Irish player Niall O”Brien announced his retirement from International cricket today. He represented his nation in 133 matches over a period of 12 years.
The 36-year old along with his brother Kevin was phenomenal in several crucial wins in the last decade. Being the regular keeper of the side, he always proved his mettle in the middle order.
Scoring over 3000 runs combined, his half-century against Pakistan in 2007 World Cup still stands as his one of the best innings. It was considered to be one of the biggest upsets after which the uprising of Ireland was highly expected by cricket experts.
Niall represented his country in its inaugural test against Pakistan in the month of May. However, he couldn”t score big in the game whereas his sibling became the first Irish test centurion.
On his retirement note, Niall thanked his coach and his fans for their constant support. He mentioned, “It is with a heavy heart that I am announcing my retirement from international and professional cricket, I have been blessed to have been lucky enough to have represented my country for 16 years with plenty more ups than downs and for this, I look back with nothing but smiles and laughter.”
“I would like to thank all my coaches and teammates who along the way have helped me become the player I was. I have had too many coaches to mention them all but a special thanks must go to Adrian “Adi” Birrell who took a chance on me in 2002 and who arranged a trial at Kent from where I started my 14-year county career which was an absolute privilege and an honour, ” said Niall who is ending his career as the most successful Irish keeper with 241 dismissals to his name.
Niall last played an international game against Afghanistan in the month of August. He was also a part of Northamptonshire and Leicestershire in county cricket.