Ian Callender (Belfast Telegraph) reports:

Day 1 - First day's play washed out

Cricket Ireland is set to lose around £65,000 after their first day of Test cricket was abandoned without a ball bowled. More than 5,000 spectators had paid to watch the historic day’s play against Pakistan at Malahide but are now entitled to a full refund and, following the abandonment of Ireland’s last home match, against West Indies at Stormont, the compensation is not covered by CIs insurance.

“Every time you have to pay out, your insurance premium goes up and the premium we were offered for this match was so prohibitive to be pointless, said CI chief executive Warren Deutrom. “But we don’t look at losses on a match by match basis, rather year-by year and for most countries Test cricket, apart from England-Australia which is the obvious exception, is a loss leader, with the majority of money made from white-ball cricket. And we are starting very well with two T20s against India (next month) so luckily that will help us mop up - excuse the pun - any losses from this match should they be incurred.”

Ironically, 10 minutes after umpires Richard Illingworth and Nigel Llong abandoned play, the sun came out and frustrated spectators were asking had the decision been made too soon? But Deutrom agreed with the decision. “A part of me was thinking, as we were getting to 3 o’clock and the rain was hammering down, ‘you know what, even if the skies had cleared and the umpires said we could go out for a number of overs, say at 5 o’clock, it would have been an underwhelming, inappropriate way to make our bow in Test cricket'” he said.

“Now the rain has stopped, the groundstaff will be working hard and head groundsman Phil Frost said if we can clear this overnight, the sun shines tomorrow that is a more appropriate opportunity to start in front of a full house, or as many as we can get. We have pre-sold 4,000 and with good weather we should get a number of walk-ups and it will be a more appropriate environment to bowl our first ball in Test cricket.” Play today is scheduled to start at the normal time of 11am but to make up for the lost play, a minimum of 98 overs will be bowled on the next four days with the new close of play at 6.30, or 7pm to allowed the overs to be completed.

And despite being the first team to lose their entire opening day of Test match cricket, Deutrom refused to be deflated. “I don’t want to go round with a massively long face projecting misery, because it isn’t, we are still hugely proud, there are still four days left in the match and, who knows, in the record books it may say we took the game to the fifth day."

On the nine previous occasions, only Zimbabwe have managed that in their inaugural Test, and apart from the first Test, when Australia beat England, they are the only side to avoid losing. They had to bat 280 overs (214 in the first innings!) in Harare against India to achieve that and while Ireland should not have to bat that long, if they are to claim what would be a memorable draw, with a good forecast,

After waiting all these years, what’s another 24 hours.

Day 2 - Ireland pass Pakistan Test

Nick Royle (Times Ireland) reports:

Pakistan were 159-6, the sun was shining, the 5,000-strong crowd at Malahide Cricket Club were cheering every delivery, and Ireland's first full day of Test cricket was promising to be one of the great days of Irish sport. Sarfraz Ahmed, the Pakistan captain, was walking slowly and disconsolately towards the pavilion.

Stuart Thompson, the Ireland seamer, was being mobbed by his team-mates. Paul Stirling, hand held triumphantly in the air after a sharp catch, was hailing the noisy supporters at the Malahide Castle end of Test cricket's newest venue.

Fast forward a couple of hours, and those Ireland players now understand why Test cricket has traditionally been viewed as the ultimate examination of a team's talent and mental strength. The game had moved on quickly. The scoreboard had moved on quickly, to 268-6.

Shadab Khan and Faheem Ashraf, the Pakistan all-rounders, had shared an unbeaten 109 partnership for the seventh wicket. And the tourists had regained the initiative after Friday's opening-day washout, to set up an intriguing third day of play tomorrow.

Ireland first gatecrashed international cricket's cosy cartel during the 2007 World Cup, when a gaggle of part-time cricketers stunned Pakistan at Sabina Park in Kingston, Jamaica. That team, a pugnacious outfit led by the fiery Australian Trent Johnston, made up for their technical inferiority with a fighting spirit that unnerved their smooth, professional opponents.

And the first ball of the first morning set a similar tone for the first day of Ireland's first Test match. Azhar Ali called his opening partner, Iman-Ul-Haq, through for a quick single.

Niall O'Brien, the Ireland wicket-keeper, and Tyrone Kane, the Ireland seam bowler, hurled themselves toward the ball and accidentally floored Pakistan debutant Iman, yet to face a delivery in Test cricket, with a one-two combination. The Pakistan opening pair struggled to settle after that.

This was no “céad míle fáilte”, the hundred thousand welcomes of a hundred thousand Irish tourist board campaigns. Sarfraz, the Pakistan captain, spoke on Thursday about how honoured he and his team felt to be invited to become Ireland's first opponents in Test cricket, following their promotion to Test and Full Member status in June 2017.

