Stirling lands permanent Ireland captaincy in short-form matches

Paul Stirling will be Ireland's permanent white-ball captain while Andrew Balbirnie will continue as red-ball captain as national selectors look towards the next cycle with two T20 World Cups and a 50-over world cup set to be played in the next four years.

It means Stirling will lead the one-day limited overs games while Balbirnie deals with Test matches.

Stirling, 33, has led his country 22 times across formats (six ODIs, 16 T20Is). He has appeared for Ireland on 376 occasions, 13 short of Kevin O'Brien’s record number of caps.

Stirling was appointed the interim white-ball captain in July 2023 after Andrew Balbirnie stepped down from that role.

Stirling has amassed 11,756 runs across all formats to become Ireland men’s highest-ever run-scorer. He is also one of only 25 cricketers to score a century in all three formats.

Stirling said: "Playing for Ireland has always been a source of pride for me and to be confirmed the permanent white-ball captain is a recognition I don’t take for granted. I have very much enjoyed working with Heinrich [Malan] and the coaching staff over the last few months as interim skipper, but we all know that we have potentially three world cup campaigns over the next four years and the work starts now.

"I said recently that ODI cricket was my favourite format, and to watch on as the 50-over World Cup has been underway is actually been a great motivator for me to ensure we are there at the next event in 2027.

"I know this desire is a common feeling throughout the squad, and so we’ll look to harness this drive into the next series scheduled for December.

"We also recognise that there is only eight months now to the next T20 World Cup, so the clock has well-and-truly started on our preparations."

National