Kevin O'Brien (cricketer)
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Kevin Joseph O'Brien (born 4 March 1984) is an Irish former international
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 who played for
Leinster Leinster ( ; or ) is one of the four provinces of Ireland, in the southeast of Ireland. The modern province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige, which existed during Gaelic Ireland. Following the 12th-century ...
and Railway Union Cricket Club. On 16 August 2022, he announced his retirement from international cricket. He scored the fastest (later surpassed) century in 50-over
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, coming from 50 balls against
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
on 2 March 2011. O'Brien was one of the eleven cricketers to play in Ireland's 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# ...
, in May 2018, scoring the first Test century for Ireland men's cricket and becoming the first sportsperson from Ireland to represent his country in 300 matches. O'Brien is an aggressive right-handed middle to lower order batsman and a right-arm medium-fast bowler. He made his
One Day International One Day International (ODI) is a format of cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of fifty overs, with the game lasting up to 7 hours. The World Cup, generally held every four yea ...
(ODI) debut in 2006 in Ireland's inaugural match. O'Brien played for
Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated ''Notts.'') is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county is bordered by South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. Th ...
in 2009, and in 2010 was awarded a contract with
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' ...
, making him one of six players with a full-time contract with the board. He was the first player for Ireland to take 100 wickets in ODIs. 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 January 2020, he was one of nineteen players to be awarded a central contract from
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' ...
, the first year in which all contracts were awarded on a full-time basis. In June 2021, O'Brien announced his retirement from ODI cricket, to allow him to focus on T20 and Test cricket.


Personal life and education

Kevin O'Brien was educated at Marian College, Ballsbridge. He has a degree in marketing and advertising. His brother Niall was also a member of the Irish team. Their father Brendan played 52 times for Ireland. His sister, Ciara, played for the Irish women's hockey team.


Career


International breakthrough

Kevin O'Brien represented Ireland in the Under-19s World Cup of 2004 in which he made 241 runs to help his country reach the Plate Semi-Final before being defeated by Australia Under-19s. The following year he played for the MCC Young Cricketers. In June 2006, he made his
One Day International One Day International (ODI) is a format of cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of fifty overs, with the game lasting up to 7 hours. The World Cup, generally held every four yea ...
debut in Ireland's inaugural ODI game, against England in
Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...
. Bowling first he took 1 for 47 off his 10 overs as England managed 301. His wicket came off his first delivery and was that of captain
Andrew Strauss Sir Andrew John Strauss (born 2 March 1977) is an English cricket administrator and former player, formerly the Director of Cricket for the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). He played county cricket for Middlesex County Cricket Club, Middl ...
who was caught at square leg by Andre Botha. Batting at number 8, O'Brien made 35 from 48 balls but Ireland fell 38 runs short. In Ireland's disappointing World Cricket League campaign in
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. ...
, O'Brien was one of the success stories. In their second game of the tournament, against
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 ...
, O'Brien took his career best figures of 2 for 38 by taking the wickets of middle order batsmen David Hemp and Lionel Cann. In the chase he made 54, his maiden ODI half century and helped his side win with 8 balls to spare. When Ireland made 284 batting first against Kenya in the following game it was O'Brien who made half of the runs. His innings of 142 was the highest ever by an Irish batsman and was made off 128 balls, containing 10 fours and 6 sixes. Ireland then took on Canada and O'Brien continued his good form with the bat by making his 3rd consecutive score of fifty plus with a composed 52. The final game of the tournament came against the Netherlands and despite failing with the bat he took 2 wickets. He finished as the second top scorer in the League with 263 runs at 52.80. The next tour for O'Brien was the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean and it would be his biggest test yet as 6 of his 7 One Day International games prior had been against non-Test playing nations. Their opening game against Zimbabwe finished in a tie when Zimbabwe collapsed in the dying stages. O'Brien came on to bowl in the 49th over with Zimbabwe requiring 9 runs from 12 balls and 3 wickets in hand. His first ball was a full toss but Zimbabwean captain Prosper Utseya hit it straight to
Eoin Morgan Eoin Joseph Gerard Morgan (born 10 September 1986) is an Irish-born English former cricketer and current commentator. He captained the England cricket team in limited overs cricket from 2015 until his international retirement in June 2022. He ...
at cover to give him his first World Cup wicket. Chris Mpofu was run out off O'Brien's final delivery and he finished the penultimate over with a wicket maiden. Ireland came up against Pakistan in the next game and they restricted the Test nation to just 132 with O'Brien taking the wicket of
Shoaib Malik Shoaib Malik ( Punjabi, (; born 1 February 1982) is a Pakistani cricketer who played for the Pakistan national cricket team and currently plays for Quetta Gladiators in the Pakistan Super League (PSL). He was the captain of the Pakistan nati ...
. O'Brien came in to bat with his side at 70/4 and he added 38 runs with his brother Niall. Ireland eventually won by 3 wickets and O'Brien finished unbeaten on 16 from 52 balls. His highest score of the tournament came in the Super Eight stage against New Zealand where he made 49, hitting 3 sixes. He missed out on his half century when he was run out by his brother. Arguably his best performance of the World Cup was his fast 48 runs scored against Bangladesh which helped secure a historic Irish victory. On 8 June 2009, O'Brien guided Ireland to victory over Bangladesh in the Twenty20 Cricket World Cup. O'Brien 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), although he did not make the shortlist.


