Andrew Balbirnie

Andrew Balbirnie is an Irish cricketer, the current captain of the Ireland cricket team in Test cricket. He was born on 28 December 1990 in Dublin Ireland. Balbirnie is a right-handed batsman and an occasional wicket-keeper. He was one of the 11 cricketers to play in Ireland's first-ever Test match, against Pakistan, in May 2018.

He was one of 19 players to be awarded a central contract in December 2018 by Cricket Ireland for the 2019 season.

Balbirnie was named the captain of Ireland's Test and ODI teams, after William Porterfield stepped down in November 2019, Later the same month, he was also named as the captain of Ireland's Twenty20 International (T20I) team, replacing Gary Wilson.

Andrew Balbirnie Career

Andrew Balbirnie started by representing Ireland at the Under-19 level, playing nine Youth One Day Internationals. In 2009, he led Ireland's Under-19 team to victory in the World Cup Qualifier, earning them a spot in the 2010 U-19 Cricket World Cup. In 2017, Balbirnie achieved his first-class century while playing for Ireland against the Netherlands in the 2015–17 ICC Intercontinental Cup.

His domestic success continued in 2018, where he emerged as the leading run-scorer in the Inter-Provincial Trophy tournament, accumulating 262 runs in six matches. He also topped the run charts for Leinster Lightning in the 2018 Inter-Provincial Championship, scoring 302 runs in four matches.

Andrew Balbirnie representing Ireland in the ODI. He made his One Day International (ODI) and List A debut during the 2010 ICC World Cricket League Division One, playing four ODIs. He was part of Ireland's squad for the 2015 Cricket World Cup. Balbirnie also made his Twenty20 International (T20I) debut in June 2015.

Balbirnie played in the 2016 T20 World Cup and was part of the Ireland A team that toured Bangladesh in 2017. He made history in May 2018 by becoming the first Irish cricketer to play a Test match. However, he had a challenging debut, being dismissed for a pair.

Balbirnie continued to represent Ireland in various formats, including ODIs and T20Is, and he served as Ireland's captain in all formats starting from November 2019. His notable achievements include leading Ireland to their first-ever ODI victory against South Africa in July 2021 and scoring a T20I half-century against England in the 2022 ICC Men's T20 World Cup. In July 2023, Andrew Balbirnie stepped down from his limited-overs captaincy after Ireland failed to qualify for the 2023 World Cup.