But Boyd Rankin and Tim Murtagh, Ireland's new-ball bowling partnership, were in no mood to offer any thank-you gifts to their visitors. Rankin struck first, in the final ball of the eighth over, with a climbing delivery that found Azhar's edge and was easily pocketed by William Porterfield, the Ireland captain, at second slip.

Murtagh struck the very next ball, pinning Iman, the nephew of former Pakistan captain and current chairman of selectors Inzaman-Ul-Haq, lbw in front of middle and leg stump. And Ireland were inches away from completing a team hat-trick of three dismissals in the three balls, when Thompson caught non-striker Haris Sohail dawdling down the pitch only to miss the stumps with his sharp throw from the covers.

Things calmed down a little after that. This is Test cricket after all, a game of nuance and applied pressure. Sohail and Asad Shafiq began the slow rebuild of the innings until the lunch break, but Ireland made their third breakthrough when Sohail undid all good work in the morning session with a loose steer off a Thompson delivery, straight to Porterfield at gully.

Every time the Pakistan batsmen opened the shoulders and threatened to take the game away from the hosts, Ireland struck back. Murtagh, bowling his trademark tight line outside off stump, found the edge of Babar Azam and the bucket hands of Stirling at second slip. Shafiq pulled a Rankin bouncer straight to Andrew Balbirnie at square leg, then captain Sarfraz gifted Ireland a sixth wicket by wafting at a Thompson delivery outside off stump.

Two foolish shots from two of Pakistan's most experienced batsman, two of only four players in the line-up with 20 caps or more, and Pakistan were rocking at 159-6. So it was left to Shadab, the 19-year-old leg-spinner playing only his second Test, and debutant Faheem Ashraf to show their more experienced team-mates how to build a partnership.

By the time the teams came off for bad light at 5.27pm, the clouds bringing a unexpected hail storm following a day of unrelenting sunshine on the north Dublin coast, Pakistan were in charge and well placed to post a 350+ total. “There is a slight sense of disappointment, because we got the ball swinging for the majority of the day,” Murtagh admitted.

“The partnership at the end has taken it a little bit away from us. “There was bit of tiredness in the legs towards the end, probably because of a recent lack of cricket for the whole squad. “But we are into the new ball early in the morning, so we will get through these four overs, and then hope to nip out these last four wickets as quickly as we can.”

Pakistan fightback leaves Ireland in trouble

Ger Siggins (Sunday Independent) reports:

Ireland certainly set out their plan before the toss when they omitted the spinner, Andrew McBrine, and banked on five seamers to get the 20 wickets. The attack veered from Boyd Rankin’s bat-jarring bounce to Tyrone Kane’s skiddy seamers, but even in helpful bowling conditions several batsmen were able to play themselves in against the all right-arm-over attack. Ireland may regret dropping McBrine with the pitch being reported as “drier than expected” by some players and Pakistan including the promising leg-spinner Shadab Khan.

Graham Ford may also regret a sub-par fielding display which saw a couple of missed run-outs and at least two catches going a-begging. It allowed Pakistan to come back into the game from 159-6 as Shadab Khan and Faheem Ashraf – one cap between them – both scored maiden fifties. Ireland had two big concerns in the opposition top order, and both were removed by Boyd Rankin. Azhar Ali was caught at slip in the eighth over – only England and India have taken their first Test wicket quicker – but Asad Shafiq took a bit more budging. Ford had clearly done his homework and come up with a plan, with Rankin coming in around the wicket and bowling short. He soon induced the pull which was held smartly by Andrew Balbirnie and Shafiq was gone for 62.

Tim Murtagh admitted he “hadn’t really thought” about bowling Ireland’s opening delivery until Porterfield won the toss. “It was a bit of a loosener, and led to a bit of controversy, but it was good to get it out of the way

“I was a bit disappointed Boyd got the first wicket,” he grinned, “but to get the next one straight away was magic.” He also considered it “a shame” that Ireland let the Pakistan batsmen get on top. “We had got the ball swinging for most of the day but they did get take it away from us. That was probably a lack of cricket.

“Boyd Rankin was exceptional, but we spilled a couple of chances late on which could have had us in a better position.”

Day 3 - Resilient Ireland have hope after Pakistan blitz

CricketEurope reports:

Day 3 of Ireland's first ever Test is one that few will forget after William Porterfield's side were forced to follow-on after a dominant bowling display from Pakistan. Resuming overnight on 268-6 the visitors added 42 more runs for the loss of 3 further wickets before declaring half an hour before lunch to get a quick bowl at the home side.

