Ireland's first day of Test cricket entirely washed out

Just a day into their Test lives, Ireland are already creating history. Admittedly, not the kind of history they would have wished for as they became the first country to have their first day of Test cricket entirely washed out by rain, but history nonetheless.

Anyway, though there is reason to believe Ireland have as strong a chance as anyone since the very first Test of all of winning their inaugural long-format match, in this game more than any other what happened on the field perhaps didn’t matter so much.

Whenever play finally does get under way – the forecast isn’t so bad as to stoke fears of an abandonment – it will mark the culmination of years of hard graft no matter who does what or for how long. Certainly, for the thousands who piled in despite the weather, and who put on a brave face and enjoyed themselves despite the rain – something the Irish may well be the best in the world at – today was a day to be savoured.

There will be many more days of Irish Test cricket to come which will be more exciting certainly, more enjoyable perhaps, but few which will be as important as this one. This was Ireland’s first-ever day of Test cricket. Who cares that they didn’t actually get to play?