William Thomas Stuart Porterfield (born 6 September 1984) is an Irish former

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

er and a former captain of the Ireland cricket team. He played

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is of three or more days scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officially adju ...

for

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

and

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...

. A left-handed batsman, he played for Ireland from 2006 to 2022, and has captained Ireland at all levels from Under-13 and is considered one of the greatest Irish cricketers of all time. During Afghanistan T20I series in March 2017, he passed 1,000 runs in T20Is and became the first player from Ireland to do so. In May 2018, he was named as the captain of Ireland's squad for their first ever Test match, against

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. He announced his retirement from international cricket on 16 June 2022. In December 2018, he was one of nineteen players to be awarded a central contract by

Cricket Ireland Cricket Ireland (formerly the Irish Cricket Union) is the national Sport governing body, governing body for cricket on the island of Ireland (both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland), and oversees the national Ireland cricket team, men' ...

for the 2019 season. In July 2019, Porterfield scored his 4,000th run in ODI cricket and recorded his 50th win as captain of Ireland's One Day International team. In January 2020, he was one of nineteen players to be awarded a central contract from

, the first year in which all contracts were awarded on a full-time basis. Later the same month, in the second ODI against the West Indies, Porterfield played in his 300th international match for Ireland and announced his retirement from international cricket on 16 June 2022.

International career

Porterfield made his

debut on 17 May 2006, for Ireland against

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

in the 2006–07 ICC Intercontinental Cup. On 31 January 2007, he scored his maiden ODI century with an unbeaten 112 to guide his side to victory over

Bermuda Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. Bermuda is an ...

. He followed it up in his next game with 104 not out against

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

. In the 2007 World Cup he was man of the match with 85 against Bangladesh during a Super Eight game, which Ireland won. Porterfield scored his maiden first-class century in late August 2007. In a match against Bermuda as part of the 2007–08 ICC Intercontinental Cup, Porterfield scored 166 runs from 326 balls. In the

2011 Cricket World Cup The 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup was the tenth Cricket World Cup. It was played in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, while the latter hosted World Cup matches for the first time. India won the tournament, defeating Sri Lanka by six wickets in the 2 ...

, Porterfield reached a fifty against the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. He hit 68 off 93 balls and helped his team to victory over the

Captaincy

Porterfield was appointed Ireland captain at the start of the 2008 season, succeeding Trent Johnston. Porterfield said "I've learnt a lot from Trent – he brought young players through, looked after them and he set an example by how he went about his game and how he prepared on and off the field. I may be young but I've plenty of experience of captaincy and I love it, being out there right in the mixer. I was vice-captain under Trent and I filled in when he was off the field so I've had a taste of it". Despite being Ireland's official captain, Porterfield chose to represent his county (Gloucestershire) instead of leading Ireland in their ODIs against

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

in July 2008 in an attempt to secure a permanent position at

. He said "It's definitely the hardest decision I've ever had to make ... I feel it's the right decision for me at this stage in my career". Porterfield was one of seven Ireland players to be nominated for the 2009 Associate and Affiliate Player of the Year (there were fourteen nominees in all); he eventually won the award. Speaking about the award, Portfield said "It's been a fantastic year for us. This award caps it off on a personal note but it's great for the team to be going to the World Cup having won the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier early this year. This award is great for Irish cricket and it shows how much we have done on the field. If we continue onwards and keep on making improvements in that department then other awards will follow." A side made up of some of the best players from Associate and Affiliate teams was put together to face England in Dubai in January 2012. The three-day match was part of England's preparation for a series against Pakistan later that month. Porterfield captained the squad and was one of four Ireland players included.

2011 World Cup

Porterfield was selected in Ireland's 15-man squad for the 2011 World Cup. He led them to a famous victory over England and to narrow defeats to

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

and

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, as well as hitting the hundredth six of the tournament during the match against hosts India. He captained Ireland to a victory over the

Test cricket and beyond

In May 2018, Porterfield was named as the captain of a fourteen-man squad for Ireland's first ever Test match, which was played against Pakistan later the same month. He made his Test debut for Ireland, against Pakistan, on 11 May 2018. In January 2019, he was named in Ireland's squad for their one-off Test against Afghanistan in India. In July 2019, Porterfield played in his 250th match as captain of Ireland, in the first ODI match against Zimbabwe, at Bready Cricket Club Ground in Magheramason. In the third ODI of the series, Porterfield scored his 4,000th run in ODI cricket. Ireland went on to win the series 3–0, their first clean-sweep in ODIs against a Full Member side. With the victory in the third match, Porterfield recorded his 50th win as captain of Ireland in ODIs. On 10 July 2020, Porterfield was named in Ireland's 21-man squad to travel to England to start training behind closed doors for the ODI series against the England cricket team.

Domestic career

Between 2004 and 2006, Porterfield played Second XI cricket for Durham, MCC Young Cricketers,

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...

and

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

. Porterfield attracted interest from

during the 2007 World Cup and was given a trial with the county in between international commitments. In the 2007 season, Porterfield became the first Irishman to score 1,000 runs in a calendar year, and towards the end of the season Gloucestershire offered him a two-year contract. He guided Ireland to their first victory against a county side in two years against

with an innings of 69 from 110 balls. Porterfield was absent from Ireland's last two

Friends Provident Trophy The Friends Provident Trophy was a one-day cricket competition in the United Kingdom. It was one of the four tournaments in which the eighteen first-class cricket, first-class counties competed each season. They were joined by teams from Scott ...

matches as he was called into the Gloucestershire squad, Kyle McCallan took over the role of captain. After Gloucestershire batsman

Craig Spearman Craig Murray Spearman (born 4 July 1972) is an English-New Zealand former cricketer who played 19 Tests and 51 One Day Internationals for New Zealand from 1995 to 2001. Spearman was a member of the New Zealand team that won the 2000 ICC Knock ...

sustained an injury, Porterfield was given the opportunity to play for Gloucestershire opening the batting. He came close to scoring his maiden first-class century for Gloucestershire in a match against

Glamorgan County Cricket Club Glamorgan County Cricket Club () is one of eighteen first-class cricket, first-class county cricket, county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the Historic counties of Wales, historic county of Gla ...

in August 2008 but was out for 93. On 10 September, he and Kadeer Ali shared in Gloucestershire's highest opening partnership of the season; he scored 66. In August 2010, he set a new career best in scoring 175 in the first innings of a County Championship Division Two match between Gloucestershire and Worcestershire at Cheltenham At the end of the season, Porterfield was one of several players to leave Gloucestershire. In October 2010 he signed a three-year contract with

, joining fellow Ireland international Boyd Rankin.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Porterfield, William 1984 births Living people Ireland Test cricketers Irish cricket captains Cricketers at the 2007 Cricket World Cup Cricketers at the 2011 Cricket World Cup Cricketers at the 2015 Cricket World Cup Ireland One Day International cricketers Ireland Twenty20 International cricketers Gloucestershire cricketers Cricketers from County Tyrone Gloucestershire cricket captains Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Warwickshire cricketers North West Warriors cricketers Irish cricketers People from Donemana