Niall John O'Brien (born November 8, 1981) is a retired Irish cricketer and 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 in early 2007, spending six seasons there before moving to Leicestershire in 2013.

In 2006 he made his debut with One Day International for Ireland; two years later he played his first Twenty20 International. He was one of eleven cricketers who played in Ireland's first friendly against Pakistan in May 2018.

Domestic career

Niall first gained recognition playing domestic cricket for the Railway Union Cricket Club in Leinster and earned a reputation on 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 June 17, 2004, he angered Brian Lara when Lara refused to leave after she was apparently caught afterward.

Ireland came as a surprise when they won the game when O'Brien scored 58 * out of 57 balls. In 2006 he was banned from an ICC Intercontinental Cup game after criticizing the groundskeeper for the condition of the pitch in an Intercontinental Cup game against Scotland. O'Brien has spent many Australian summers playing for Mosman Cricket Club in the Sydney Grade cricket competition.

O'Brien also took on a part-time coaching role while at the club and considers his time in Australia to be one of the most important parts of his career. He also played two seasons of first-class for North Sydney in the Sydney Grade Competition in 2003-04 and 2005-06. As an 18-year-old, he also played one season at the Mosman Club.

O'Brien missed most of the 2010 season after undergoing finger surgery in July; in his absence, David Murphy was Northamptonshire's first choice goalkeeper. In 2012, O'Brien signed a $ 80,000 deal with Khulna Royal Bengals, who represent her in the newly formed Bangladesh Premier League, a national T20 competition.

In five games he scored 54 runs. At the end of the English county season in 2012, O'Brien left Northamptonshire after six seasons. In October 2012, it was announced that Leicestershire had signed O'Brien on a three-year deal.

International career

His innings of 72 out of 107 balls in the 2007 World Cricket Championship group match against Pakistan gave Ireland a surprising win and earned him the Man of the Game award. O'Brien was one of seven Irish players nominated for Associate and Affiliate Player of the Year 2009 (there were fourteen nominations in total), despite not making the 4-man shortlist. O'Brien was selected on Ireland's 15-man squad for the 2011 World Cup. O'Brien holds wicket against Pakistan during ICC World Twenty20 2009.

O'Brien set a World Twenty20 record with his 4 layoffs against Sri Lanka in the Super 8 phase of the ICC World Twenty20 2009. O'Brien was selected to join Ireland's 15-man squad for the 2011 World Cup, which will be played between February and April by Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka. During the tournament, after William Porterfield and brother Kevin, he became the third player to score 1,000 ODI runs for Ireland.

He passed that milestone in Ireland's five-wicket loss to India. In the same match, O'Brien and Porterfield set a new record for Ireland's third wicket in ODI, totaling 113 runs.

Ireland were scheduled to play two ODIs against Pakistan in May but O'Brien suffered a hand injury and missed the games. On February 16, 2015, he smashed an unbeaten 79 runs of 60 balls with 11 fours and led Ireland to victory against another friendly match played by Nations West Indies. This was Ireland's third consecutive win over friendly nations in three consecutive World Cups.

O'Brien's score helped beat the mighty West Indian pace attack and eventually the Irish won their first game of the 2015 ICC World Cricket Championship. On March 23, 2018, O'Brien played in Ireland's game against Afghanistan in the 2018 Cricket World Cup Qualifier in his 100th ODI match.

In May 2018, he was named to a fourteen-person squad for Ireland's first ever friendly, which was played against Pakistan later that month. He made his Test debut for Ireland on May 11, 2018 against Pakistan. The test match started on May 12, 2018 after the first day washed out. However, he was fired for a duck in the first innings.