Comparison is the thief of joy, apparently. Call me a miserable git then.

Within minutes of surfacing from the depths of catharsis that was the finale of England’s Test series against India, jealousy took over. Will Ireland ever have a similar moment where red ball dominates the national attention, if even just for one morning?

More esteemed pundits than I labelled this England’s best red ball summer since the 2005 Ashes. Every now and then, cricket shows its ability to ascend from a sport to an international incident, one which commands the eyeballs not just of the nation’s sports fans, but the world’s adrenaline junkies.

Test cricket has this hold. White ball can sometimes come close. Ireland will always have Bangalore. But nothing can ever compete with the climax of a gruelling five days. Chris Woakes carrying a bat with one arm hidden beneath his cable-knit jumper could easily be the defining sporting image of the year. If not the decade.

Ireland has never had an equivalent moment. Sure, Sabina Park and Bangalore were monumental. England at the MCG made the front of the sports supplements. None of these era-defining wins came at home. It’s easy to underestimate the importance of geography when trying to captivate a nation. Nor did any of Irish cricket’s monumental wins come with a red ball.

We’ve had some pretenders. Kevin O’Brien has said his century against Pakistan was a greater achievement than his Bangalore heroics. Precisely because it came while donning whites instead of green. Ask the casual Irish sports fan what comes to mind when you mention O’Brien’s name, it will be his hundred against England, rather his Malahide knock. That Ireland did not beat Pakistan in their maiden Test, combined with the one-off nature of the game - the drama of a multi-game series lacking - means it didn’t reach that cathartic state.

Last year’s Stormont Test win over Zimbabwe, while historic, didn’t come close to captivating a wider audience. The game was on YouTube instead of a national broadcaster. More people went to the North West Cup final that weekend than the Test. The opposition didn’t grab the attention of the casual fan.

Ireland needs an ‘05 Ashes moment. Scratch that, it longs for an Oval ‘25 equivalent. It has to be in Test cricket. The audience is there for it.

On Tuesday, the Indo Sport Podcast gave nearly 10 minutes to a discussion on the England-India series. This is Ireland’s most popular sports show, hosted by the arguably the country’s most affable sports broadcaster, Joe Molloy. 

One of the panel, clearly gripped by his own description of Woakes’ shoulder and Rishabh Pant’s gammy foot, became lost in his own monologue. Another contributor couldn’t believe that neither player was allowed to be substituted due to injury. The quirky drama of an injured bowler being forced to bat days later hooked a sports fan with no cricket background.

The chat ended with one of the most infuriating sentences an Irish fan can hear: “The Ashes is actually taking place win December now, for anyone who’s got a taste from this synopsis.”

This is Irish cricket’s single greatest failing.

The sporting world is fascinated by cricket. Yet those who have raised an eyebrow point to a series taking place in five months’ time as the best place for their next fix. England, the team involved in the sport’s latest attention heist, will be in Dublin next month. These general fans, clearly willing to be caught up in our sport’s whimsical joys, had no idea that Ireland welcome them to Malahide for three T20s.

If Cricket Ireland had any sense (or any remaining marketing budget), they’d send ads to every single sports podcast in the country: ‘Enjoyed the cricket? Well, we happen to play that sport too.’ Something cheeky would work nicely.

The same happened back in 2023. After the Bairstow stumping at Lord’s, Off the Ball, Ireland’s only dedicated sports radio network, offered inadvertent ball-by-ball commentary during a general Saturday sports show, such was the presenter’s obsession with Ben Stokes’ rage-fuelled onslaught. No one mentioned that Ireland were touring England for three ODIs later that summer.

This is partly down to a marketing failure by the powers that be. This has since improved. I now get targeted Instagram ads for the upcoming women’s series against Pakistan in Clontarf. At least the algorithm works.

In the main, though, this disconnect can be explained by a lack of understanding. Perhaps due to the success of the IPL, or even the ECB’s goal of making the sport more accessible via the Hundred, cricket in general seems to think short form games are the vehicle for growth. T20 tickets are cheaper than Test ones. Families and young people can attend. The games are played at more sociable hours.

T20 might boost numbers, but it doesn’t build connection. How many people in Ireland have a grá for white ball? Sure, we may get a slot on the 6:01 news should Ireland beat England’s third string in September, but that won’t bring people back next year. Test cricket makes us feel. Even Irish people who don’t have a particular affinity with the sport. The evidence is staring us in the face. Yet Cricket Ireland has spent seven years pursuing a franchise T20 tournament aimed predominantly at a TV audience abroad while England’s near-annual red ball heroics hoover up our potential fan base.

We need a meaningful Test series, one which is competitive and attracts the support of a national broadcaster. To be fair to Cricket Ireland, one suspects this realisation is starting to dawn. The change of CEO indicates a shift in priorities. They will review their business model to see how more cricket can be paid for with their increased ICC funding.

The right noises are being made. Next year brings hope of one-off home Tests against New Zealand and Afghanistan. If Ireland perform (emphasis on if given a lack of First Class cricket), they will attract some attention. But the lack of narrative from multi-game series won’t help.

Given their vastly better facilities and pre-existing ties to Test matches, England can afford to grow their audience by focusing on the Hundred, safe in the knowledge that the red ball games which give the country the feels aren’t going anywhere. Ireland doesn’t have that luxury. We have to choose.

Trying for a doomed franchise league while playing sporadic home white ball games has gotten us nowhere. Meanwhile, national broadcasters extoll the virtue of our sport while ignoring our own national team. Who can blame them? We’ve never given them similar subject matter.

The way forward is abundantly clear. Put whatever resources we can into building a red ball narrative. Try to create our Mohammed Siraj moment. It’s going to be nigh on impossible without our own stadium nor the commitment from the ICC by creating a two-tiered World Test Championship. But we can make a start.

The next time England serve up a classic, readily available to Irish viewers thanks to Sky’s dominance of the broadcast market, be prepared. Have our own red ball tickets ready to go, primed to jump on the bandwagon and create an Irish narrative.

It’s as good a chance we have at growing our sport. T20 and white ball games have their place, but they cannot do this heavy lifting. Aspiring for Test matches, for ICC full membership, has stagnated Irish cricket in recent years. Yet red ball’s transcendent popularity, combined with better governance strategy, can rescue its future.