ICC move on from it.

[JSRAW]

Full member actually means test status and on paper or at least in their public statements almost everyone wants to play test cricket and display their love for test cricket. It could be due to the romanticization of test cricket or funding or it could be both.

Personally, I'm not in favor of test status for new countries due to various reasons but in case they get the tag then they must play the red ball and it's ICC's duty to facilitate them.

Ireland was getting around $500,000 per year from the ICC before they became a test nation and their funding increased to $5 million (10x) after they got the full member status. Now other teams such as United Arab Emirates, Scotland, Netherlands and Nepal also want to become test playing nations, because they want the increased funding from the ICC. This need to be stopped. These teams don't have any genuine love for test format. If the gap in funding between full members and top ranking associates get reduced, then there will be no need for these teams to demand test status.

No doubt that funding does play a big role here and tbh we can't even blame associate nations if they are tiptoeing on this road because rules are already set, which clearly need a fresh eye and then followed by reform but i suppose it's a fool's errand.

ICC on the other hand won't give full status to any new country, at least for a decade or so.

[Sithara007]

No doubt that funding does play a big role here and tbh we can't even blame associate nations if they are tiptoeing on this road because rules are already set, which clearly need a fresh eye and then followed by reform but i suppose it's a fool's errand.

ICC on the other hand won't give full status to any new country, at least for a decade or so.

I am keenly awaiting the ICC funds distribution formula for the cycle 2024-27. Their revenues have increased by 3 times and now they can allot a higher share to smaller nations. I don't really have a problem with BCCI getting a larger share of the funds. But then what is the justification for Zimbabwe getting 100 times the funds compared to Nepal or Namibia? As per current formula, Zimbabwe gets $12 million per year from the ICC, while Nepal receives $200,000. This lop-sided distribution structure needs to be changed.

[Shan85]

The case of UAE is altogether different they don't have local players rather all are from South Asia. So there is no need to give funds to such team. Nepal performance can be enhanced further based on there recent success in ICC Men's Cricket World Cup League 2. But Nepal and other associate teams can only join T20I or upto some extent ODI. Test format need proper infrastructure at domestic level and most of teams you mentioned don't have proper test infrastructure at domestic level.

The UAE cricket scene is distinct with a side that is mostly made up of South Asian players. In terms of funding this creates a different situation because the team might not need assistance. But Nepal has recently made encouraging strides, especially after their win in the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup League 2. While participation in longer formats of cricket such Test matches, may be restricted for Nepal and other associate teams there is still room for development in T20I and ODI cricket. It should be noted that Test cricket requires adequate domestic infrastructure which may be missing in some of the teams.

[JSRAW]

No doubt that funding does play a big role here and tbh we can't even blame associate nations if they are tiptoeing on this road because rules are already set, which clearly need a fresh eye and then followed by reform but i suppose it's a fool's errand.

ICC on the other hand won't give full status to any new country, at least for a decade or so.

I am keenly awaiting the ICC funds distribution formula for the cycle 2024-27. Their revenues have increased by 3 times and now they can allot a higher share to smaller nations. I don't really have a problem with BCCI getting a larger share of the funds. But then what is the justification for Zimbabwe getting 100 times the funds compared to Nepal or Namibia? As per current formula, Zimbabwe gets $12 million per year from the ICC, while Nepal receives $200,000. This lop-sided distribution structure needs to be changed.

I posted this last week when we were discussing the same revenue issue.

It still looks good to me and seems a fair option. Guess there won't be much ho-halla over this unless other test-playing nations object and demand bigger pie, although this time they won't have any valid arguments.

At this point, the BCCI receives 24% of the ICC revenues ($405 million out of $1.68 billion for 2015-23). This is set to be increased to somewhere between 32% and 40%. The other 11 test nations receive a total of 66.5% of the revenues ($1.115 billion). Associate funding stands at $160 million. That is 9.5% of the total funding for close to 100 teams.

I really don't think that the other test nations would like to witness a reduction in their funding. In the end, always it is the associate nations who will suffer. And even among the associate nations, mercenary teams like UAE and USA will get a higher share this time, thanks to their good performance during the world cup qualifiers.

