List of Ireland cricket captains

This is a list of all cricketers who have captained Ireland in an official international match. This includes the ICC Trophy, Under-19 games and One Day Internationals, Twenty20 Internationals. The tables are correct as of the February 2012.

Men's cricket

Test match captains

This is a list of cricketers who have captained the Ireland cricket team for at least one Test match.

A cricketer who has a symbol of next to a Test match series describes their role as captain and their participation in at least one game for the team.

Irish Test match captains[1]
Number Name Year Report Opposition Location Played Won Lost Drawn
1 William Porterfield
 2018 Report Pakistan Ireland 1 0 1 0
2018–19 Report Afghanistan India 1 0 1 0
2019 Report England England 1 0 1 0
Total 3 0 3 0
2 Andrew Balbirnie
 2022–23 Report Bangladesh Bangladesh 1 0 1 0
2023 Report Sri Lanka Sri Lanka 2 0 2 0
2023 Report England England 1 0 1 0
2023–24 Report Afghanistan UAE 1 1 0 0
2024 Report Zimbabwe Ireland 1 1 0 0
2024–25 Report Zimbabwe Zimbabwe 1 1 0 0
2025–26 Report Bangladesh Bangladesh 2 0 2 0
Total 9 3 6 0
Grand total[2] 12 3 9 0

One Day International captains

In 2006, all-rounder Trent Johnston became Ireland's first ODI captain.[3] He stepped down as captain in early 2008 and took a break from cricket as he was struggling with injury problems.[4] William Porterfield succeeded Johnston as Ireland's full-time captain in April 2008.[5] On occasions when Porterfield had been unavailable, sometimes due to commitments with his county side, Kyle McCallan had filled the role of captain.[6] Andrew Balbirnie stood down from the White Ball cricket captain, continuing as Ireland's Test Captain,[7] and Paul Stirling[8] was named captain on 31st October 2023. The table of results is complete up to the West Indies tour in 2025.

Irish ODI captains[9]
Number Name Period of captaincy Played Won Tied Lost No result
1 Trent Johnston 2006–2010 32 14 1 15 2
2 Kyle McCallan 2007–2008 4 0 0 4 0
3 William Porterfield 2008-2019 113 50 2 55 6
4 Kevin O'Brien 2010–2014 4 3 0 1 0
5 Andrew Balbirnie 2020–2023 37 8 0 25 4
6 Paul Stirling 2022–2025 20 8 0 8 4
Grand total[10] 210 83 3 108 16

Twenty20 International captains

This is a list of cricketers who have captained the Ireland cricket team for at least one Twenty20 International. Paul Stirling captained Ireland in 2019 before taking over the role full time in 2023. Stats below include his 2019 stats[8] The table of results is complete up to the 2026 Men's T20 World Cup.

Irish Twenty20 International captains[11]
No. Name Period Played Won Tied Lost No
Result
1 William Porterfield 2005–2007 56 26 0 26 4
2 Kevin O'Brien 2015 4 0 0 2 2
3 Gary Wilson 2016–2019 26 12 1 13 0
4 Paul Stirling 2019–2026 48 20 0 26 2
5 Andrew Balbirnie 2020–2023 52 19 1 31 1
6 Lorcan Tucker 2024–2026 2 1 0 1 0
Grand total[12] 188 78 2 99 9

Captains in Men's ICC tournaments

Irish captains in ICC Tournaments
Tournament Name Format Played Won Lost Tied/NR Result % Win
1994 ICC Trophy Alan Lewis 50 overs 7 3 4 0 Second round 42.86%
1997 ICC Trophy Justin Benson 50 overs 10 6 3 1 4th place 66.67%
2001 ICC Trophy Kyle McCallan / Dekker Curry 50 overs 9 4 5 0 7th place 44.44%
2005 ICC Trophy Jason Molins / Kyle McCallan 50 overs 7 5 1 1 Runners-up 71.43%
2007 Cricket World Cup Trent Johnston 50 overs 9 2 6 1 Super 8 22.22%
2009 World Twenty20 William Porterfield 20 overs 5 1 4 0 Super 8 20.00%
2010 World Twenty20 William Porterfield 20 overs 2 0 1 1 Group stage 0.00%
2011 Cricket World Cup William Porterfield 50 overs 6 2 4 0 Group stage 33.33%
2012 World Twenty20 William Porterfield 20 overs 2 0 1 1 Group stage 0.00%
2014 World Twenty20 William Porterfield 20 overs 3 2 1 0 Group stage 66.67%
2015 Cricket World Cup William Porterfield 50 overs 6 3 3 0 Group stage 50.00%
2016 World Twenty20 William Porterfield 20 overs 3 0 2 1 Group stage 0.00%
2021 Men's T20 World Cup Andrew Balbirnie 20 overs 3 1 2 0 Group stage 33.33%
2022 Men's T20 World Cup Andrew Balbirnie 20 overs 8 3 4 1 Super 12 37.50%
2024 Men's T20 World Cup Paul Stirling 20 overs 4 0 3 1 Group stage 0.00%
2026 Men's T20 World Cup Paul Stirling / Lorcan Tucker 20 overs 4 1 2 1 Group stage 25.00%

Women's cricket

Women's Test match captains

Ireland had played one Test in 2000 against Pakistan at Dublin.

