Ed Joyce

Ed Joyce
Personal information
Full name Edmund Christopher Joyce
Born 22 September 1978 (1978-09-22) (age 33)
Dublin, Ireland
Nickname Joycey, Spud, Piece
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Batting style Left-handed
Bowling style Right-arm medium
International information
National side England
  Ireland
ODI debut (cap 193) 13 June 2006 
England v Ireland
Last ODI 18 March 2011 
Ireland v Netherlands
Domestic team information
Years Team
2009–present Sussex
1999–2008 Middlesex
Career statistics
Competition ODI FC LA T20I
Matches 28 168 215 2
Runs scored 777 11,613 6,886 1
Batting average 27.75 45.01 37.42 1.00
100s/50s 1/5 26/65 10/41 0/0
Top score 107 211 146 1
Balls bowled 0 1,287 264 0
Wickets 0 11 6 0
Bowling average 93.18 51.50
5 wickets in innings 0 0
10 wickets in match 0
Best bowling 2/34 2/10
Catches/stumpings 6/– 148/– 71/– 0/0
Source: Cricinfo, 25 December 2011

Edmund Christopher Joyce (born 22 September 1978) is an Irish[1] cricketer who has played for both the Irish and English national cricket teams. After beginning his career with Middlesex, he moved to Sussex in 2009. A left-handed batsman and occasional right-arm bowler of medium pace, Joyce is widely regarded as one of the best cricketers produced by Ireland.[2] After qualifying to play for England, Joyce was a member of the squad in the 2006–07 Ashes series and 2007 World Cup. Since dropping down the pecking order for selection with England Joyce got special dispensation from the International Cricket Council (ICC) to play for Ireland in the 2011 World Cup.[3]

Contents

Early life

Joyce was born in Dublin and educated at Aravon school, Bray, County Wicklow, and at Presentation College Bray, County Wicklow and Trinity College, Dublin.

County career

Middlesex

Joyce's batting statistics with Middlesex
  Matches Runs Average 100/50 Highest score
First-class[4] 118 8,278 46.76 19/48 211
LA[5] 124 3,235 32.02 1/22 100*
T20[6] 32 444 17.07 0/0 47

Joyce made his Middlesex debut in 1999 and won the NBC Denis Compton Award in 2000. He has been a regular member of the first team since 2002, in which year he averaged 51 and scored four hundreds. Joyce replaced Owais Shah as acting county captain midway through the 2004 season, but was not appointed for the 2005 season.

Joyce captained the Middlesex team to victory in the 2008 Twenty20 Cup. After this competition, the captaincy was handed to Shaun Udal, and later it became apparent that the player's future at Middlesex was uncertain as his current contract was expiring and he had not agreed to sign an extension.

Sussex

Joyce's batting statistics with Sussex
  Matches Runs Average 100/50 Highest score
First-class[4] 41 2,952 45.41 7/15 183
LA[5] 39 1,823 53.61 6/6 146
T20[6] 25 286 15.05 0/0 41*

It was announced on 3 November 2008 that Joyce would be leaving Middlesex to play for Sussex. Vinny Codrington, Middlesex's chief executive, said "[Joyce] felt he needed a fresh challenge. He felt moving counties would help him rediscover the form that got him into the England side a couple of years ago... He was always one of the first names on the team-sheet and he has been outstanding and undoubtedly we're going to miss him".[7] Despite his imminent departure, Middlesex included Joyce in their squad for the Stanford Super Series and the eventually-cancelled Twenty20 Champions League as a gesture of gratitude for his influence in winning the Twenty20 Cup.

A strong first season for Sussex, with three centuries, ensured Joyce remained on the fringes of England selection, being named in the provisional England squad for the 2009 ICC Champions Trophy and in November 2009, he signed a new three-year contract with the county.[8]

Ed suffered a unique dismissal in a 2009 Championship game against Warwickshire. He swept a ball from Ant Botha straight into short-leg fielder Jonathan Trott's pocket. Trott had turned his back and leapt out of the way of the ball; he was stunned to find the ball lodged in his right pocket.[9]

International career

Ireland: to 2005

Joyce played a number of matches for Ireland in the ICC Trophy, averaging over 70 in the competition, but in July 2005 qualified to play for England by virtue of his residency there. In October 2005, Joyce was selected for the England cricket academy and gained a spot in the England "A" squad to tour the West Indies in Spring 2006. In June 2006 he was selected in the England One Day International (ODI) squad for the series with Sri Lanka. He made his England ODI debut against Ireland in Stormont Park, Belfast in June 2006. The Irish team included his younger brother, Dominick. Two days later, he represented England in his first Twenty20 International, but sprained his ankle and was out injured for four weeks. He made his return for Middlesex at Edgbaston on 14 July 2006, in the County Championship against Warwickshire, scoring a career-best 211 in the first innings.

