Ireland Cricket
Kevin O'Brien announces retirement from ODI cricket
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Ireland's star all-rounder, Kevin O'Brien, has announced his retirement from the ODI format. Cricket Ireland announced on Friday (June 18). However, he will be available for Tests and T20Is.
The 37-year old finishes his ODI career having appeared 153 times in that format, amassing 3,618 runs (Ireland’s third-highest ODI run-scorer) at an average of 29.41 and a strike rate of 88.72, and took 114 wickets – ending as Ireland’s highest wicket-taker in ODI cricket (Boyd Rankin is second on the list with 96 ODI wickets).
“After 15 years playing for Ireland, I feel now is the right time to step away and retire from ODI cricket. It has been an honor and a privilege to represent my country 153 times and the memories I take from them will last a lifetime,” he said.
“This has not been an easy decision, but after ongoing consideration, I don’t feel I can contribute to the ODI team as much as I have in the past. The hunger and love for the ODI format is no longer the same as it was and it wouldn’t be fair to Andrew, Graham, the team, and our supporters to continue to play while no longer feeling at 100%,”
“I’ve had some unbelievable moments with the team since 2006 - the three World Cups, the personal successes and spending time traveling and playing all over the world, but I will now shift my focus and remain fully committed to T20 cricket - with two world cups in the next 18 months - and hoping to add to my three caps in Test cricket," he added.
One of O'Brien's most famous performances was a record-breaking 113 against England in the 2011 ICC World Cup in Bangalore. He got his century in just 50 balls, which is still the fastest century in a World Cup.