Andrew Balbirnie (born 28 December 1990) is an Irish cricketer,the current captain of the Ireland cricket team in Test cricket. Balbirnie is a right-handed batsman and an occasional wicket-keeper. He was born in Dublin and was educated at St. Andrew's College.[1] He was one of the 11 cricketers to play in Ireland's first ever Test match,against Pakistan,in May 2018. In December 2018,he was one of 19 players to be awarded a central contract by Cricket Ireland for the 2019 season.[2][3]
In November 2019,Balbirnie was named as the captain of Ireland's Test and ODI team,after William Porterfield stepped down.[4][5] Later the same month,he was also named as the captain of Ireland's Twenty20 International (T20I) team,replacing Gary Wilson.[6] In January 2020,he was one of 19 players to be awarded a central contract from Cricket Ireland,[7] the first year in which all contracts were awarded on a full-time basis.[8]
In July 2019,Balbirnie was selected to play for the Dublin Chiefs in the inaugural edition of the Euro T20 Slam cricket tournament.[13][14] However,the following month the tournament was cancelled.[15]
In May 2018,Balbirnie was named in a 14-man squad for Ireland's first ever Test match,which was played against Pakistan later the same month.[24][25] He made his Test debut for Ireland,against Pakistan,on 11 May 2018.[26][27] He was dismissed for a pair,[28] therefore becoming the forty-fourth batsman,and first for Ireland,to get a pair on debut in Test cricket.[29][30]
In January 2019,Balbirnie was named in Ireland's squad for their one-off Test against Afghanistan in Dehradun,India.[31][32] In May 2019,in the opening match of the 2019 Ireland Tri-Nation Series against the West Indies,Balbirnie played in his 100th international match for Ireland.[33]
In November 2019,Balbirnie was named as Ireland's all formats captain.[35][36]
On 10 July 2020,Balbirnie was named in Ireland's 21-man squad to travel to England to start training behind closed doors for the ODI series against the England cricket team.[37][38] In the third and final match of the series,which Ireland won by seven wickets,Balbirnie scored his 2,000th run in ODI cricket.[39]
On 13 July 2021,Balbirnie led Ireland to their first ever ODI victory against South Africa.[40][41] He also made his seventh ODI century in the match,scoring 102 off 117 deliveries before getting dismissed by Kagiso Rabada.[42][43][44] In September 2021,Balbirnie was named the captain of Ireland's provisional squad for the 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup.[45]
On 26 October 2022,Balbirnie scored a T20I half-century,scoring 62 off 47 deliveries to lead Ireland to a victory over England in the 2022 ICC Men's T20 World Cup.[46]
On 4 July 2023,Balbirnie has stepped down from his captaincy in limited-overs cricket,after Ireland failed to qualify for the 2023 World Cup.[47]
In March 2024,Balbirnie led Ireland to its first win in Test cricket,against Afghanistan in Abu Dhabi,scoring an unbeaten half-century in the fourth innings.[48] In May 2024,he was named in Ireland’s squad for the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup tournament.[49]
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