Was the historic weekend the biggest in Irish cricket history?

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Was the historic weekend the biggest in Irish cricket history?

Three games. Two groups. One historic weekend.

On Friday, the Irish boys made history as they upset world T20 champions India in Belfast.

Then, 24 hours later, Ireland got their first win in the Women’s T20 World Cup when they beat the West Indies by six wickets.

Back at Stormont, Ireland weren’t done there, as the men beat India for the first time in a T20 series since 2023 with a stunning second win by one run on Sunday.

While there have been significant individual wins in Irish cricket over the years, has there been a better weekend – and what can it do for the future?

“Sometimes it feels like we’re playing in the shadows a bit in international cricket, and hopefully we’ll be front-page news after that,” Lorcan Tucker, who captained Ireland in their win over India, told BBC Sport NI.

“Especially with the women’s win over the West Indies it was a great weekend for Irish cricket and we hope a lot of kids will be inspired by this and take up the cricket armband.”

Perhaps it was Ross Adair who summed it up best at the weekend, who “has to be up there” as the most popular in Irish cricket.

“The weekend we had, with the women winning yesterday, was probably the best Friday, Saturday and Sunday ever,” he said.

“I’m delighted to be a part of Irish cricket history.”

Going into the T20 series against India at Stormont, few had given Ireland a chance.

The headlines were dominated by the emergence of record-breaking 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi – who did not make it in both games.

Then there was a long list of absentees including Paul Stirling, Mark Adair, Curtis Campher and Josh Little.

By the time the last ball of the impressive 34-run victory was bowled on Friday, Ireland already had two new heroes in the form of debutants Jai Moondra and Matthew Hollard.

The pair returned to action on Sunday with three wickets apiece, and Ireland proved too strong to stop the world’s top-ranked side.

After Friday’s comfortable win, wicketkeeper Tucker admitted Sunday’s closing stages were a bit “tough”.

“I wasn’t on my bingo card, to be honest,” he added.

“We did it and it’s true, so it’s a testament to the boys for their work.”

With the ball on his century cap, Harry Tector helped guide Ireland to a famous series victory over India in Belfast. [Getty Images]

Ireland have had some big wins in the past. Memories of Kevin O’Brien’s spectacular performances in the T20 World Cup against England in 2011, or against Pakistan in 2007 still bring a smile to Ireland’s face.

For Harry Tector, who scored 53 runs and bowled the final over on Sunday, the win in the last generation was “the biggest in the sport”, but it was “hard to measure” if Sunday was the best game in Ireland’s history.

“I think as an achievement for a cricket team to go out there and beat two world champions in a row – they are a good team,” added the 26-year-old.

“I couldn’t talk about the games I didn’t take part in because they were amazing games at a time when Irish cricket needed to do it.

“But as much as I’m involved, I’m not sure I’m involved in a big kind of accomplishment.”

‘It gave us the belief to compete with the best teams’

While India’s series victory highlighted a new level of depth in Irish cricket on the men’s side of the game, the success of the women’s team also points to a bright future ahead.

The average age of Lloyd Tennant’s side was just 23, and while they crashed out of England in the group stage, there is no doubt that there are many big days ahead.

The head coach admitted that “patience” was needed, but they will learn a lot from playing in the biggest stage of the sport.

“To a large extent, the girls have a belief that if we can continue to grow and grow faster and improve as a team, where can we go?” said Tennant after his side beat the West Indies.

“How many good days like this are there? So it gives us a lot of belief that we can compete with the best teams.”

For Tector, who is in a relationship with the women’s captain, Gaby Lewis, the win was a big boost for the team.

“I think it’s been a long time coming. They’ve been playing really well for a long time,” he added.

“Obviously I’m in a relationship with Gaby so I’m interested in everything that’s going on, but I think she’ll probably think they’re disappointed not to win more because I think they came in with a lot of confidence.”

Gaby Lewis leads the Irish celebrations — Captain Gaby Lewis leads Ireland’s celebrations after defeating West Indies in the Women’s T20 World Cup [Getty Images]

Although the two teams have been on opposite sides of the Irish sea, it is clear that there is support for each other as they both try to grow.

After the second T20 win against India, almost every player interviewed brought up the West Indies’ performance without being asked, and Tennant talked about how big a win for the men would be for the game as a whole.

Looking ahead, Tector hopes the winning weekend will lead to more games in the summer months, which will lead to more growth and opportunities.

As things stand, the men only have five one-dayers against Afghanistan in their summer schedule, while the women will return to action with a three-match ODI series against the West Indies in July at Bready.

“The whole weekend is huge and you ride this momentum,” said Tector.

“I think the momentum we have this weekend is good and hopefully it will do a lot for us going forward in terms of getting more games in the summer.”