William Porterfield has announced his retirement from international and representative cricket, leaving the game with many records and memorable performances, including being the longest-serving Ireland men’s captain by some considerable distance.
Porterfield, 37, amassed 310 caps across all formats after making his international debut in a first-class match against Namibia in May 2006. He ends his career as the third most capped Irish international and second-highest run-scorer for Ireland.
The left-handed top-order batter, who started out playing his club cricket with Donemana, struck the first of his 18 centuries for Ireland against the MCC in a one-day match at Lord’s in August 2006, going on to register 9,507 runs for Ireland at an average of 31.07, and a best of 186 against Namibia in 2015.
Of his more iconic innings, Irish fans fondly remember his 107 against Pakistan in Adelaide at the 2015 World Cup and his 112 against England in an ODI at Malahide in 2013 as two of his best knocks
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A renowned slip fielder and inner-ring fielder, he also took 146 catches and effected 24 run outs during his international career.
Porterfield made the move early to base himself in England, after featuring for the MCC Young Cricketers, and had a successful county career with Gloucestershire and Warwickshire. In latter years, he became a stalwart of the North West Warriors in the Interprovincial series in Ireland, showing his enduring run-scoring abilities finishing fourth-highest run-scorer in both the domestic 50-over and T20 competitions in 2021.
As a captain, Porterfield led the senior Irish side an incredible 253 times – taking over from former skipper Trent Johnston in 2008 at the age of 23. The second-most appearances as Irish captain was Johnston with 60.
Speaking from home about his retirement announcement, Porterfield said: “It’s been an honour 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.”
Present Ireland captain Andrew Balbirnie said: “It’s a huge loss when an absolute pillar of the game calls time on his career. William has been an amazing person to have in the dressingroom, as a player and as a person. A lot of the foundations that were laid for this current Irish team were done by him and teams that came before us.
“He always epitomised what we wanted to do as a team – his work ethic, his attitude on the pitch and his passion for the game. He’ll be a huge loss around the senior group, but we wish him well in his next stage of life, and hope he has an amazing time. Undoubtedly he’ll be a success at whatever path he chooses to go down.”
