Anthony Ireland

Anthony Ireland
Personal information
Full name Anthony John Ireland
Born 30 August 1984 (1984-08-30) (age 27)
Masvingo, Zimbabwe
Batting style Right-hand bat
Bowling style Right-arm fast medium
International information
National side Zimbabwe
ODI debut (cap 87) 24 August 2005 v New Zealand
Last ODI 19 March 2007 v West Indies
Domestic team information
Years Team
2000–present Southern Rocks
2007–2010 Gloucestershire
2011– Middlesex (squad no. 88)
Career statistics
Competition ODI T20I FC List A
Matches 26 1 38 69
Runs scored 30 2 194 116
Batting average 3.75 - 4.73 6.14
100s/50s 0/0 0/0 0/0 0/0
Top score 8* 2* 29 22*
Balls bowled 1326 18 5,658 2,923
Wickets 38 1 117 89
Bowling average 29.34 33.00 29.85 29.51
5 wickets in innings 0 0 4 0
10 wickets in match 0 n/a 1 n/a
Best bowling 3/41 1/33 7/36 4/16
Catches/stumpings 2/– 0/– 10/– 9/–
Source: Cricinfo, 16 June 2011

Anthony John Ireland (born 30 August 1984) is a cricketer from Zimbabwe. A tall fast bowler, he relies on bounce and swing, and performed consistently during his tenure with Zimbabwe, taking 38 wickets in just 26 matches at a healthy average of 29.34. He was one of many talented white Zimbabweans to leave the team due to the situation of the ZCU and the country, to pursue careers in English domestic cricket, where he represented Gloucestershire for four seasons before joining Middlesex for the 2011 season.

Contents

International career

Ireland made his ODI debut against New Zealand at Bulawayo on 24 August 2005 where he took the wickets of both Stephen Fleming and Chris Cairns. He performed consistently with the ball, being one of the few prospects on the Zimbabwe team, after the exodus of players like Gavin Ewing, Andy Blignaut, Henry Olonga, Andy Flower and Tatenda Taibu. However, even with his performances Zimbabwe cricket continued on its downturn, as they gradually became weaker and weaker as an international side.

He toured the West Indies with the Zimbabwean team but broke his left hand in practice. Although he recovered, he struggled to adapt to the West Indian conditions, as Zimbabwe were thrashed 5-0 by the hosts. A regular member of the side in 2006, he was selected in the 2007 Cricket World Cup squad and returned to the Caribbean, taking a wicket in each of his games.

Zimbabwe was at an all time low at this point in time, and Ireland, soon after Zimbabwe were eliminated from the 2007 Cricket World Cup, retired from international cricket. He explained his decision in an exclusive interview with Cricinfo.[1] He felt he was wasting his talents for a poor side, in a country in political turmoil, and felt that he should pursue his cricket elsewhere, and so Anthony Ireland went to England.

Cricket in England

Playing in the United Kingdom, Ireland enjoyed a successful season in 2004 for club teams Belvoir CC and Belton Park CC, before returning to Zimbabwe. He played for the PCA Masters against Gloucestershire in a game before the England vs Pakistan Twenty20 international, at Bristol. He has since played for Thornbury Cricket Club in the south west of England.

Retiring from international cricket after the 2007 World Cup,[2][3] he signed a two year deal with Gloucestershire under the Kolpak agreement.[4] With Gloucestershire, he has had a number of significant impacts with the ball, taking 7/36 against Leicestershire, and match figures of 7/110 against the same side, while taking wickets whenever called upon. He has since been a regular in the Gloucestershire team, along with the likes of Jon Lewis and Steve Kirby. He recently returned briefly to Zimbabwe to play in the Twennty/20 tournament for the Southern Rocks, taking 3 wickets in his only game.

Ireland's finest tail end batting resistance

Along with the ball, Anthony Ireland is also capable with the bat. Anthony Ireland along with Ian Saxelby played an extraordinary rearguard innings vs Middlesex to ensure an unlikely draw-22 overs for 27 runs-and both left the field on the shoulders of Jon Lewis and Chris Taylor to a rousing standing ovation.

Career Best Performances

as of 16 June 2011

Batting Bowling
Score Fixture Venue Season Score Fixture Venue Season
ODI 8* Zimbabwe v Kenya Bulawayo 2006 3-41 Zimbabwe v Bangladesh Harare 2006
T20I 2* Zimbabwe v Bangladesh Khulna 2006 1-33 Zimbabwe v Bangladesh Khulna 2006
FC 29 Middlesex v Essex Chelmsford 2011 7-36 Zimbabwe A v Bangladesh A Mirpur 2006
LA 22* Middlesex v Kent Lord's 2011 4-16 Zimbabwe A v Kenya Harare (CO) 2005
T20 8* Gloucestershire v Warwickshire Bristol 2007 3-10 Gloucestershire v Somerset Taunton 2007

References

  1. ^ "Ireland: "I cannot work with such people" interview". http://content-aus.cricinfo.com/ci/content/story/289192.html. 
  2. ^ Cricinfo - Ireland: 'I cannot work with such people'
  3. ^ Anthony Ireland Quits International Cricket at zimcricketnews.com
  4. ^ "Gloucestershire sign Zimbabwe ace". BBC News. 2007-04-05. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/counties/gloucestershire/6529429.stm. Retrieved 2010-04-25. 

5. Ireland penalised for beamer | Cricdb

External links

Middlesex County Cricket Club – current squad
Zimbabwe squad – 2007 Cricket World Cup