Trial with Nottinghamshire

O'Brien was signed by
Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club is one of eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Nottinghamshire. The club's limited overs team is called th ...
in 2009 on a trial basis. The previous season O'Brien had scored 93 against the club, impressing Mick Newell, Nottinghamshire's director of cricket. He joined the club after the end of Ireland were knocked out of the
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 ...
, a domestic competition in England. In his stint with the club, O'Brien played eight list A matches, scoring 79 runs at an average of 13.16 with a highest of 42, and taking one wicket for 72 runs; he also played five T20 matches for Nottinghamshire, scoring 31 runs and taking two wickets. During his time with Nottinghamshire, he also played as a professional for Plumtree Cricket Club in the Nottinghamshire Premier League.


Professional contract with Ireland

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' ...
, the governing body for cricket in Ireland, awarded O'Brien a full-time "category A" contract in January 2010. He was one of six players to be awarded such contracts with Cricket Ireland (four players received category B contracts and five category C), and came just a year after the first professional contracts were awarded to Ireland's cricketers. Before that players were amateurs relying on income from other jobs and playing cricket in their spare time. The contract allowed O'Brien and the others to focus on cricket, with the aim of improving ahead of the 2011 World Cup. In Ireland's first match at the Sri Lanka Associates T20 Series against
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
, O'Brien performed poorly overall. With the bat he managed only 1 run from 2 balls before having to depart. His bowling figures ended at 0–34, but Ireland managed to seal the win by 5 wickets. In their second match against Canada, O'Brien finished with 0–38 in the Canadian innings, and 5 off 2 balls with the bat as Ireland narrowly lost by 4 runs. In the third and final game (against Sri Lanka A), O'Brien ended the tournament wicketless after 0–15 off two overs. He managed 11 off ten balls as Ireland put in a spirited performance but lost by 5 wickets. In 2010, O'Brien was again nominated for the Associate and Affiliate Player of the Year Award, this time alongside two other Ireland players (there were 16 nominees in all); the award was given to Netherlands
Ryan ten Doeschate Ryan Neil ten Doeschate (; born 30 June 1980) is a Dutch cricket coach and former cricketer. He is currently one of the assistant coaches of Indian men’s cricket team. Born in South Africa, he played for the Netherlands national cricket team ...
. O'Brien was selected in Ireland's 15-man squad for the 2011 World Cup hosted by Bangladesh, India, and Sri Lanka. On 2 March O'Brien hit the fastest century in World Cup history, off just 50 balls against England helping his team to successfully chase down a target of 328 when at one stage they were struggling at 111/5. In that World Cup match against England he along with Alex Cusack set the highest ever 6th wicket partnership in World Cup history (162). Ireland won two of their matches, but failed to progress beyond the first round, finishing six out of seven in their group. With 198 runs at an average of 39.60, O'Brien finished as Ireland's second highest run-scorer in the tournament. On 23 May 2013, at Clontarf Cricket Club Ground, Dublin, he scored an unbeaten 84 in 47 balls against Pakistan which helped Ireland to tie the match. Ireland required 15 runs in the last over to win the match, O'Brien hit last ball of Saeed Ajmal to boundary to pull out a thrilling 'tie' for the Irish team.


