William Porterfield proud of Ireland's Test entry against Pakistan

Ireland ended their maiden Test with a five-wicket loss at the hands of Pakistan.

Ireland lost their maiden Test to Pakistan | Getty Images

Ireland captain William Porterfield was proud of his side's entry into the traditional format of the game –Test cricket, saying though lost their maiden Test to Pakistan but their total on the board shows the passion that the Irish have for playing cricket.

In the mega ICC event, Ireland made their name with World Cup wins over Pakistan, England and West Indies, but playing Test cricket gives a different and proud taste, says Porterfield.

As per reports in AFP, Porterfield said, “It's something that's been talked about during big occasions, World Cups. That's always been known to be there but Test cricket is Test cricket for a reason, it's there in the name, you did get tested and we were after the first innings. To get up to close to 350 showed what we've got in the changing room and the passion that we have for playing our cricket.”

Porterfield also hopes that Kevin O'Brien’s century will certainly inspire the next generation in the country. He added, “Hopefully in the next week or two there's going to be hundreds of little kids aspiring to be Kevin O'Brien in backstreet cricket. This Test match will have gone a long way to providing the next generation of cricketers, I'm sure.”

Commenting on the ICC’s decision to shrink the 2019 World Cup to a 10-team tournament, the Ireland skipper said, “We wouldn't have got to where we were if we didn't get those opportunities to put down a marker on the world stage. That gives you an opportunity to create enough noise. To miss out by it just being a 10-team World Cup is bitterly disappointing.”

Porterfield signed off by saying, “We wouldn't have had the opportunity to play a Test match today, I don't think if we hadn't been playing the last 10, 12 years at World Cups.”

 
 

By Rashmi Nanda - 16 May, 2018

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