Ireland's 2011 World Cup hero, Kevin O'Brien has announced his decision to retire from ODI cricket. The 37-year old played a total of 153 games in the 50-over format scoring 3,618 runs (Ireland’s third-highest ODI run scorer) at an average of 29.41 and a strike rate of 88.72, and took 114 wickets – ending as Ireland’s highest wicket taker in ODI cricket (Boyd Rankin is second on the list with 96 ODI wickets)."After 15 years playing for Ireland, I feel now is the right time to step away and retire from ODI cricket," O'Brien said.
"It has been an honour and a privilege to represent my country 153 times and the memories I take from them will last a lifetime. This has not been an easy decision, but after ongoing consideration, I don't feel I can contribute to the ODI team as much as I have in the past. The hunger and love for the ODI format is no longer the same as it was and it wouldn't be fair to Andrew, Graham, the team and our supporters to continue to play while no longer feeling at 100%."I've had some unbelievable moments with the team since 2006 - the three World Cups, the personal successes and spending time travelling and playing all over the world, but I will now shift my focus and remain fully committed to T20 cricket - with two world cups in the next 18 months - and hoping to add to my three caps in Test cricket."
One of O'Brien's most famous exploits was the record-breaking 113 in the ICC World Cup 2011 against England in Bangalore. He brought up his century in just 50 balls; even today, it remains as the fastest century at a World Cup. Andrew Balbirnie, Ireland Men’s captain, said, “We’re losing a big figure in our ODI squad – someone who has played over 150 ODIs for Ireland, and has been there since the very first one in 2006. He’s someone a lot of us in the team, and many who have gone before us, have looked up to.” “ He’s consistently put in the big performances on the biggest stages, and he’ll always be remembered for that amazing world cup innings in 2011 – and that innings alone probably gave many of us the opportunity to become professional cricketers in Ireland. I think everyone within Irish cricket owes a huge amount to Kevin O’Brien for what he’s done for the sport in this country. I’m delighted that he’ll still be playing T20s and Test cricket for Ireland, because he’s a big player in those formats and I have no doubt he will make many more contributions in those formats of the game.” “We’re losing a big personality in the ODI squad, and a really good friend, but this is not the end of Kevin O’Brien and I look forward to seeing what he can do in the other two formats.”
