Ireland players, including captain Andrew Balbirnie, centre, celebrate the run-out of Zimbabwe’s Sikandar Raza, during match three of the Dafanews International Cup ODI series between Ireland and Zimbabwe at Stormont in Belfast in 2021. Photo by Seb Daly/Sportsfile
The Board of Cricket Ireland shied away from cancelling this summer’s proposed Test match against Zimbabwe in Belfast at their meeting on Tuesday but will revisit the thorny issue next month.
CI chairman Brian MacNeice said a number of cost-cutting options are under consideration but he must be acutely aware of the PR ramifications of axing the first Test to be hosted in the North. The match was pencilled into the summer schedule for the end of July when CI were still expecting to get $17.5m this year of the $70m they have been granted by the International Cricket Council for the 2024-27 TV rights cycle.
