William Porterfield, a legend and former captain of Ireland, has announced his retirement from cricket at the international and representative levels. The 37-year-old, who made his Ireland debut in 2006 had an immaculate career of 16 years.
Porterfield finished his playing career as the second-highest scorer for the team in one-day internationals (ODIs), after Paul Stirling, and with the second-most caps, behind Kevin O’Brien. In ODI and T20I cricket, Porterfield amassed 4343 runs at 30.58 and 1079 runs at 20.35, respectively. Nobody has led Ireland more times across forms than he did, captaining them in 172 of the 212 internationals in which he played.
Notably, he led Ireland in both the 2011 and 2015 ODI World Cups in addition to the three Test matches they have already played. His scores of 85 in the 2007 World Cup victory over Bangladesh, 112 against England in 2013, and 107 against Pakistan in the 2015 World Cup are among his best at the plate.
The Ireland legend while announcing his retirement said, “It’s been an honor to represent my country for 16 years – it’s something I had always wanted to do since I was a child. I have to say, though, it’s a little surreal at the moment having made the decision to step away and retire, but I’ve been fortunate to play since 2006 and it’s been an incredible journey
“During my career, we’ve gone from an amateur team right through to now being a Test nation. From those before me, and along my journey, we have hopefully built an infrastructure that will allow the game in Ireland to continue to flourish. All I ever wanted to do was leave the shirt in a better place and leave the team in a better place, and hopefully, I’ve played a part in doing that.”, he added.
After landing a gig with Gloucestershire, the club where he began his county career before moving to Warwickshire, Porterfield will now turn his attention to teaching.
Those who have seen the journey of Ireland Cricket and how they have progressed over the years must have heard Porterfield’s name and know about his contribution to the team. He led from the front and helped his country have a steady growth. We hope the legend has a great second innings after his retirement and has a fulfilled life ahead.
