Ireland Men's Review of the Year

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It was once again a mixed bag of results, with highs and lows, but with a T20 World Cup slot obtained and one of the truly great days in Irish sport at Lord's, there are reasons to be more optimistic than 2018.

As with all statistics, they can be spun to suit whatever narrative you wish to tell, but the bare facts tare hat Ireland played 39 matches, winning 19, losing 19 and one no-result.

Both Test matches were lost, but for a long part of the Lord's Test, Ireland certainly held their own against England and will be left thinking what might have been had the batting capitalized on Tim Murtagh's masterclass on his home turf.

In 14 ODI's the record stood at 6 wins, 7 losses and a NR, completing a first series win over a fellow Full Member when Zimbabwe were defeated.

The T20 side overwent a much needed overhaul with a fresh injection of youth, and results improved with a upward move in the ICC rankings from 18th to 14th. In total they played 23 matches winning 13 and losing 10. There are still many questions over the side composition, with a number of key areas needing remedied. With a lot of games between now and the start of the World Cup next October, there is time.

In the batting, three players passed the 1000 run mark with Paul Stirling's haul of 1513, an Irish record, while Andy Balbirnie's 1314 is second best, and Kevin O'Brien's 1146 the fourth best.

Sometimes in life you get a lucky break, and Stuart Thompson's injury on the eve of the ODI against England saw Mark Adair handed a last-minute call-up which he grasped with both hands.

'Sparky' was the leading wicket taker with 48 - fourth in the all-time list for a year - Trent Johnston's haul of 58 in 2010 still the record.

Not bad, especially when you consider that Adair hadn't been deemed worthy of any type of contract by the powers that be at the start of the year. Thankfully the power and consistency of his displays saw that situation change when he was awarded a four-month deal in August.

Hopefully Adair will have been one of the first names on the contracts list when the final decision was made earlier this week. We will know soon enough when the contracts are made public over the coming weeks.

Boyd Rankin also impressed with his 47 wickets, while Tim Murtagh, George Dockrell and Gareth Delany all can be proud of their efforts. Craig Young's appearances may have been limited, but he topped the averages thanks in no small part to his destruction of Nigeria during the qualifiers.

It was the year of the debut, with Gareth Delany, Harry Tector, James McCollum, Mark Adair, Shane Getkate, James Cameron-Dow and David Delany making seven debutants handed the baggy blue by coach Graham Ford and his selectors.

There may be more to come as Ireland seek to redress some of their limitations.

Still as years go, 2019 can be considered a qualified success, and here's hoping for more World Cup glory in 2020.

IRELAND BATTING COMBINED 2019

# Name Club Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave BF SR 100 50 0 4s 6s Ave 1 PR Stirling Ireland 36 37 2 1516 130 43.31 1563 96.99 1 15 3 171 35 43.31 2 A Balbirnie Ireland 37 37 3 1314 145* 38.65 1299 101.15 3 6 2 139 27 38.65 3 KJ O'Brien Ireland 39 40 3 1146 124 30.97 1236 92.72 1 6 1 109 41 30.97 4 GJ Delany Ireland 17 14 3 310 89* 28.18 200 155.00 - 2 - 28 12 28.18 5 HT Tector Ireland 14 12 3 233 60 25.89 176 132.39 - 1 - 18 5 25.89 6 GH Dockrell Ireland 30 22 6 333 54 20.81 498 66.87 - 1 2 22 6 20.81 7 WTS Porterfield Ireland 16 17 - 340 94 20.00 559 60.82 - 2 1 38 3 20.00 8 JA McCollum Ireland 10 12 - 238 73 19.83 416 57.21 - 2 1 32 1 19.83 9 TJ Murtagh Ireland 15 11 4 126 54* 18.00 171 73.68 - 1 3 13 2 18.00 10 MR Adair Ireland 27 24 6 280 38 15.56 243 115.23 - - 1 17 13 15.56 11 LJ Tucker Ireland 15 12 2 153 56 15.30 160 95.62 - 1 2 15 - 15.30 12 SW Poynter Ireland 12 11 5 86 31* 14.33 95 90.53 - - 2 6 3 14.33 13 GC Wilson Ireland 24 19 2 242 47 14.24 298 81.21 - - 2 15 2 14.24 14 SR Thompson Ireland 15 12 3 104 28* 11.56 136 76.47 - - 1 4 4 11.56 15 SC Getkate Ireland 17 14 3 110 24 10.00 96 114.58 - - 1 8 5 10.00 16 Simi Singh Ireland 15 13 1 88 20 7.33 145 60.69 - - 2 5 2 7.33

