Andrew Balbirnie appointed Ireland's new Test and ODI captain
Abeda AshrafEditor
Posted - 2019-11-08T21:12:58+06:00
Updated - 2019-11-08T21:12:58+06:00
Cricket Ireland has today announced Andrew Balbirnie as Ireland's new Test and One-Day captain, succeeding the long-served William Porterfield who has been at the lead since 2008.
Meanwhile, Gary Wilson succeeded Porterfield as the T20I captain of Ireland and he is in charge of the team from this point.
Balbirnie has had the experience of leading the junior level team; he captained Ireland Under-19.
The 28-year old Balbirnie hailed Porterfield as the “greatest captain” in the history of Irish cricket and said that the former has lots to contribute for the team yet.
“Taking over from our greatest captain will certainly be a hard act to follow but one I’m looking forward to getting into.
William still has a huge role to play in this team going forward and I look forward to working with him over the next couple of years.” Balbirnie told the reporters.
"It’s a proud moment not just for me but also for my family and everyone who has been there on my cricket journey so far - especially my coaches, teammates and friends at Pembroke Cricket Club.
“Taking over from our greatest captain will certainly be a hard act to follow but one I’m looking forward to getting into. William still has a huge role to play in this team going forward and I look forward to working with him over the next couple of years," Balbirnie added in a press briefing.
Porterfield led Ireland in two limited over World Cups, five T20 World Cups and in every of their three Test matches the country played so far, including their first Test against
at Malahide in 2018.
"It has been an incredible journey, and a fantastic honour to have captained my country over the past 11 and a half years," said Porterfield, who led Ireland in 253 matches since the year of 2008.
