FORMER Gloucestershire skipper William Porterfield could lead his country out in a real four-day match against a major cricket nation after Ireland were granted Test status by the International Cricket Council.
Ireland, along with Afghanistan, were awarded the status after several match victories against current Test-playing nations in one-day and T20 competitions over the last few years.
Porterfield played for Gloucestershire between 2008 and 2010 and lead Ireland to an historic victory over England, who featured the likes of Andrew Strauss, Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood and Ian Bell, in March 2011 by three wickets.
Porterfield also contributed 23 to Ireland’s 307-6 total that beat the West Indies by four wickets with 25 balls to spare in the ICC World Cup in February 2015.
The status opens up the prospect of Porterfield leading Ireland out in a Test match against England at Lord’s in the future, with England currently captained by Eoin Morgan – and Irishman!
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