Ireland‘s anticipated inaugural bilateral series against Australia might not proceed as planned, as financial challenges are hindering the host nation. According to the Future Tour Programme (FTP), Australia was set to tour Ireland for a white-ball series featuring three ODIs and a lone T20I.
However, with only a few months remaining until the series, Ireland is grappling with financial constraints, primarily due to congested home fixtures.
Ireland has a packed schedule at home leading up to the 2024 T20 World Cup, including a T20I series against Pakistan, subsequent matches against South Africa and Zimbabwe, and a Test against Zimbabwe.
Ireland, having achieved their inaugural victory in the longest format against Afghanistan, last staged a Test match in 2018.
“What we had in the FTP as a whole… it’s a real challenge to deliver all of it. We’ve got almost too much cricket for the amount of venues that we’ve got. Costs of putting on games in Ireland have gone up considerably since Covid.”
”Hotel prices, putting up temporary infrastructure for grounds have gone up astronomically.” Cricket Ireland high performance director Richard Holdsworth told ESPNcricinfO.
In addition to the mentioned games, the Ireland women’s team has upcoming home fixtures against England, Sri Lanka, and the Netherlands.
“With increased revenues this year, there’s no doubt that we could have delivered more”- Cricket Ireland director
Cricket Ireland asserts that the ICC’s contentious revenue-sharing model, fraught with problems, played a role in the necessity to postpone the home series against Australia.
The new distribution system involves accumulating part of the allocated funds into a retained surplus fund, nearing $100 million annually, potentially returning to the members later on.
“It has meant that our budget is not as great as we thought it would be,” Holdsworth said. “If we had more revenues coming in this year, there’s no question that we could have been able to deliver more.”
Ireland, along with nations such as Afghanistan and Zimbabwe, is poised to seek a decrease in the percentage of funds designated for the retained surplus fund. This matter is expected to be addressed in the upcoming ICC meeting in Dubai next week.
Lacking their complete funds, Ireland faces a challenging situation and has dismissed the option of hosting Australia at a county ground in England due to their hectic schedule.
“England have a really heavy schedule around that time, and we certainly wouldn’t be considering playing the likes of Australia at a very small county ground,” he said. “We’re still looking at all options in terms of whether or not we can host [Australia] this summer or whether we move [them] into a different part of the FTP,” Holdsworth concluded.
Ireland has previously served as the host in Chelmsford and Bristol, and a similar arrangement could have been favorable for Australia, considering their upcoming white-ball series (five ODIs and three T20Is) scheduled in England in September 2024.
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