Ireland’s Cricketers may not have won their first ever Test match at Malahide, but in every other way, it has been a tremendous success for Federation member Cricket Ireland.
After the tribulations of a day lost to wind and rain on Friday, history was made in front of a large crowd on Saturday, and in a game which swung in all directions, there was enough going on to intrigue even the casually curious.
President Michael D Higgins dropped by on Sunday, as did Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones and as millions of viewers around the world watched on Kevin O’Brien hit a first Test Century to secure another place in the record books.
The team will be back in Malahide at the end of June for two T20 One Day International matches against World Champions India and the capacity of the temporarily erected ground has already been nudged up to 8,200 to cater for demand.
Cricket Ireland will shortly take over a new high-performance facility at the Sport Ireland National Sports Campus and with rising number of players, and growing awareness of the strong presence of the sport here, the future looks very bright.