Kyle McCallan believes hosting Test cricket can help inspire next generation of young stars in Northern Ireland

Transcript

00:00So just talk about the significance of Test Cricket and Match Cricket here in Belfast.

00:04I think I said in an interview previously, I have an 11 year old wee boy here who is

00:08with me and he wants to be here every day. He is supposed to have a golf competition

00:12on Sunday and he doesn't want to miss the cricket and that for me is the significance

00:17of this. The amount of youngsters, the amount of people in the local area who are going

00:20to see Test Cricket on their doorstep and hopefully that will encourage more people

00:24into the game. The guys have put on a good second session here and a good result here,

00:31you just never know.

00:32I was talking to Wiley earlier on about the path and the journey that it's been to this

00:36point. How do you reflect on the journey to here?

00:39It's been a long journey. It's been one that a lot of people would have never believed

00:42would have happened. There are a lot of naysayers out there who would say Ireland shouldn't

00:50be playing Test Cricket and we shouldn't be doing X, Y and Z. But ultimately you want

00:53to play the best form of the game. This is the absolute epitome of the biggest test of

00:58your ability, your technique, your physical and mental capacity and Ireland are playing

01:02it. I look at young lads out there playing Test Cricket and we had the privilege of playing

01:07in the Intercontinental Cup which was as near as we got to it. But winning that on those

01:11four occasions has opened the doors to what we are seeing here today. So massively proud

01:16of the role that the forebearers of this team have played and people mustn't underestimate

01:22that.

01:23Being from the NCU yourself, how proud are you to see NCU players out there and how special

01:27will it be for them playing in their own backyard?

01:29Listen, it's amazing. The Northern Cricket Union is in good... Cricket as a game is fighting

01:37against the majority sports, the rugby, the football, the Gaelic games. But we're armwrestling

01:42to become one of them. I don't want to be seen as a minority sport. To see NCU players

01:46representing Ireland, look at this ground. Stormont is an absolute picture. The Wicket

01:51is outstanding. This is proper cricket being played on a proper cricket ground by proper

01:56cricketers and the people here watching it are getting to watch the best cricket that

02:00anyone will see.

02:01And you'd love to see more of this in the future, would you?

02:04Without a shadow of a doubt. There's a willingness, there's a want and a desire for that to happen.

02:09But there has to be, you know yourself, there has to be patience. It's an expensive form

02:13of the game to run. But ultimately we have to put all the systems in place and all the

02:19structures in place to lead not only as existing in test cricket but to continue to grow and

02:24develop.