IRELAND BOWLING 2019

# Name Club Mat Overs Mdns Runs Wkts BBI Ave Econ SR 5WI 10WM Ave 1 CA Young Ireland 10 34 - 273 13 4-13 21.00 8.03 15.69 - - 21.00 2 MR Adair Ireland 27 171.1 13 1020 48 4-19 21.25 5.96 21.40 - - 21.25 3 GJ Delany Ireland 17 53 1 391 16 2-23 24.44 7.38 19.88 - - 24.44 4 WB Rankin Ireland 32 199.5 8 1168 47 3-29 24.85 5.84 25.51 - - 24.85 5 SR Thompson Ireland 15 69.5 6 402 16 4-18 25.12 5.76 26.19 - - 25.12 6 DCA Delany Ireland 9 28.3 - 222 8 2-12 27.75 7.79 21.38 - - 27.75 7 Simi Singh Ireland 15 53.3 1 288 10 3-15 28.80 5.38 32.10 - - 28.80 8 TJ Murtagh Ireland 15 172.2 28 678 23 5-13 29.48 3.93 44.96 2 - 29.48 9 SC Getkate Ireland 17 62 2 444 14 2-15 31.71 7.16 26.57 - - 31.71 10 J Cameron-Dow Ireland 5 54.5 - 269 8 3-32 33.62 4.91 41.12 - - 33.62 11 AR McBrine Ireland 11 123 18 436 12 2-37 36.33 3.54 61.50 - - 36.33 12 GH Dockrell Ireland 30 163.4 14 948 26 3-23 36.46 5.79 37.77 - - 36.46 13 PKD Chase Ireland 6 19.5 - 222 6 2-42 37.00 11.19 19.83 - - 37.00 14 J Little Ireland 11 61 - 505 9 4-45 56.11 8.28 40.67 - - 56.11

IRELAND BATTING TEST

# Name Club Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave BF SR 100 50 0 4s 6s Ave 1 J Cameron-Dow Ireland 1 2 1 41 32* 41.00 70 58.57 - - - 5 - 41.00 2 A Balbirnie Ireland 2 4 - 146 82 36.50 235 62.13 - 2 - 23 - 36.50 3 KJ O'Brien Ireland 2 4 1 100 56 33.33 393 25.45 - 1 - 12 - 33.33 4 TJ Murtagh Ireland 2 4 1 99 54* 33.00 122 81.15 - 1 - 12 2 33.00 5 GH Dockrell Ireland 1 2 - 64 39 32.00 179 35.75 - - - 8 - 32.00 6 PR Stirling Ireland 2 4 - 76 36 19.00 124 61.29 - - 1 12 - 19.00 7 JA McCollum Ireland 2 4 - 73 39 18.25 176 41.48 - - - 10 - 18.25 8 WB Rankin Ireland 1 2 1 7 7 7.00 12 58.33 - - - 1 - 7.00 9 WTS Porterfield Ireland 2 4 - 25 14 6.25 87 28.74 - - 1 4 - 6.25 10 MR Adair Ireland 1 2 - 11 8 5.50 24 45.83 - - - - 1 5.50 11 AR McBrine Ireland 2 4 - 18 11 4.50 77 23.38 - - 1 3 - 4.50 12 SR Thompson Ireland 2 4 - 8 4 2.00 57 14.04 - - 1 1 - 2.00 13 SW Poynter Ireland 1 2 - 1 1 0.50 11 9.09 - - 1 - - 0.50 14 GC Wilson Ireland 1 2 - - - - 6 - - - 2 - - 0.00

IRELAND BOWLING TEST

# Name Club Mat Overs Mdns Runs Wkts BBI Ave Econ SR 5WI 10WM Ave 1 TJ Murtagh Ireland 2 54 17 113 7 5-13 16.14 2.09 46.29 1 - 16.14 2 MR Adair Ireland 1 27.4 8 98 6 3-32 16.33 3.54 27.67 - - 16.33 3 SR Thompson Ireland 2 35.2 6 111 6 3-28 18.50 3.14 35.33 - - 18.50 4 WB Rankin Ireland 1 20 2 91 4 2-5 22.75 4.55 30.00 - - 22.75 5 J Cameron-Dow Ireland 1 23.5 - 118 3 2-94 39.33 4.95 47.67 - - 39.33 6 AR McBrine Ireland 2 50 10 159 3 2-77 53.00 3.18 100.00 - - 53.00 7 GH Dockrell Ireland 1 40 11 121 2 2-63 60.50 3.02 120.00 - - 60.50