County cricket

O'Brien's performance at the World Cup attracted the attention of
Gloucestershire County Cricket Club Gloucestershire County Cricket Club, founded in 1870, is one of 18 first-class cricket, first-class county cricket, county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the Historic counties of England, hist ...
and he secured a contract with the club for 2011. John Bracewell, Gloucestershire's coach, viewed O'Brien as primarily a one-day player and believed his style of batting was best suited to situations where the team needed to increase their run-rate. He made his debut for Gloucestershire on 15 May, scoring three runs from four balls in a CB40 match against
Glamorgan Glamorgan (), or sometimes Glamorganshire ( or ), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It is located in the South Wales, south of Wales. Originally an ea ...
. In June he scored his first century in twenty20 cricket, beating his previous highest score of 39. His innings of 119 runs against
Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...
came from 52 deliveries and helped lift Gloucestershire to the highest total in the history of domestic T20 cricket. O'Brien shared an opening stand of 192 with Hamish Marshall, who also scored a century, and the pair set a record partnership for any wicket in the format.(But this record was broken in just a few years) When O'Brien was finally dismissed, he received a standing ovation. Both Kevin O'Brien and Hamish Marshall became the first pair of batsmen to score centuries in a single T20. O'Brien also signed a contract to play in the first season of the Sri Lankan Premier League, which was scheduled to take place in late July and early August, however the competition was postponed until 2012, allowing O'Brien to spend more time at Gloucestershire. His stint with Gloucestershire also clashed with some of Ireland's international matches. Scotland hosted Ireland and Sri Lanka in July for a tri-series; Ireland's match against Sri Lanka was rained off and in the Scotland match O'Brien was dismissed off his first ball. After the internationals O'Brien returned to Gloucestershire, and again helped his team to victory over Middlesex, this time scoring 58 not out from 35 balls. Gloucestershire finished the Friend's Life t20 competition with four wins from sixteen matches, leaving them 8th out of nine teams in their group. O'Brien – who scored 365 runs from 14 matches, making him the club's second-highest run-scorer in the competition, just two runs behind Marshall – felt he had been consistent with the bat for Gloucestershire, but that his bowling had been underused. Such was O'Brien's effect on the team was that, along with batsman
Paul Stirling 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. He was o ...
, he was one of two Ireland players shortlisted for Associate and Affiliate Player of the Year at the 2011 ICC Awards. Although a full-strength team played against England in an ODI in August, county commitments meant many of Ireland's senior players were unavailable to play in the team's opening match of the 2011–13 Intercontinental Cup. With regular captain William Porterfield playing for
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 ...
and Trent Johnston who often stood in injured, O'Brien was chosen to lead Ireland against Namibia. He had led Ireland in one-day matches before, but this was the first time he had captained in first-class cricket. In October Ireland sent a seven-man squad captained by O'Brien to participate in the Hong Kong Sixes. At the start of 2012 O'Brien was made Ireland's vice captain, taking over the role from Trent Johnston. Soon after, Cricket Ireland increased the number of players with contracts from 15 to 23; O'Brien was one of four players to be given a category A contract. In February 2012 Ireland toured Kenya for an Intercontinental Cup match followed by two ODIs and two T20Is. During the tour O'Brien was fined 20% of his match fee for "using offensive language when leaving the field after being bowled". Kevin O'Brien has signed for Gloucestershire County Club to play a single season in 2016 in all First-class, List A, and T20 and he is a List A specialist.


Test cricket and beyond

In May 2018, he was named in 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, becoming the first sportsperson from Ireland to appear in 300 matches for his country. He was the top scorer for Ireland in the first innings, with 40 runs. In the second innings of the match, he scored Ireland's first ever Test fifty, and then first ever Test century. Despite Ireland losing the Test by five wickets, O'Brien won the man of the match award for his batting performance. In January 2019, he was named in Ireland's squad for their one-off Test against Afghanistan in India. O'Brien recorded his second 50 in the second innings. In September 2019, he was named in Ireland's squad for the
2019 ICC T20 World Cup Qualifier The 2019 ICC Men's T20 World Cup Qualifier was a cricket tournament held during October and November 2019 in the United Arab Emirates to determine the teams that would qualify for the 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup tournament. The six teams finis ...
tournament in the United Arab Emirates. Ahead of the tournament, the
International Cricket Council The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the global Sports governing body, governing body of cricket. It was founded as the Imperial Cricket Conference in 1909 by representatives from Australia, England, and South Africa. In 1965, the body wa ...
(ICC) named him as the key player in Ireland's squad. Later the same month, during the 2019–20 Oman Pentangular Series, O'Brien became the first batsman for Ireland to score a century in a T20I match, when he made 124 against
Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
. On 10 July 2020, O'Brien 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. In September 2021, O'Brien was named in Ireland's provisional squad for the 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup. On 16 August, O’Brien announced his retirement from international cricket. O’Brien said “I had hoped to retire after the World Cup in Australia but having not been picked for the Irish squad since last year’s World Cup, I feel that the selectors and management are looking elsewhere.”


Playing style

O'Brien is a strong batsman, with the ability to clear the ropes. In his record-breaking century against England in the 2011 World Cup in Bangalore, he hit the longest six of the tournament. His brother Niall stated that, "in the field he was grumpy, he was moping around ... when he's like that, he tends to kinda take the bull by the horns". In March 2011 Ireland's coach,
Phil Simmons Philip Verant Simmons (born 18 April 1963) is a Trinidadian cricket coach and former player who is currently a coach of the Bangladesh national cricket team. He played international cricket for the West Indies from 1987 to 1999 as an openin ...
, remarked of O'Brien that, ”There's a lot more thought to his batting and he has worked on different things like batting against spin. He doesn't have the facilities of a county but he is working hard on his game at home."


Footnotes


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Obrien, Kevin 1984 births Ireland Test cricketers Ireland One Day International cricketers Ireland Twenty20 International cricketers Living people Cricketers from County Dublin Irish cricketers Nottinghamshire cricketers Cricketers at the 2007 Cricket World Cup Cricketers at the 2011 Cricket World Cup Cricketers at the 2015 Cricket World Cup Gloucestershire cricketers Somerset cricketers Irish cricket captains Surrey cricketers Trinbago Knight Riders cricketers Rangpur Riders cricketers Northern Districts cricketers Leinster Lightning cricketers Leicestershire cricketers Cricketers who made a century on Test debut Kandahar Knights cricketers People from Sandymount Munster Reds cricketers Irish expatriate sportspeople in Bangladesh Expatriate cricketers in Afghanistan Irish expatriate cricketers Expatriate sportspeople in Trinidad and Tobago Irish expatriate cricketers in England Expatriate cricketers in Bangladesh