Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Full name | Niall John O'Brien | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Dublin, Ireland | 8 November 1981|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Nickname | Paddy | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Batting | Left-handed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Role | Batsman, Wicketkeeper | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Relations |
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International information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
National side |
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Only Test(cap 7) | 11 May 2018 v Pakistan | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
ODI debut(cap 13) | 5 August 2006 v Scotland | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Last ODI | 31 August 2018 v Afghanistan | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
ODI shirt no. | 72 (formerly 0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
T20I debut(cap 7) | 2 August 2008 v Scotland | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Last T20I | 13 March 2016 v Netherlands | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
T20I shirt no. | 72 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Domestic team information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Years | Team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2004–2006 | Kent | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2007–2012 | Northamptonshire | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2012 | Khulna Royal Bengals | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2013 | Rangpur Riders | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2013–2016 | Leicestershire (squad no. 10) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2017–2018 | North West Warriors | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Career statistics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source:ESPNcricinfo,12 June 2019 |
Niall John O'Brien (born 8 November 1981) is a former Irish cricketer and a cricket commentator. He is a left-handed batsman and wicket-keeper. Domestically O'Brien began his professional career with Kent in 2004 before joining Northamptonshire at the start of 2007,spending six seasons there before joining Leicestershire for 2013.
He made his One Day International debut for Ireland in 2006;two years later he played his first Twenty20 International. He was one of the eleven cricketers to play in Ireland's first ever Test match,against Pakistan,in May 2018.
O'Brien has also played in overseas twenty20 leagues,first the Indian Cricket League in 2008 and then the Bangladesh Premier League on its formation in 2012. His brother,Kevin,plays alongside him in the Ireland team while his father,Brendan,played cricket for Ireland from 1966 to 1981. [1]
In October 2018,O'Brien announced his retirement from cricket. [2]
O'Brien was educated in Marian College,Ballsbridge. [3] His brother Kevin is also a member of the Ireland team. Their father Brendan played 52 times for Ireland. [4] His sister Ciara O'Brien is in the Ireland women's hockey team.
Niall first gained recognition playing domestic cricket in Leinster for the Railway Union Cricket Club earning a call up to the Ireland A team. From there he established himself as Ireland's number one wicketkeeper. O'Brien himself has said that he has a fiery temperament. On 17 June 2004,he angered Brian Lara when Lara refused to walk after being apparently caught behind. [5] Ireland caused an upset when they went on to win the match,with O'Brien scoring 58* off 57 balls. [6] In 2006 he was banned for one ICC Intercontinental Cup match after an outburst criticising the groundsman at an Intercontinental Cup game with Scotland because of condition of the pitch. [7]
O'Brien has spent many an Australian summer playing for Mosman Cricket Club in the Sydney Grade Cricket competition. O'Brien also assumed a part-time coaching role while at the club and considers the time spent in Australia as some of the most vital parts of his career. He also played two seasons of first grade for North Sydney in the Sydney Grade Competition in 2003/04 and 2005/06. He also played a season with the Mosman club as an 18-year-old.
Along with fellow Ireland player Ed Joyce,O'Brien made a series of impressive performances for Ireland before starting to take part in English cricket with Kent. O'Brien found multiple chances to perform for his county as fellow wicket-keeper Geraint Jones has found himself performing more often for the England cricket team.
