Former Ireland captain William Porterfield announced his retirement from international cricket on Thursday, ending a 16-year career during which the team has progressed from an amateur side to a Test-playing country.
The 37-year-old left-hander led Ireland in a remarkable 253 games across all formats, a period that included two 50-overs World Cup and five T20 World Cups as well as the Irish men’s inaugural Test against Pakistan in May 2018.
Porterfield, who also had with English county clubs Gloucestershire and Warwickshire, scored 18 centuries for Ireland, including 107 against Pakistan in Adelaide at the 2015 World Cup.
“It has been an honor to represent my country for 16 years,” Porterfield said. “It’s something I’ve always wanted to do since I was a kid.
“Over the course of my career, we have gone from being an amateur team to now being a Test nation…. All I wanted to do was leave the shirt in a better place and leave the team in a better place, and hopefully That I played a part in making that happen.”
Porterfield, who will take on a coaching role with Gloucestershire, played his last international at Sabina Park in Jamaica in January.
The ground that holds a special place in Irish cricket history as it was the scene of their stunning 2007 World Cup victory over Pakistan.
“This is the ground a lot of people say put Irish cricket on the map,” he said.
“That ground holds a lot of memories for me, right from Pakistan’s win in 2007 to going back on the field in January to beat West Indies 2-1.”
Current Ireland captain Andrew Balbirnie said Porterfield would be “a huge loss”.
“William has been a wonderful person in the dressing room as a player and as a person,” he added
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