How cricket's Test nations fared on their debuts

DUBLIN: Ireland will become just the 11th nation to play men´s Test cricket when they face Pakistan at Dublin´s Malahide in a match starting Friday.

Ideally they would like to emulate the feat of Australia, who remain the only side to have won their inaugural Test -- beating England in the first such match, in Melbourne in 1877.

And the Irish will certainly hope that, whatever happens in the days ahead, they avoid the fate of New Zealand, who took 26 years to win their first Test match.

Below is a look at how all the previous 10 Test nations started off and how long they each took to record a win in the format.

Australia

First Test match: 1877, Melbourne

Result: Beat England by 45 runs

England

First Test: 1877, Melbourne

Result: Lost to Australia by 45 runs

Time of first win: 2 weeks, 2 Tests

South Africa

First Test: 1889, Port Elizabeth

Result: Lost to England by 8 wickets

Time of first win: 7 years, 12 Tests

West Indies

First Test: 1928, Lord´s

Result: Lost to England by an inns and 58 runs

Time of first win: 2 years, 6 Tests

New Zealand

First Test: 1930, Christchurch

Result: Lost to England by 8 wickets

Time of first win: 26 years, 45 Tests

India

First Test: 1932, Lord´s

Result: Lost to England by 158 runs

Time of first win: 20 years, 25 Tests

Pakistan

First Test: 1952, Delhi

Result: Lost to India by an inns and 70 runs

Time of first win: 1 week, two Tests

Sri Lanka

First Test: 1982, Colombo

Result: Lost to England by 7 wkts

Time of first win: 3 years, 14 Tests

Zimbabwe

First Test: 1992, Harare

Result: Drew with India

Time of first win: 3 years, 11 Tests

Bangladesh

First Test: 2000, Dhaka

Result: Lost to India by 9 wkts

Time of first win: 5 years, 35 Tests