After being released by Kent he signed a one-year deal with Northamptonshire for 2007. In the same year,he joined the Essel Group's Indian Cricket League (ICL) to represent the Delhi Jets team for one season. [8] O'Brien became the first player to play international cricket after playing in the ICL when he played an Intercontinental Cup match against United Arab Emirates in March 2008;he went on to score 174 in Ireland's nine-wicket win. [9]
At the end of the 2008 season,O'Brien was named Northamptonshire's player of the year and was rewarded for his consistent performances with a three-year contract with the club. A representative of Northamptonshire CCC said "Niall,who has just returned from international duty,was in sensational form last season with the bat,scoring over 850 championship runs and piling on the runs in one-day competitions in a new pinch-hitter role". [10] In a tour match against Australia during the 2009 Ashes in July 2009,O'Brien made scores of 30 and 58 in a match Northamptonshire lost. During his half century,he scored seven boundaries off the struggling Mitchell Johnson. [11]
O'Brien missed most of the 2010 season after undergoing finger surgery in July;in his absence,David Murphy was Northamptonshire's first-choice wicket-keeper. [12]
In 2012,O'Brien signed a contract worth $80,000 with Khulna Royal Bengals represent them in the newly formed Bangladesh Premier League,a domestic t20 competition. [13] In five matches he scored 54 runs. [14] At the end of the 2012 English County season,O'Brien left Northamptonshire after six seasons. In October 2012,it was announced that Leicestershire had signed O'Brien in a three-year deal. [15]
His innings of 72 from 107 balls in the 2007 Cricket World Cup group match against Pakistan helped Ireland earn an upset victory and also earned him the man of the match award. [16] [17]
O'Brien was one of seven Ireland players to be nominated for the 2009 Associate and Affiliate Player of the Year (there were fourteen nominees in all), [18] although he did not make the 4-man short-list. [19] O'Brien was selected in Ireland's 15-man squad for the 2011 World Cup. [20]
O'Brien set a World Twenty20 record with his 4 dismissals against Sri Lanka in the Super 8 stage of the 2009 ICC World Twenty20. O'Brien was selected in Ireland's 15-man squad for the 2011 World Cup to be hosted by Bangladesh,India,and Sri Lanka between February and April. [21] During the tournament he became the third player to score 1,000 ODI runs for Ireland after William Porterfield and his brother Kevin. [22] He passed this landmark in Ireland's five-wicket defeat to India. In the same match,O'Brien and Porterfield established a new records for Ireland's third wicket in ODI,putting on 113 runs together. [23] Ireland were due to play two ODIs against Pakistan in May,however O'Brien suffered an injury to his hand and was forced to miss the fixtures. [24]
On 16 February 2015,he smashed unbeaten 79 runs off 60 balls with 11 fours,guided Ireland to the victory against another Test match playing nations,the West Indies. This was Ireland's third consecutive victory over test playing nations in three consecutive world cups. O'Brien's score was helped to beat mighty West Indian pace attack and finally Irish won their first match of 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup. [25]
On 23 March 2018,in Ireland's match against Afghanistan in the 2018 Cricket World Cup Qualifier,O'Brien played in his 100th ODI match. [26]
In May 2018,he was named in a fourteen-man squad for Ireland's first ever Test match,which was played against Pakistan later the same month. [27] [28] He made his Test debut for Ireland,against Pakistan,on 11 May 2018. The Test match commenced on 12 May 2018,after the first day was washed out. [29] [30] However,he was dismissed for a duck in the first innings.
The Pakistan national cricket team,has represented Pakistan in international cricket since 1952. It is controlled by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB),the governing body for cricket in Pakistan,which is a Full Member of the International Cricket Council (ICC). Pakistan compete in cricket tours and tournaments sanctioned by the PCB and other regional or international cricket bodies in Test,One Day International (ODI),and Twenty20 International (T20) formats. Pakistan are current ICC Champions Trophy holders.
The Bangladesh men's national cricket team,popularly known as The Tigers,is administered by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB). It is a Full Member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) with Test,One-Day International (ODI) and Twenty20 International (T20I) status. It played its first Test match in November 2000 against India with a 9 wicket win in Dhaka,becoming the tenth Test-playing nation. It became an associate member of the ICC in 1977,and competed in six ICC Trophies but performed inconsistently until 1997,which marked the year of their first major victory,winning the 1997 ICC Trophy held in Malaysia. This set Bangladesh on its way of becoming a Test-playing nation,a journey which ended with success in the year 2000.
