IRIreland

Country history

Ireland was awarded Full Member (Test) status by the ICC on 22 June 2017, the same day as Afghanistan. Their inaugural Test was played against Pakistan at The Village, Malahide, County Dublin, 11-15 May 2018 -- Kevin O'Brien scored 118 on debut in the format, but Pakistan chased down the target to win by 5 wickets. Ireland's first Test win did not come until nearly six years later, against fellow new Test nation Afghanistan in Sharjah on 12 March 2024.

Long before Test status, Ireland had already produced one of the great World Cup upsets: on St Patrick's Day, 17 March 2007, in Kingston, Jamaica, Ireland beat Test-playing Pakistan by three wickets in a rain-affected match, a result that eliminated Pakistan from the tournament's group stage. Kevin O'Brien later struck the fastest century in Cricket World Cup history -- 50 balls, against England at the 2011 World Cup in Bangalore, in a run chase of 328 -- while his brother Niall O'Brien and long-serving captain William Porterfield were central figures through the associate era and into early Test cricket. Andrew Balbirnie has captained the side in the current Test era. Eoin Morgan came through the Irish system before switching allegiance to England, whom he went on to captain to the 2019 World Cup title.

Sources

• Wikipedia
• ESPNcricinfo scorecard, Ireland v Pakistan, May 2018