Keep pumping the same amount of $1.115 billion to other test nations. Obviously, percentage-wise their share will go down but the amount is still fair, considering hardly anyone brings any revenue to the table. Also keep in mind that this share is for only a 4-year cycle, in comparison to the previous 8 year cycle, it's a sweet deal.

The remaining $2.4 billion could be distributed among ICC profit and expenses($600 Million), Accociate Nations ($600M) and BCCI ($1.2 Billion)

[Minecache]

The case of UAE is altogether different they don't have local players rather all are from South Asia. So there is no need to give funds to such team. Nepal performance can be enhanced further based on there recent success in ICC Men's Cricket World Cup League 2. But Nepal and other associate teams can only join T20I or upto some extent ODI. Test format need proper infrastructure at domestic level and most of teams you mentioned don't have proper test infrastructure at domestic level.

The UAE cricket scene is distinct with a side that is mostly made up of South Asian players. In terms of funding this creates a different situation because the team might not need assistance. But Nepal has recently made encouraging strides, especially after their win in the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup League 2. While participation in longer formats of cricket such Test matches, may be restricted for Nepal and other associate teams there is still room for development in T20I and ODI cricket. It should be noted that Test cricket requires adequate domestic infrastructure which may be missing in some of the teams.

UAE does not need any money in my opinion. The only reason why UAE is able to get money is because they are generally producing good money for ICC. They absolutely do not need money because they are playing with foreign players on the team. The teams which actually need money are those which are playing with native players in the team. I said those teams need to get some more money from ICC because they are actually spending money to get better. So they need to be helped with some more money so that they can actually be able to look for better talent in the country.

[MusaPk]

Ireland and Srilanka are playing second test match at Galle. Ireland choose to bat first and score is 47/2 after 12 overs. Ireland first priority will be not to lose wickets instantly like they did in first test. Irish captain Andy Balbirnie is playing aggressively and scored 30 (28). Its good opportunity for Ireland to prove that they are eligible for test cricket. If Ireland collapsed like in first test then they won't be able to get next test match for sure.

[Swordsoffreedom]

Ireland and Srilanka are playing second test match at Galle. Ireland choose to bat first and score is 47/2 after 12 overs. Ireland first priority will be not to lose wickets instantly like they did in first test. Irish captain Andy Balbirnie is playing aggressively and scored 30 (28). Its good opportunity for Ireland to prove that they are eligible for test cricket. If Ireland collapsed like in first test then they won't be able to get next test match for sure.

Ireland scored 103 runs for the loss of three wickets in 26 overs. I wouldn't say they are playing badly yet. Because Ireland's top order has always been weak. The team is heavily dependent on Balbirnie, Tector and Stirling. I expected a big innings from Tector. But he managed to collect only 18 runs. With Tector at the crease, Ireland's other players are confident of performing well. However, Balbirnie is playing well enough. He is unbeaten by collecting 55 runs. If Balbirnie and Stirling play well, Ireland will be able to score big in the first innings.

[MusaPk]

Ireland scored 103 runs for the loss of three wickets in 26 overs. I wouldn't say they are playing badly yet. Because Ireland's top order has always been weak. The team is heavily dependent on Balbirnie, Tector and Stirling. I expected a big innings from Tector. But he managed to collect only 18 runs. With Tector at the crease, Ireland's other players are confident of performing well. However, Balbirnie is playing well enough. He is unbeaten by collecting 55 runs. If Balbirnie and Stirling play well, Ireland will be able to score big in the first innings.

Ireland lost 3 wickets at lunch and score is 106. This is much better performance as compared to first test where Ireland were bowled out at 143 and 168 runs. Ireland must try to score somewhere around 250. This will boost confidence of there bowlers. The captain Andy Balbirnie who scored just 10 runs in both innings of first innings is fighting hard today and is not out on 57 runs. Ireland need some big partnerships which is not seen in this series.

