Former Ireland captain William Porterfield announces retirement from international cricket

Former Ireland skipper William Porterfield has called time on his international career. He confirmed the same on June 16 (Thursday) through an official statement. The left-handed batter finished his career as the third-most capped Irish cricketer and the second-highest run-getter for his country.

In 2008, Porterfield was named as Ireland’s captain after Trent Johnston stepped down from the role and the southpaw captained Ireland in 253 games – the most in Ireland’s cricketing history. Porterfield also led his side during their historic first-ever Test match against Pakistan in 2018.

William Porterfield stepped down as captain in 2019

After leading the side for more than 11 years, the left-handed batter stepped down as captain in 2019 and passed the baton to Andrew Balbirnie. Talking about Porterfield’s numbers in international cricket, the 37-year-old played a total of 212 games for his country and amassed 5,480 runs across all three formats of the game. He has also stroked 23 fifties and 11 hundreds for his side with his highest being 139 runs.

Even though the left-handed batter got out for a duck in his last international innings, Ireland went on to win that match and eventually clinch the series 2-1 against West Indies.

“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,” Porterfield said. “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,” Porterfield said in a statement released by Cricket Ireland.

“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.