Shane Robert Watson is an Australian cricket coach,commentator and former cricketer who played for and occasionally captained the Australian national cricket team between 2002 and 2016. He was an all-rounder who played as a right-handed batsman and a right-arm fast-medium bowler. He was ranked as the world's No. 1 all-rounder in Twenty20 Internationals (T20I) for 150 weeks,including an all-time record of 120 consecutive weeks from 13 October 2011 to 30 January 2014. He began playing during the Australian team's golden era in the early 2000s,and was the last player from this era to retire. In his time playing for Australia,Watson was part of their winning squad in the Cricket World Cup two times in 2007,and 2015 along with the ICC Champions Trophy twice in 2006 and 2009,with Watson named as the player of the match in the final on both occasions,as he scored the winning run in the 2006 tournament,with the winning six in the 2009 tournament.
The Ireland men's cricket team represents all of Ireland in international cricket. The Irish Cricket Union,operating under the brand Cricket Ireland,is the sport's governing body in Ireland,and they organise the international team.
Michael Edward Killeen Hussey is an Australian cricket coach,commentator and former international cricketer,who played all forms of the game. Hussey is also widely known by his nickname 'Mr Cricket'. Hussey was a relative latecomer to both the Australian one-day international and Test teams,debuting at 28 and 30 years of age in the respective formats,with 15,313 first-class runs before making his Test debut. With his time representing Australia,Hussey won multiple ICC titles with the team:the 2007 Cricket World Cup,the 2006 ICC Champions Trophy,and the 2009 ICC Champions Trophy.
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William Boyd Rankin is a Northern Irish former cricketer who played international cricket for Ireland,and briefly also played for England. He is a right-arm medium-fast bowler. He is the brother of fellow cricketer David Rankin.
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Eoin Joseph Gerard Morgan is an Irish and English former cricketer and current commentator. He captained the England cricket team in limited overs cricket from 2015 until his international retirement in June 2022. He is widely considered as one of the greatest ever captains of England. Under his captaincy,England won the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup,the first time they won the tournament,along with reaching the finals of the 2016 ICC World Twenty20,where the team lost to the West Indies by 4 wickets. Morgan was a member of the England team that won the 2010 ICC World Twenty20.
Timothy Grant Southee,is a New Zealand international cricketer who plays for New Zealand cricket team in all formats of the game,captain in Tests and vice captain in T20Is. He is a right-arm medium-fast bowler and a hard-hitting lower order batsman. The third New Zealand bowler to take 300 Test wickets,he was one of the country's youngest cricketers,debuting at the age of 19 in February 2008. On his Test debut against England he took 5 wickets and made 77 off 40 balls in the second innings. He plays for Northern Districts in the Plunket Shield,Ford Trophy and Super Smash as well as Northland in the Hawke Cup. He was named as New Zealand's captain for the first T20I against West Indies in place of Kane Williamson,who was rested for that game. The Blackcaps won that match by 47 runs. Southee was a member of the New Zealand team that won the 2019–2021 ICC World Test Championship. Southee currently has the highest (international) test batting strike rate among the batsmen with a minimum of 2000 test runs. His (batting) career strike rate is 83.12. He was also a part of the New Zealand squad to finish as runners-up at the 2015 Cricket World Cup.
William Thomas Stuart Porterfield is an Irish former cricketer and a former captain of the Ireland cricket team. He played first-class cricket for Gloucestershire and Warwickshire. A left-handed batsman,he played for Ireland from 2006 to 2022,and has captained Ireland at all levels from Under-13 and is considered one of the greatest Irish cricketers of all time. During Afghanistan T20I series in March 2017,he passed 1,000 runs in T20Is and became the first player from Ireland to do so. In May 2018,he was named as the captain of Ireland's squad for their first ever Test match,against Pakistan. He announced his retirement from international cricket on 16 June 2022.
Kevin Joseph O'Brien is an Irish former international cricketer who plays for Leinster and Railway Union Cricket Club. On 16 August 2022,he announced his retirement from international cricket.
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