[mm2543363580]

Ireland scored 103 runs for the loss of three wickets in 26 overs. I wouldn't say they are playing badly yet. Because Ireland's top order has always been weak. The team is heavily dependent on Balbirnie, Tector and Stirling. I expected a big innings from Tector. But he managed to collect only 18 runs. With Tector at the crease, Ireland's other players are confident of performing well. However, Balbirnie is playing well enough. He is unbeaten by collecting 55 runs. If Balbirnie and Stirling play well, Ireland will be able to score big in the first innings.

Ireland doing well in second test match. They have scored 113 runs so far. Paul Stirling is batting with Andy Balbirnie if both these batsmen can stay till tea then Ireland have good chance of scoring good first innings total. Srilanka must try to get rid of both of them ASAP.

[rojan]

Today Sri Lanka vs Ireland 2nd Test match has already started.Ireland scored 172 runs in 48 overs.So far Ireland lost 3 wickets.Ireland team batsman Andrew Balbirnie scored 78 runs in 115 balls.Paul Stirling scored 67 runs in 105 balls.Ireland team batsman  They couldn't score too many runs. However, Sri Lanka's batsmen couldn't bowl very well. If they could have put the wickets under pressure by bowling well, maybe Ireland wouldn't have scored so many runs.

[Minor Miner]

Ireland scored 103 runs for the loss of three wickets in 26 overs. I wouldn't say they are playing badly yet. Because Ireland's top order has always been weak. The team is heavily dependent on Balbirnie, Tector and Stirling. I expected a big innings from Tector. But he managed to collect only 18 runs. With Tector at the crease, Ireland's other players are confident of performing well. However, Balbirnie is playing well enough. He is unbeaten by collecting 55 runs. If Balbirnie and Stirling play well, Ireland will be able to score big in the first innings.

Ireland lost 3 wickets at lunch and score is 106. This is much better performance as compared to first test where Ireland were bowled out at 143 and 168 runs. Ireland must try to score somewhere around 250. This will boost confidence of there bowlers. The captain Andy Balbirnie who scored just 10 runs in both innings of first innings is fighting hard today and is not out on 57 runs. Ireland need some big partnerships which is not seen in this series.

Andy Balbirnie and Paul Stirling are batting brilliantly. Ireland has already collected 200 runs. And they didn't lose any more wickets. Balbirnie and Stirling managed to put on a partnership of 111 runs. Balbirnie remained unbeaten on 91 runs and Stirling on 74 runs. I think both the batsmen will be able to score a century. And if the pair of these two batsmen last longer, it is a threat to Sri Lanka.
Apart from these two batsmen, Campher McBrine, and Tucker is quite good batsmen. If they are able to play without pressure, Ireland will be able to collect big in the first innings. I am happy that we are not seeing only Sri Lanka's dominance in this match like in the first match.

[mm2543363580]

Andy Balbirnie and Paul Stirling are batting brilliantly. Ireland has already collected 200 runs. And they didn't lose any more wickets. Balbirnie and Stirling managed to put on a partnership of 111 runs. Balbirnie remained unbeaten on 91 runs and Stirling on 74 runs. I think both the batsmen will be able to score a century. And if the pair of these two batsmen last longer, it is a threat to Sri Lanka.
Apart from these two batsmen, Campher McBrine, and Tucker is quite good batsmen. If they are able to play without pressure, Ireland will be able to collect big in the first innings. I am happy that we are not seeing only Sri Lanka's dominance in this match like in the first match.

Wow what a come back by Ireland in second test match. The score is 263 for the loss of 4 wickets. Andy Balbirnie was unlucky to score his first test hundred as he was out on 95 runs. Paul was also doing good but was retired hurt on 74 runs. Ireland should try to score 350 runs.

[Mr.corol]

Today Sri Lanka vs Ireland 2nd Test match has already started.Ireland scored 172 runs in 48 overs.So far Ireland lost 3 wickets.Ireland team batsman Andrew Balbirnie scored 78 runs in 115 balls.Paul Stirling scored 67 runs in 105 balls.Ireland team batsman  They couldn't score too many runs. However, Sri Lanka's batsmen couldn't bowl very well. If they could have put the wickets under pressure by bowling well, maybe Ireland wouldn't have scored so many runs.