It was shortly after the wicket of Faheen Ashraf that sparked the declaration - his innings of 83 (9 fours and a six) ended by Stuart Thompson (3-62). Tim Murtagh (4-45) was the pick of the bowlers while Boyd Rankin (2-75) also made his mark.

That declaration however soon had Ireland in trouble as Mohammad Abbas (4-44) and Mohammad Amir (2-9) had the hosts reeling at 5-3 before lunch and 7-4 straight after it. Kevin O'Brien led a rearguard action before being out for 40 and despite that and a sterling effort from the injured Gary Wilson batting at 9 who made 33 not out, the reply ended on a disappointing 130 all out.

Pakistan decided to twist the knife and asked Ireland to follow on, however this time Ed Joyce and skipper Porterfield got it spot on. Joyce- so unlucky to be adjudged lbw in the first innings - batted beautifully to finish the day on 39 not out while his captain was 23 not out as Ireland showed real fight.

They will resume on Day 4 on 64-0, still 116 runs in arrears, but it's a much better picture than many had feared at tea.

Day 4 O'Brien the hero as Ireland dare to dream

Ian Callender (Belfast Telegraph) reports:

It was just after 6.15pm that Kevin O’Brien pushed a ball from Mohammad Amir through the covers for runs that made him a national hero, for the second time in his career. O’Brien, the man for the big occasion, had just scored Ireland’s first Test century in their debut Test, seven years after he scored the fastest World Cup hundred, to help Ireland beat England at the 2011 World Cup.

Rather than the packed stands of Bangalore, there were only a few hundred spectators dotted around the five temporary stands in Malahide yesterday, the fourth day of the historic Test, but it was definitely an “I was there moment”. Proud parents Brendan, himself a former international, and Camilla were there and along with everyone else rose as one as O’Brien did a little jig of delight before he had completed the second run which took him to 101.

“To get there it’s a great honour and hopefully now we’ve put ourselves in a good position to try and go ahead and win it and there’s no reason why we can’t,” he said at the close. “We’ve just got to start off well tomorrow, try and get as many runs as we can and if we get a crack at them try and get them a couple down early and see where we go from there.

“I still think for me Bangalore is definitely number one just for the sheer moment it was, and against who it was, being in the World Cup. If I continue on tomorrow for another hour and a half and that 118 changes to 170-odd, this could top it.” He had come to the middle 40 minutes before lunch when Ireland still needed 85 runs just to make Pakistan bat again. Almost five hours later, when he reached three figures, O’Brien – at 34 the third oldest of the 105 players to score a century on Test debut – had faced 186 balls and hit 10 boundaries and Ireland were 116 runs in front.

By the close, O’Brien and Tyrone Kane, who had lasted just two balls in the first innings, had added another 23 runs and Ireland were dreaming, not just becoming only the second team to draw their inaugural Test but actually being the first, since Australia in the first ever in 1877, of winning it. But that can wait until the last day. Let’s bask in and review Ireland’s and, particularly O’Brien’s, greatest day – yes better than the World Cup win, because this was unknown territory for Ireland.

It had actually started in the worst possible manner with Ed Joyce run out in the third over of the day, a risky single which, because of the poor angle of the television camera made it a particularly difficult decision for third umpire Mark Hawthorne to adjudicate on. But Joyce had already given the game away by walking to the boundary, believing he hadn’t made it and after more two minutes he saw the dreaded “Out” on the scoreboard. It was even worse for Ireland four balls later when Andrew Balbirnie was leg before wicket to Mohammad Abbas for the second time in the match without scoring – the 44th player to get a pair on his Test match debut.

Niall O’Brien, after enduring a 10-ball duck in the first innings, was much more positive this time, which was fortunate because the scoreboard would have stopped otherwise as William Porterfield faced 25 balls without scoring. But it was O’Brien who was the third wicket to fall, playing across the line to Amir, and when Porterfield followed for the addition of only one more run, a good diving catch to his left by the keeper, Ireland were 95-4. Enter Kevin O’Brien.

Much like his older brother, he was positive from the start, undoubtedly boosted by being the first innings top scorer and after getting off the mark first ball with an easy single he hit two of his next eight balls to the boundary. At first he was in partnership, once again, with Paul Stirling but by the 58th over Abbas was getting good reverse swing and it did for the Middlesex professional, the sixth lbw victim of the match.

He was replaced by Gary Wilson, back in his regular position at No 7, buoyed by the good news that there was no fracture in his elbow. He could manage only one boundary, however, before he edged Amir to slip, the left-armer's 100th Test wicket, and Ireland were still 23 runs behind, now with just four wickets remaining. But the rest of the day belonged to Ireland. Stuart Thompson has already scored two centuries this season for club and province and he was quickly into his stride, a four through mid-wicket the best of the bunch before the tea interval.

