Ireland prepare to be judged like never before

There is emotion around a cricket ground when one player takes his cap; Ireland will have 11 players receive their caps.

But then, shortly after, rain permitting, this group of 11 emotional men will have to go out onto the ground and play a Test match. Something the men of Ireland have never done. Something their women did once, on an empty college ground, and never again. They have the experience of these kinds of emotions before. Last year, when Ireland played their first ODI at Lord's, players, past and present, had tears in their eyes in the long room.

So it is part of Ireland's plan how to handle it best.

"The cap presentation will take place before we get into our warm-ups, it will be about focusing from there on," Ireland coach Graham Ford says. "So they can enjoy the moment of getting their first Test cap, and then it's time to get stuck into work".

This is all new for Ireland, and it is bringing about different challenges that these teams rarely plan for.

Richard Holdsworth, Ireland's high performance director, has been planning for this for some time. "There's a mindset change for cricket, it's highly competitive, and the other Test nations have been playing it for donkey's years. So there's a real psychological challenge to Test cricket which will challenge our players. So we've tried to create scenarios, we've tried to create more games to help them with that, and a lot of talk in the changing room about how we prepare, effectively you've got 15 sessions over five days, how do you bowl a side out, as opposed to containing them.

"Had this been mid-season, we would have had a lot more chance to play red-ball cricket leading into this. The guys have been as prepared for this as they can be, they've been training in La Manga in Spain, where we've got a partnership now with La Manga Club, as a warm weather facility, so trying to work on grass there out of season, which is really important."

Ireland have also, because of how cricket is set up, focused on being a white-ball side. Now they have to change themselves to a new way of thinking. So Holdsworth has been working on the mental side. "It's perseverance, it's patience so that a side can be 200 for 0, but you can still bowl them out for 280, 300, and win the next session. So it's that mindset of we're always in the game, but we've got to break it down into individual parts to focus on winning those different stages of the game. Then put that together and hope you put yourself into a winning position."

Not that Ireland is new to red-ball cricket. "A lot of them have played first-class cricket, so the basics of four-day cricket is very similar to Test cricket," Ford says. "So there is a fair amount of knowledge in the room, and the guys are busy sharing that knowledge all the time. So it's nice for a coach to have that experience around. They are very aware of the important basics that need to be applied to Test cricket."

Holdsworth adds: "The ICC Intercontinental Cup which is four days, in terms of duration of the game, it's only about 40 overs shy of a Test match. And obviously the county players are used to four days, so we've been playing that over the years, so we're not new to red-ball cricket."

But their red-ball experience is limited to Associate cricket or county, that's very different from a Test match, as Ford knows. "There's no doubt that we're up against a high-quality opposition, they've got some incredible performers and great skills. In general, the strategies and the mindset and the game plans are very similar. It's just playing against a very high-quality unit."

Plus, there are the things that are harder to prepare for. Associate cricketers and women often struggle with the added scrutiny of the odd World Cup match. But there the noise often disappears quickly; this is going to be five days of scrutiny and interest on a level they have never had. Playing Test cricket will mean more casual fans will take notice, there will be far more criticism of what will be a struggling team for a long time. Not to mention that huge crowds are predicted over the first few days, Sky are showing the games and there are upwards of 60 press in attendance. The step up from bit part to star takes a toll.

"We've told the players to be more selective than usual on what they read," Holdsworth says. There has also been extra training on how to deal with the media and handle their time.

Cricket Ireland is still a small board. When Warren Deutrom started as Ireland CEO, there were only two other Cricket Ireland staff members: Marie, a part-time administrative assistant, and Adrian Birrell, the head coach. That was 11 years ago. It was seven years ago when Holdsworth was brought on. They are trying to turn an amateur set-up into a professional Test unit. And no country has ever changed as quickly as this.

Holdsworth has been a big part of this. "One thing a lot of countries who have more resources, both financial and human, they don't just have to prioritise so carefully. We have to be rigorous in our priorities and be absolutely certain this investment is going to make a difference. There's lots we'd like to do, but we have to be very careful. We hope we've got that close to the best it can be."

On Friday morning, that will be judged like never before. But you get the feeling for most of the players, and the coaching staff, they just want the game to start.

"There's been quite a lot of sideshows going on - media work, bat signing - and quite a lot of excitement away from the actual game," Ford says.

You know it's not a normal match preparation when the coach is worried about too much bat signing.