Ireland has done a great batting performance today. Ireland played well as a new team in Tests. Ireland did not play well in the first test, today they played much better than in the first match. Today Ireland scored 319 runs for the loss of 4 wickets in 90 overs. Stumps on the first day, Andrew Balbirnie performed brilliantly with 95 off 163 balls narrowly missing out on a century. Paul Stirling scored 72 off 133 balls retd hurt. Lorcan Tucker scored 78 off 102 balls.

[onecall123]

Ireland has done a great batting performance today. Ireland played well as a new team in Tests. Ireland did not play well in the first test, today they played much better than in the first match. Today Ireland scored 319 runs for the loss of 4 wickets in 90 overs.

What a fantastic day it has been for Ireland cricket! They have been performing exceptionally well today. It's amazing to see how quickly they have improved after first test match. I wouldn't be surprised if in the next 1-2 years, this Irish team poses a serious threat to Sri Lanka/others.

Stumps on the first day, Andrew Balbirnie performed brilliantly with 95 off 163 balls narrowly missing out on a century. Paul Stirling scored 72 off 133 balls retd hurt. Lorcan Tucker scored 78 off 102 balls.

Though unfortunate that Ireland captain missed out on the hundred by just 5 runs. Their overall batting performance was great and they should continue to keep competitive. I think we can expect 450+ on the board tomorrow.

[YinShuiSiYuan]

Ireland has done a great batting performance today. Ireland played well as a new team in Tests. Ireland did not play well in the first test, today they played much better than in the first match. Today Ireland scored 319 runs for the loss of 4 wickets in 90 overs.

What a fantastic day it has been for Ireland cricket! They have been performing exceptionally well today. It's amazing to see how quickly they have improved after first test match. I wouldn't be surprised if in the next 1-2 years, this Irish team poses a serious threat to Sri Lanka/others.

Stumps on the first day, Andrew Balbirnie performed brilliantly with 95 off 163 balls narrowly missing out on a century. Paul Stirling scored 72 off 133 balls retd hurt. Lorcan Tucker scored 78 off 102 balls.

Though unfortunate that Ireland captain missed out on the hundred by just 5 runs. Their overall batting performance was great and they should continue to keep competitive. I think we can expect 450+ on the board tomorrow.

Ireland shocked everyone with their batting performance today and at day 1 they end at 391 runs.  Good batting by their batsman , this is the thing with Ireland they come back strongly and play competitively.  You never know Ireland will win this second test against Sirlanka.

[JSRAW]

If you win the toss in Srilanka and opt to bat first, it would be necessary to bat as long as possible.

Ireland did well today but they shouldn't become complacent and look for another 200 runs and then let the pitch do all the work, if the pitch starts breaking then their bowlers can put pressure on Lankan's batter.

[BobK71]

Today Sri Lanka vs Ireland 2nd Test match has already started.Ireland scored 172 runs in 48 overs.So far Ireland lost 3 wickets.Ireland team batsman Andrew Balbirnie scored 78 runs in 115 balls.Paul Stirling scored 67 runs in 105 balls.Ireland team batsman  They couldn't score too many runs. However, Sri Lanka's batsmen couldn't bowl very well. If they could have put the wickets under pressure by bowling well, maybe Ireland wouldn't have scored so many runs.

Ireland has done a great batting performance today. Ireland played well as a new team in Tests. Ireland did not play well in the first test, today they played much better than in the first match. Today Ireland scored 319 runs for the loss of 4 wickets in 90 overs. Stumps on the first day, Andrew Balbirnie performed brilliantly with 95 off 163 balls narrowly missing out on a century. Paul Stirling scored 72 off 133 balls retd hurt. Lorcan Tucker scored 78 off 102 balls.

I never imagined that Ireland would score so well against Sri Lanka. Collected 319 runs losing only 4 wickets. I thought they would be all out within 200 runs but nothing happened. As a new team in Test cricket, Ireland team is going to perform really well.
Lorcan Tucker is performing very well with 78 runs off 102 balls. This cricketer who has played only 3 matches in Test cricket deserves to be praised for his performance ‍along with Curtis Campher on the pitch and probably he also deserve the high score.