After rain washed out the first day of the historic Test between Pakistan and Ireland, both the teams will are now looking forward to the remaining four days.

"There will sadly be no play on day one of our first men's Test," Cricket Ireland tweeted yesterday. The match will now be a four-day Test with follow-on imposed on the teams to be of 150 runs rather than 200.

Irish Cricket Chief Executive Warren Deutrom told BBC, “If we can get some walk up with good weather [on Saturday], hopefully it will be a more appropriate environment to start our first ball in Test cricket.”

"Of course it's disappointing but what I don't want to do is go around with a massive long face, projecting misery because it isn't that. We're still hugely proud," he added. A 100 per cent refund was also announced for Friday’s ticket-holders.

Ireland will become just the 11th nation to play men's Test cricket when they face Pakistan at Dublin's Malahide cricket ground.

They will become the first team to debut in the longest format of the game since Bangladesh in 2000, after being awarded full member status last June along with Afghanistan.