Niall O'Brien, Ireland’s most successful Wicketkeeper- Batsman
Niall John
O’Brien, one of the celebrated veterans of Irish Cricket has announced his
retirement from the sport aged 36. A competitive, gritty and dedicated
left-handed batsman-wicketkeeper, Niall has served Cricket Ireland for over 15
years and belongs to the same celebrated group of fellow competitive cricketers
like WTS Porterfield, Eoin Joseph Gerard (EJG) Morgan, DT Johnston, JF Mooney,
KJ O’Brien, EC Joyce, Gary Wilson, PR Stirling who have taken Ireland to some
of its major international Cricket achievements and milestones.
Ireland’s
ODI debut was against England at Belfast on 13 June 2006 and saw the team of
few current veterans like Captain DT Johnston, KJ O’Brien, JF Mooney. In two months, Niall made his ODI debut
against Scotland along with fellow debutants WTS Porterfiled and EJG Morgan.
His
last ODI match was in the series against Afghanistan in August. Niall was also
part of Ireland’s innaugral test team, captained by WTS Porterfiled, against
Pakistan at Malhaide, Dublin in May. The team also included EC Joyce, PR
Stirling, KJ O’Brien, GC Wilson, WB Rankin. His first Twenty20 International
was against Scotland at Belfast in August 2008.
One
of the magnificent pillars of Ireland Cricket Team, Niall is the third most ODI
capped player, out of only four players to play 100 and more matches, with 103
matches and is the 4th highest ODI run maker in the team amassing
2581 runs with one century and eighteen half centuries, the most by an
Irishman. Niall along with Andrew Balbirnie batted a partnership of 138 runs
against Scotland in March 2018 which is the joint highest partnership for the 3rd
wicket equaling it with EC Joyce and Andrew Balbirnie three years earlier
against Zimbabwe.
In
the calendar year of 2015, he was the 2nd highest run scorer for
Ireland with 440 runs with four half centuries at an average of 40 from 14
martches, behind EY Joyce with 467 runs.
NJ
O’Brien was the 3rd highest run scorer for Ireland in the ICC World
Cricket League Championship, 2011-2013/14, by accumulating 257 runs from 7
matches with three 50s at an average of 42.83.
He
has played in three ODI Cricket World Cups with a memorable ‘Man of the Match
Award’ 72 in Cricket World Cup 2007 against Pakistan and helping Ireland
triumph against the giant cricket team by three wickets. He contributed to the
win against England in the 2011 Cricket World Cup where his brother carried
Ireland home with a brilliant record-breaking century at Bangalore, India.
Niall also helped Ireland win against West Indies with a magnificent 79 not out
from 60 balls in the 2015 Cricket World Cup at Nelson.
He
has also played in three T20 International Cricket World Cups and helped
Ireland lift the ICC's Intercontinental Cup - the main first-class competition
for Associate nations - on four occasions. This is an achievement that
previously Ireland could not even have imagined of.
Niall
is also the most successful Irish Wicketkeeper with 96 ODI dismissals from 103
matches, 25 T20Is dismissals from 30 matches and 2 from the only Test match.
Overall,
Niall was one of the key contributors who helped shape Ireland Cricket and see
it achieve its Test status today.
He
comes from a cricketing family where his father Brendan Anthony ‘Ginger’
O'Brien and sister Ciara Mary O'Brien were Cricketers and brother Kevin John
O’Brien is a current Cricketer. While Niall has just retired, his compatriot Edmund
Christopher Joyce had retired shortly after the first test match in May.
Ireland
is proud of Niall John O’Brien and we wish him all the very best for his future
endeavors. Thank you Niall for all the entertainment!
As
always, in the case of Associate Nations, they do the hard work of budding up
as a good team, evolving match-winning players and showing international class
but still even after years of sportsmanship, they still have to wait for ICC to
give the green signal for a Test status or playing a reasonable amount of
international games instead of the current meagre number of games. What makes
it worse is that despite the Associate Nations overcoming all these
strangleholds, the ICC looks for more ways to avoid them for major World Cups.
This is the unfortunate tale of players from Associated Nations who by the time
they eventually grow up as dedicated international match winners, they still
have to wait for favourable decisions from ICC, but by that time it’s time for
their retirement and then the whole process of having to nurture a young batch
of players which inturn affects the team results and the ICC decisions
following it! Surely the majority of the Cricket lovers all over the world
expect a change, a change beginning in the ICC where performing nations are
given more international matches and allowed to excel in World Cups just like
the other top nations.
Picture of Niall O Brien
Picture of Brothers NJ O Brien and KJ O Brien
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