Former Ireland captain and opener, William Porterfield (37) announced his retirement from international and representative cricket on June 16, Thursday, after a 16-year career.
The left-handed batter finished his career as the third-most capped Irish cricketer and the second-highest run-getter for his country.
He led the country after taking over in 2008 and finished as the most-capped Irish player and the second-highest run-getter for his country. He was the captain when Ireland played its first-ever Test against Pakistan in 2018.
After leading the country for more than 11 years, the left-handed batter stepped down as captain in 2019 and passed the baton to Andrew Balbirnie.
William played a total of 212 games for his country and amassed 5,480 runs across all three formats of the game. He has also stroked 23 fifties and 11 hundreds for his side with his highest being 139 runs.
“It’s been an honour to represent my country for 16 years – it’s something I had always wanted to do since I was a child,” Porterfield said. “I have to say, though, it’s a little surreal at the moment having made the decision to step away and retire, but I’ve been fortunate to play since 2006 and it’s been an incredible journey,” Porterfield said in a statement released by Cricket Ireland.
“During my career, we’ve gone from an amateur team right through to now being a Test nation. From those before me, and along my journey, we have hopefully built an infrastructure that will allow the game in Ireland to continue to flourish. All I ever wanted to do was leave the shirt in a better place and leave the team in a better place, and hopefully, I’ve played a part in doing that,” he added.