After the break, Thompson upped the tempo and while O’Brien was content to nudge the singles, Thompson took 11 off an over from left armer Rahat Ali and followed up with two boundaries off Amir. A sweet drive down the ground not only brought up the hundred stand but also the Eglinton captain’s 50, from 103 balls, just three more than O’Brien took for his first half-century. By this stage, O’Brien had moved onto 79 and thoughts of that debut hundred were not just in his mind but everyone in the ground. He did lose Thompson, bowled between bat and pad by a huge leg spinner from Shadab Khan but Kane, three years after his previous Ireland game, was nerveless as he let O’Brien dominate the scoring and inch close to the historic landmark.

Indeed, Kane has already faced 67 balls and scored from only five of them but his role in the undefeated eighth wicket partnership of 48 has set Ireland up for what could be an even more memorable fifth and final day. It was a definitely a night to dream.

Day 5 - No Miracle of Malahide

Irish Independent reports:

The Miracle of Malahide did not materialise on the final day of Ireland's first Test match but the new boys gave Pakistan a mighty scare and pushed the visitors all the way before succumbing to a respectable five-wicket defeat shortly before tea. When Tim Murtagh grabbed his sixth wicket of the match, Pakistan were a barely credible 14-3 in pursuit of 160 to win and Ireland's dreams of becoming only the fourth side to win after having to follow on were nudging into expectation territory.

There was just enough 'nibble' in Phil Frost's excellent surface for the Middlesex seamer to worry the Pakistan top order and if a tough, low chance had been held at third slip with 100 still required it could have been a different story - but probably not. A fourth-wicket partnership of 126 effectively settled the issue, despite a late run-out featuring Andy Balbirnie and bowler Stuart Thompson, and a wicket for Thompson who will be considered one of the finds of the week for Ireland coach Graham Ford.

Perhaps it was fitting that the winning runs were hit by opener Imam-ul-Haq, one of the debutants on the other side, because it was Inzamam's nephew who was involved in the very first action of the game when he was flattened in a Niall O'Brien and Tyrone Kane sandwich. Imam strode off unbeaten on 74 but it was Kevin O'Brien who picked up the man of the match award, with the added bonus of forever being the first name of Ireland's Test match roll of honour board.

"I'm extremely proud of how we went about it, all five days really. I can't fault anyone at all," said captain William Porterfield. "Most of our batsmen, myself included, would have wanted to have their first innings again if they could but everything else was fine. "It was one of those sort of games, where you find it hard not to look at the little opportunities here and there but the lads acquitted themselves well.

"The biggest thing was how we fought back in the second innings with the bat - that showed the character we have. It's something that's been talked about during big occasions, World Cups. "That's always been known to be there but Test cricket is Test cricket for a reason, it's there in the name, you did get tested and we were after the first innings.

"It would have been nice to get an extra few runs this morning but at 14-3, sitting there, we got a proper sniff against a quality line-up. "If we could have got a couple more wickets, if we'd broken that partnership a bit earlier then it's completely different game."

Going into the fifth day, hopes of a stunning win were resting largely on how many O'Brien and the Ireland tail could muster in addition to the lead of 139 they had built on Monday evening. The answer was: not very many. O'Brien himself, Ireland's first Test centurion, had not added to his overnight 118 when he was caught behind and despondently departed having faced 217 balls and hit 12 boundaries.

The baton thus passed to Kane and he was in no mood to be budged. The Merrion all-rounder, who was a surprise pick and still looking for his first Test wicket last night, had offered O'Brien stout resistance in an eighth-wicket partnership of 50 and now helped Boyd Rankin eke out another 11. Rankin chopped on for six and Kane's 96-ball innings also ended with stumps broken via edge of the bat as Ireland were all out for 339.

His doughty effort had lasted 128 minutes for 14 runs - another 20 or so of either would have made things very interesting. There will be more one-sided and difficult five-day Tests ahead for Porterfield and his side in foreign climes and conditions, where the lack of strike bowlers and a genuine spinner will be exposed, and Ireland will soon have to face those challenges without their greatest batsman Ed Joyce who may now finally retire his creaking bones while still firmly gripping that cherished cap.

But after a glorious four days in Malahide, following a washed-out opening day, there is now no question that the 11th team to play Test cricket are in any way out of place.

Ian Callender (Belfast Telegraph), Nick Royle (Times Ireland), Ger Siggins (Sunday Independent), CricketEurope, Irish Independent