Paul Stirling

Paul Stirling
Stirling in 2013
Personal information
Full name
Paul Robert Stirling
Born (1990-09-03) 3 September 1990 (age 34)
Belfast, Northern Ireland
Height175 cm (5 ft 9 in)
BattingRight-handed
BowlingRight-arm off break
RoleTop-order batter
International information
National side
Test debut (cap 9)11 May 2018 v Pakistan
Last Test25 July 2024 v Zimbabwe
ODI debut (cap 28)1 July 2008 v New Zealand
Last ODI12 March 2024 v Afghanistan
ODI shirt no.1
T20I debut (cap 16)15 June 2009 v Pakistan
Last T20I16 June 2024 v Pakistan
T20I shirt no.1
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
2010–2019Middlesex
2013Sylhet Royals
2018Kandahar Knights
2019Khulna Titans
2020–presentNorthern Knights
2020Northamptonshire
2020Dambulla Viiking
2021–presentIslamabad United
2021Middlesex
2021–2022Southern Brave
2022–2023Warwickshire
2022Guyana Amazon Warriors
2023Paarl Royals
2023Oval Invincibles
2024Leicestershire
2025Sylhet Strikers
Career statistics
Competition Test ODI T20I T20
Matches 7 161 145 357
Runs scored 351 5,700 3,601 8,494
Batting average 25.07 37.74 27.07 25.20
100s/50s 1/1 14/29 1/23 3/54
Top score 103 177 115* 119
Balls bowled 12 2,441 546 1,772
Wickets 0 43 20 77
Bowling average – 45.16 33.95 28.23
5 wickets in innings – 1 0 0
10 wickets in match – 0 0 0
Best bowling – 6/55 3/21 4/10
Catches/stumpings 6/– 60/– 38/– 98/–
Source: ESPNcricinfo, 29 July 2024

Paul Robert Stirling (born 3 September 1990) is an Irish cricketer. Stirling is the opening batsman for the Ireland cricket team and an occasional right-arm, off-break bowler. He is one of the top 10 run scorers in T20 internationals.[1] He was one of the eleven cricketers to play in Ireland's first ever Test match, against Pakistan, in May 2018. He was appointed as the vice-captain of the Ireland team in June 2020.[2] He subsequently served as interim captain of Ireland in the T20I and ODI format following the resignation of Andrew Balbirnie, before being appointed as permanent limited-overs captain in October 2023.[3]

Stirling debuted in first-class cricket in March 2008, playing for Ireland in the Intercontinental Cup. The same year, Stirling made his debut in One Day Internationals (ODIs). Having represented Middlesex's youth sides and Second XI, Stirling signed a contract with the club in December 2009. A month later he was awarded a contract with Cricket Ireland, making him one of six players with a full-time contract with the board. He made his Twenty20 and List A debuts for Middlesex in 2010 and 2011, respectively.

In December 2018, Stirling was one of nineteen players to be awarded a central contract by Cricket Ireland for the 2019 season.[4][5] In July 2019, in the second ODI against Zimbabwe, Stirling became the first batsman for Ireland to score 4,000 runs in ODIs.[6] In January 2020, he was one of nineteen players to be awarded a central contract from Cricket Ireland,[7] the first year in which all contracts were awarded on a full-time basis.[8] In August 2021, Stirling played in his 300th match for Ireland, in the opening fixture of Ireland's series against Zimbabwe.[9] In January 2022, Stirling captained Ireland for the first time in ODIs, in the second match against the West Indies, after Andrew Balbirnie was ruled out of the match due to COVID-19.[10] In the same match, Stirling also became the first cricketer for Ireland to score 5,000 runs in ODIs.[11]

  1. ^ "RECORDS / TWENTY20 INTERNATIONALS / BATTING RECORDS / MOST RUNS IN CAREER". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  2. ^ "Paul Stirling named Ireland Men's Vice-Captain". Cricket Ireland. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  3. ^ "Paul Stirling appointed permanent white-ball captain; Andrew Balbirnie remains red-ball captain". Cricket Ireland. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  4. ^ "19 men's central player contracts finalised ahead of busy 2019". Cricket Ireland. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
  5. ^ "Ireland women to receive first professional contracts". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
  6. ^ "Mire's middle overs magic keeps Ireland modest". CricBuzz. 4 July 2019. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  7. ^ "Gareth Delany, Shane Getkate amongst 19 men's central player contracts offered ahead of a busy 2020". Cricket Ireland. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
  8. ^ "Delany, Getkate highlight Ireland men's central contracts list for 2020". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
  9. ^ "Stirling reaches 300 caps". Cricket Europe. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  10. ^ "PREVIEW: Ireland Men looking to square series in second ODI against West Indies". Cricket Ireland. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  11. ^ "Harry Tector, Andy McBrine take Ireland to series-leveling win in rain-reduced match". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 14 January 2022.