Ireland will hold talks with the England and Wales Cricket Board over a possible Lord’s Test in 2019 after they and Afghanistan were granted full-member status of the International Cricket Council on Thursday.

The two countries, whose applications were voted for unanimously by the ICC’s Full Council as part of an overhaul of its constitution, become the first new Test nations since Bangladesh were awarded top-level status in 2000 and take the number of full members from 10 to 12.

Neither Ireland nor Afghanistan have a set date for their inaugural Tests and one option is a meeting between the pair in 2018. But Ireland are eyeing a return to Lord’s, where they played the second of two one-day internationals for the first time in against England last month.

“We saw recently that Ireland were able to get 25,000 bums on seats at Lord’s in May, when it is not easy to sell tickets,” said Warren Deutrom, the chief executive of Cricket Ireland.

A slot is available at Lord’s in 2019 after the ICC confirmed its “Test challenge” – a one-off match between England and the winners of a play-off series between best associate nation and the lowest ranked Test nation – has now been scrapped.

Test status marks the end of a long road for Ireland, who were given the one‑day equivalent in 2006 and since made a habit of causing upsets in the past three World Cups with wins against Pakistan, England and West Indies. They have also dominated the ICC’s first-class competition for associate nations, the Intercontinental Cup.

The hope now is that Irish‑born cricketers such as Eoin Morgan, who captains England’s one-day side, will no longer defect to fulfil their Test dreams but a complication could arise if their players are now deemed overseas players in the county game. Further talks with the ECB on this subject are planned.

Afghanistan’s rise is all the more remarkable. Having seen the sport became popular among the refugees that had fled the war-torn country back in the 1980s and settled in Pakistan, they played their first full international 13 years ago and have since climbed to their current position of 10th in the one-day rankings – above full members Zimbabwe.

During this time Afghanistan have appeared in three World Twenty20s and the 2015 World Cup. Their 19-year-old leg-spinner, Rashid Khan, is considered one of the brightest talents in the world game and broke new ground this year when he and team-mate Mohammad Nabi became the first Afghan cricketers to play in the Indian Premier League.

Neither Ireland or Afghanistan are expected to take part in the mooted nine‑team Test championship that could finally be announced on Friday by the ICC after months of talks.