Porterfield announces retirement

Ireland's longest serving men’s captain William Porterfield has announced his retirement from international and representative cricket.

Porterfield, 37, amassed 310 caps across all formats for Ireland after making his international debut in a first-class match against Namibia in May 2006. He ends his career as the third most capped Irish international and second-highest run-scorer for Ireland.

The left-handed top-order batter, who started out playing his club cricket with Donemana, struck the first of his 18 centuries for Ireland against the MCC in a one-day match at Lord’s in August 2006, going on to register 9,507 runs for Ireland at an average of 31.07, and a best of 186 against Namibia in 2015.

Of his more iconic innings, Irish fans fondly remember his 107 against Pakistan in Adelaide at the 2015 Men’s World Cup and his 112 against England in an ODI at Malahide in 2013 as two of his best knocks.

A renowned slip fielder and inner-ring fielder, he also took 146 catches and effected 24 run outs during his international career.

As a captain, Porterfield led the senior Irish side 253 times - taking over from former skipper Trent Johnston in 2008 at the age of 23.

"It’s been an honour to represent my country for 16 years," Porterfield said.

"it’s something I had always wanted to do since I was a child. 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.

"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