Irish women's Test match captains[13]
Number Name Year Opposition Location Played Won Lost Drawn
1 Miriam Grealey 2000 Pakistan Ireland 1 1 0 0
Total 1 1 0 0

Women's One Day International captains

Irish women's ODI captains[14]
Number Name Period of captaincy Played Won Tied Lost No result
1 Mary-Pat Moore 1987–1993 21 5 0 16 0
2 Sonia Reamsbottom 1988 1 0 0 1 0
3 Elizabeth Owens 1989–1990 9 3 0 6 0
4 Miriam Grealey 1995–2000 33 11 0 21 1
5 Nikki Squire 2001 6 3 0 3 0
6 Anne Linehan 2002 5 0 0 4 1
7 Clare Shillington 2003–2011 15 5 0 9 1
8 Heather Whelan 2003–2011 15 7 0 8 0
9 Isobel Joyce 2008–2014 17 2 0 14 1
10 Ciara Metcalfe 2010–2011 7 2 0 4 1
11 Mary Waldron 2013–2017 2 0 0 2 0
12 Laura Delany 2016–2024 39 11 1 25 2
13 Gaby Lewis 2022–2025 23 6 0 17 0
14 Orla Prendergast 2024 2 1 0 1 0
Grand total 195 56 1 131 7

Women's Twenty20 International captains

Irish women's Twenty20 International captains[15]
Number Name Period of captaincy Played Won Tied Lost No result
1 Isobel Joyce 2008–2016 31 5 0 26 0
2 Heather Whelan 2009 4 2 0 2 0
3 Ciara Metcalfe 2010–2011 4 1 0 3 0
4 Cecelia Joyce 2012 1 0 0 1 0
5 Clare Shillington 2014 1 0 0 1 0
6 Laura Delany 2016–2024 77 42 0 34 1
7 Kim Garth 2019 2 0 0 2 0
8 Gaby Lewis 2022–2026 28 20 0 8 0
9 Arlene Kelly 2025 1 1 0 0 0
Grand total 149 71 0 77 1

Youth cricket

Youth One-Day International captains

Ireland T20I Captains
No. Name Year Played Won Tied Lost NR
1 Joseph Clinton 1998 5 1 0 4 0
2 Ed Joyce 1998 1 0 0 1 0
3 Peter Shields 1998 7 2 0 4 1
4 William Porterfield 2004 7 3 0 4 0
5 Eoin Morgan 2006 6 2 0 4 0
6 Greg Thompson 2008 6 2 0 4 0
7 Andrew Balbirnie 2010 5 2 0 3 0
8 George Dockrell 2012 6 2 0 4 0
Overall 43 14 1 28 0

Notes

A Percentage is worked out by counting tied games as half a win and excluding no results from the equation.

References

  1. ^ "List of Ireland Test cricket captains". ESPNCricinfo. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
  2. ^ "Test Matches/ Team Records/ Result Summary". Cricinfo.
  3. ^ Cricinfo staff (7 June 2006), Ireland announce squad for England match, Cricinfo.com Retrieved on 3 November 2008.
  4. ^ Johnston takes a break from cricket, Cricinfo staff, 22 March 2008 Retrieved on 3 November 2008.
  5. ^ Porterfield takes charge, BBC Online, 23 April 2008 Retrieved on 30 May 2008.
  6. ^ Cricket Ireland (22 May 2008), Ireland hit by Porterfield withdrawal, Cricketeurope4.net Retrieved on 30 May 2008.
  7. ^ "Balbirnie steps down as Ireland ODI and T20I captain". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 15 August 2024. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
  8. ^ a b "Paul Stirling appointed Ireland white-ball captain". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 6 October 2024. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
  9. ^ "List of Ireland ODI cricket captains". ESPNCricinfo. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
  10. ^ Records / One-Day Internationals / Team Records / Result Summary, Cricinfo, retrieved 15 December 2018
  11. ^ "Ireland T20I Captains". ESPNCricinfo. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  12. ^ "Records/ Twenty20 International/ Results Summary". ESPNCricinfo. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
  13. ^ "Irish Women – Women's Test matches". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 March 2026.
  14. ^ "List of Captains for Ireland Women in WODIs". ESPNCricinfo. Retrieved 22 March 2026.
  15. ^ "List of Captains for Ireland Women in WT20Is". ESPNCricinfo. Retrieved 22 March 2026.
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