‘There’s no sport like football’

Being thousands of miles away from home did not stop Ireland batter Harry Tector from rejoicing in his country's recent 3-2 win over Hungary in the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers. He was even more excited with the prospect of taking part in the next ICC World Test Championship and hoped it would lead to the resumption of red-ball cricket back home. Tector said all this and more in an interview with The Daily Star's Samsul Arefin Khan. The excerpts are as follows:

The Daily Star (DS): First of all, on Sunday night, Troy Parrott scored a fantastic hattrick to take Ireland to the playoffs in the FIFA World Cup. Did you see the match?

Harry Tector (HT): It was amazing. Five or six of us were watching it together in Andrew Balbirnie's room. We obviously knew we needed a win and then we were 2-1 down. We were obviously worried. Then they somehow managed to get that second goal which was brilliant. And then the third goal was just amazing. We went crazy in the room. We were shouting, roaring and hugging in the spirit. There's no sport like football. So excited that they set up a chance to qualify for the World Cup.

DS: Do you have any memory of Ireland playing in the FIFA World Cup?

HT: No, no. The last time they played in the World Cup was 2002 and I would have only been two. So, I might have seen them, but I don't remember it. But there's so many glory years of Ireland football in the sort of early 90s and early 2000s. So, it'll be really exciting to see them go to a World Cup again.

DS: Coming back to cricket, Ireland have three wins in 11 Tests since their inaugural Test in 2018. How do you rate Ireland's growth as a Test-playing nation?

HT: I certainly didn't think we would have three wins this early in our Test careers because we don't play any domestic red-ball cricket at home. Playing Test matches from no basis is really hard. The fact that we've managed to do as well as we have is a credit to the team and a credit to the support staff. That first win against Afghanistan was brilliant and then particularly winning home and away against Zimbabwe last year and at the start of this year was brilliant too. It would be great to get another one.

DS: There were recent reports that the ICC is planning to include all 12 teams in the next Test Championship Cycle. How do you see if it gets approved?

HT: I think it'll be huge for cricket in Ireland. We would need to invest a lot in our domestic game to produce Test cricketers because playing at the World Test Championship would be really challenging. You're going to come up against top teams and you're going to play a lot of Test cricket if you're in it. So, you need to invest in the domestic structure to make sure that you're producing players who are ready to play. But to even be thought to be included in that is something we've spoken about as a group. That's something which is incredibly exciting. I think the best thing we can do is to keep trying to put in good performances.

DS: Can you enlighten us about the red-ball cricket structure in Ireland?

HT: There isn't one. We don't play first-class cricket. The time before we played against Zimbabwe, we played Emerald Challenge -- a best v best series in a first-class game. But we haven't played domestic first-class cricket since 2019. I don't know why it didn't take place after that, maybe because of budget constraints. Our domestic teams just play List A and T20s.

DS: Mushfiqur Rahim is set to play his 100th Test in Mirpur. What are your thoughts about him?

HT: He's a fabulous player. I think he made his debut in 2005 and for any cricketer to have that much longevity to play for over 20 years and to be successful for as long as he has, it's an amazing achievement and I'm sure he's incredibly proud of it. I hope he enjoys his 100th Test. But I hope we manage to win.

DS: You played for the Sylhet franchise in the BPL a few years back. The players auction for the next season is coming up, are you interested to play?

HT: Of course. I think I'm in the auction. I've been in good form in T20 cricket this year, so, hopefully I'll get picked up. But it's sort of out of my hands, isn't it? But I'm available.

DS: You will be playing in India and Sri Lanka in ICC T20 World Cup in a couple of months. Do you feel the upcoming three T20Is against Bangladesh help you prepare for that?

HT: Yes, it's very important for us. We played against England in a T20I series before we came here. It's very much at the forefront of our preparation as a team and we will use these games as a real marker for where we are right now.