Boyd Rankin announced Ireland onto the world stage when he took the wicket of Azhar Ali. This announcement was even more pronounced when Murtagh got Imam-Ul-Huq out in the very next ball. I believe they were in a very good position when the 6th wicket fell. At the end of the first day where play was possible; I think that Ireland has given about 50 runs too much and should have taken at least one more wicket. I was happy with the progress so far. This was how a test match should be. Ireland started off strong but Pakistan fought back nicely. We will still have to see how the Irish bowlers will perform tomorrow and whether they will be able to bowl out Pakistan but more importantly, we will have to see if their batting will stay the course.

On a side note when was the last time, we saw a debut list like the one below?

It will not be beaten when Afghanistan plays India as the only person who has not played a test match is Shardul Thakur. It has been beaten significantly before cricket became professional. The last time this was beaten after cricket became professional was between Bangladesh and India where in addition to the Bangladesh side you had three Indians making their debut too.

I have not taken the decision whether to give an update on the performance of the teams based on my index on a daily basis. In all probability, I will not. I will give the results once the test match is over. I finally had my Jameson Special Reserve. It tasted good but would have been better if Pakistan was all out. Titles like A New Dawn, A Damp Squib and “So it begins.” almost makes my first three posts on the Ireland and Pakistan test match sound like titles that would perfectly fit in Star Wars. I will end by saying ” May the force be with you.”