IRELAND BATTING ODI

# Name Club Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave BF SR 100 50 0 4s 6s Ave 1 PR Stirling Ireland 14 13 - 692 130 53.23 907 76.30 1 7 1 69 15 53.23 2 A Balbirnie Ireland 14 13 1 567 145* 47.25 646 87.77 3 1 1 45 16 47.25 3 KJ O'Brien Ireland 14 13 2 317 68 28.82 374 84.76 - 2 - 30 5 28.82 4 WTS Porterfield Ireland 14 13 - 315 94 24.23 472 66.74 - 2 - 34 3 24.23 5 LJ Tucker Ireland 5 5 1 94 56 23.50 103 91.26 - 1 1 10 - 23.50 6 SC Getkate Ireland 3 2 1 23 16* 23.00 23 100.00 - - - 4 1 23.00 7 JA McCollum Ireland 8 8 - 165 73 20.62 240 68.75 - 2 1 22 1 20.62 8 GC Wilson Ireland 6 6 1 98 34 19.60 141 69.50 - - - 6 - 19.60 9 MR Adair Ireland 9 8 2 117 32 19.50 101 115.84 - - - 9 5 19.50 10 GH Dockrell Ireland 10 8 - 143 54 17.88 233 61.37 - 1 1 5 2 17.88 11 WB Rankin Ireland 13 6 4 21 9 10.50 38 55.26 - - - 1 - 10.50 12 Simi Singh Ireland 5 4 - 42 20 10.50 97 43.30 - - - 3 - 10.50 13 BJ McCarthy Ireland 4 4 1 28 18 9.33 42 66.67 - - 1 4 - 9.33 14 TJ Murtagh Ireland 13 7 3 27 12 6.75 49 55.10 - - 3 1 - 6.75 15 SW Poynter Ireland 5 4 1 15 7 5.00 33 45.45 - - 1 1 - 5.00 16 AR McBrine Ireland 9 5 1 18 9* 4.50 41 43.90 - - - - - 4.50 17 J Little Ireland 4 2 - 9 9 4.50 8 112.50 - - 1 2 - 4.50

IRELAND BOWLING ODI

# Name Club Mat Overs Mdns Runs Wkts BBI Ave Econ SR 5WI 10WM Ave 1 SC Getkate Ireland 3 27 2 120 6 2-30 20.00 4.44 27.00 - - 20.00 2 PR Stirling Ireland 14 14 - 61 3 1-13 20.33 4.36 28.00 - - 20.33 3 WB Rankin Ireland 13 110.5 5 585 20 3-40 29.25 5.28 33.25 - - 29.25 4 J Cameron-Dow Ireland 4 31 - 151 5 3-32 30.20 4.87 37.20 - - 30.20 5 AR McBrine Ireland 9 73 8 277 9 2-37 30.78 3.79 48.67 - - 30.78 6 MR Adair Ireland 9 80.4 3 509 15 4-19 33.93 6.31 32.27 - - 33.93 7 TJ Murtagh Ireland 13 118.2 11 565 16 5-21 35.31 4.77 44.38 1 - 35.31 8 Simi Singh Ireland 5 35 1 143 3 1-19 47.67 4.09 70.00 - - 47.67 9 BJ McCarthy Ireland 4 32.3 1 204 4 2-76 51.00 6.28 48.75 - - 51.00 10 J Little Ireland 4 36 - 262 5 4-45 52.40 7.28 43.20 - - 52.40 11 GH Dockrell Ireland 10 74 3 420 8 3-51 52.50 5.68 55.50 - - 52.50 12 KJ O'Brien Ireland 14 22.3 - 97 1 1-21 97.00 4.31 135.00 - - 97.00

IRELAND BATTING T20I

# Name Club Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave BF SR 100 50 0 4s 6s Ave 1 SW Poynter Ireland 6 5 4 70 31* 70.00 51 137.25 - - - 5 3 70.00 2 PR Stirling Ireland 20 20 2 748 91 41.56 532 140.60 - 8 1 90 20 41.56 3 A Balbirnie Ireland 21 20 2 601 83 33.39 418 143.78 - 3 1 71 11 33.39 4 GJ Thompson Ireland 2 1 - 32 32 32.00 30 106.67 - - - 5 - 32.00 5 KJ O'Brien Ireland 23 23 - 729 124 31.70 469 155.44 1 3 1 67 36 31.70 6 GJ Delany Ireland 17 14 3 310 89* 28.18 200 155.00 - 2 - 28 12 28.18 7 HT Tector Ireland 14 12 3 233 60 25.89 176 132.39 - 1 - 18 5 25.89 8 GH Dockrell Ireland 19 12 6 126 34* 21.00 86 146.51 - - 1 9 4 21.00 9 SR Thompson Ireland 13 8 3 96 28* 19.20 79 121.52 - - - 3 4 19.20 10 MR Adair Ireland 17 14 4 152 38 15.20 118 128.81 - - 1 8 7 15.20 11 GC Wilson Ireland 17 11 1 144 47 14.40 151 95.36 - - - 9 2 14.40 12 LJ Tucker Ireland 10 7 1 59 22* 9.83 57 103.51 - - 1 5 - 9.83 13 SC Getkate Ireland 14 12 2 87 24 8.70 73 119.18 - - 1 4 4 8.70 14 J Little Ireland 7 3 1 17 7 8.50 9 188.89 - - - 3 - 8.50 15 Simi Singh Ireland 10 9 1 46 17* 5.75 48 95.83 - - 2 2 2 5.75 16 WB Rankin Ireland 18 6 3 11 8* 3.67 16 68.75 - - 2 1 - 3.67 17 DCA Delany Ireland 9 3 - 11 7 3.67 12 91.67 - - 1 - - 3.67 18 CA Young Ireland 10 4 3 2 1* 2.00 4 50.00 - - - - - 2.00

IRELAND BOWLING T20I