Deutrom wants regular series against Full Members

Though Thursday's ODI against Australia is yet another in a string of one-off matches against Full Members that Ireland have had to make do with, Cricket Ireland chief executive Warren Deutrom expects that being part of the ODI rankings table may enable them to schedule 15 ODIs per year against Full Members ahead of the rankings cutoff in September 2017.

"We're targeting now something in the region of maybe 7-10 ODIs per year at home and hopefully maybe another 2-3 pre and post year," Deutrom told ESPNcricinfo. "So we're looking at something in the region of 15-20 ODIs a year. That's going to be our primary focus alongside trying to be a Test country."

In January, Ireland scored an administrative win after being included in the 12-team ODI rankings table in order to determine the top eight sides to gain automatic berths for the 2019 ICC World Cup in England. However, after going 3-3 in the group stages of the 2015 World Cup, scoring on-field wins has posed a far bigger obstacle simple because of a scarcity of ODIs.

Ireland have had just one ODI - a rained out one-off match against England in May - since signing off from the World Cup with a seven-wicket loss to Pakistan in Adelaide. In contrast, Pakistan have played 11 matches since the World Cup in a four-month stretch from April to July - against a combination of Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, and Sri Lanka - which is the same as the number Ireland had scheduled against Full Members in a four-year stretch between the 2011 and 2015 World Cups. Only eight were completed though, with two completely abandoned and just 10.4 overs played against Australia before rain halted proceedings in 2012.

In the period between the 2011 and 2015 World Cups, only Pakistan and Sri Lanka played multiple bilateral ODIs against Ireland. Pakistan played a pair of two-match series in 2011 and 2013, while a two-game series scheduled against Sri Lanka in 2014 was cut in half by Dublin rains. As for away fixtures, Ireland only played against West Indies in an ODI along with two T20Is in Kingston.

Deutrom, who is hoping to correct that disparity, said he has seen positive signs that may point to Ireland securing a steadier diet of bilateral fixtures, both home and away in the wake of the ICC annual conference in June. The relationship with Pakistan and Sri Lanka was reinforced with Tuesday's announcement of four ODIs in 2016, two against each team, and Deutrom said Cricket Ireland is close to finalizing a possible tour to Zimbabwe in October.

"For the very first time, talking with the ICC, the CEO went around the room and asked all the Full Members what discussions they were having with Ireland, Afghanistan and the lower-ranked Full Members to ensure that they can get enough fixtures," Deutrom said. "Am I encouraged by the discussions I'm having at the moment? Yes, very much so.

"We're going to be heading down to Zimbabwe in October. We haven't quite yet announced what that's going to look like in terms of the fixtures but we're in advanced discussions with Zimbabwe Cricket. It'll involve a third nation as well. Next year we're looking to have a reciprocal arrangement whereby Zimbabwe and that other nation would come to Ireland and we're also pretty confident of playing at least four more ODIs at home."

In addition to the cramped schedule of fixtures, a perceived lack of revenue-generating appeal seems to be another reason for Full Members being reluctant to schedule fixtures against Associates like Ireland. To help alleviate this issue, the ICC has proposed an ODI fund to defray the costs of such matches and help encourage a series such as Ireland's tour to Zimbabwe.

Deutrom said he is trying to be creative to seek out dates for fixtures against Full Members. Ireland are scheduled to play Papua New Guinea - who have previously used Townsville in Australia to host matches - in an Intercontinental Cup match ahead of the ICC World Twenty20 in March. Expecting the game against PNG to take place in Australia, he is hoping to potentially arrange a few fixtures against Full Members on either side of the Intercontinental Cup match, and not necessarily against Australia.

"I'm in discussions with another quite senior Full Member in terms of something prior to the World T20 itself, which is going to be in and around our Intercontinental Cup game against PNG which we're hoping to play outside of PNG, probably in Australia and that's something I've been discussing with Cricket Australia and with Papua New Guinea at the moment.

"So if we think about opportunities at the beginning of the year, then the World T20, then our home series with 7-10 ODIs and then what we're looking to arrange towards the end of the year through discussions with other Full Members, it gives me great encouragement that we'll actually be able to achieve those numbers as well. Given the fact that the Champions Trophy is in England in 2017 and the World Cup is in England in 2019, that provides us with many more opportunities."

Despite the ICC confirming their place in the ODI rankings table in January for World Cup qualification, Ireland's four ODIs against Sri Lanka and Pakistan for 2016 are the first ones agreed to since then. However, they have seen 14 guaranteed ODIs against fellow Associates as part of the WCL Championship disappear. Deutrom did not consider it a likely problem when asked if he was worried about other Associates being better prepared for the 2018 World Cup Qualifier.

"I'm fairly confident that's not going to happen," Deutrom said. "Afghanistan is also part of the 12-team ODI structure. Now of course, Afghanistan and ourselves don't want to be playing each other six times a year because let's face it, the point of both of us being in the structure is not to have to play each other. It's about trying to play as many of the teams above us. Why? Because it's about trying to create more competitive teams on the world stage.

"Of course, would I be happier if we actually had some guaranteed structured fixtures against all of the Full Members? Yes of course but the world doesn't work that way and we're trying to work around it."