England: 2006-2010

On 15 November 2006, Joyce was selected by England's chairman of selectors, David Graveney, to be in the Test squad for the 2006/2007 Ashes series, in place of Marcus Trescothick, who withdrew from the party and returned home suffering from a stress-related illness. This was a somewhat controversial decision as he was given preference over the more experienced Owais Shah and Robert Key.[10]

Although he was not chosen for any of the Tests against Australia he was chosen to play in the subsequent One-day International series following an injury to Kevin Pietersen. He totalled 288 runs in nine matches at an average of 32.00, including his maiden half-century in the losing run-chase against New Zealand at Perth. However, the highlight of the series for Joyce was the victory over Australia at the SCG on 2 February 2007. Opening the innings, Joyce scored a match-winning 107 from 142 balls, helping England amass 292-7, and became the first English cricketer to score a One Day International century away from home in nineteen matches.[11] Joyce was named Man of the Match for his performance, and the innings helped him earn a place in the squad for the World Cup in the West Indies.

During the 2007 World Cup, Joyce made fifties against the non-Test nations of Canada and Kenya, but made a duck against New Zealand in the first group game and 1 against his native Ireland as well as dropping a catch in the first Super Eight game.

Ireland: 2011-present

While he was scoring heavily for Sussex in 2009, Joyce harboured hopes of breaking back into the England team. However, he was overlooked and by March 2010 was considering representing Ireland again.[12] Joyce explained his choice to return to Irish colours:

When I made the decision in 2001 to try and play for England, it was with a view to trying to play Test cricket which is the pinnacle of the game and which of course Ireland doesn't play. While I strongly believe I'm good enough to play Test cricket for England, I've taken the decision now to try and play for Ireland again. There are a few reasons for this, with the most obvious being that I'm a born and bred Irishman. Secondly, I feel I have a lot to offer to Irish cricket. I had a very successful 2009 with Sussex winning the Most Valuable Player award for the Friends Provident trophy and also two winners medals in theTwenty20 Cup and Nat West Pro40 competition. I feel I'm playing the best cricket of my career and would like to bring this form with me to help Ireland be even more successful on the world stage, a success which I am committed to running in tandem with my Sussex career, in the same way that other Irish players have satisfied club and country commitments really well.
—Ed Joyce, May 2010[13]

Under normal circumstances it takes four years to qualify to play for a country; having played for England at the 2007 World Cup in April 2007, Joyce was set to miss playing for Ireland in the 2011 tournament, taking place in February.[14] In October it was announced that Joyce and former New Zealand international Hamish Marshall would tour India with Ireland; it was hoped that it would assist their integration into the team in the event the ICC allowed them to play for Ireland in ODIs.[15] In November 2010, the ICC announced that Joyce's qualification period would be shortened by the ICC and that he would be allowed to play for Ireland at the World Cup,[14] and he was subsequently selected in Ireland's 15-man squad for the tournament.[16]

International Career

Joyce's ODI and T20I batting statistics
  Matches Runs Average 100/50 Highest score
England (ODI)[5] 17 471 27.70 1/3 107
Ireland (ODI)[5] 11 306 27.81 0/2 88
England (T20I)[6] 2 1 1.00 0/0 1

Family

Joyce's brothers Gus (Augustine) and Dominick have also played for the Irish men's team, while his twin sisters, Isobel and Cecelia, have played for the Irish women, playing at the 2005 World Cup.[17] One of his other brothers, Johnny, is a successful chess player, ranked in the top 20 in Ireland and a former Irish Under-19 Champion.

References and notes

  1. ^ Player profile: Ed Joyce from ESPNcricinfo
  2. ^ Joyce ready to seize his chance
  3. ^ Ed Joyce may return to play for Ireland in World Cup BBC Website 2010-05-19 Retrieved 2010-05-28
  4. ^ a b First-class Batting and Fielding For Each Team by Ed Joyce, CricketArchive.com, http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Players/7/7213/f_Batting_by_Team.html, retrieved 2011-03-01 
  5. ^ a b c d ListA Batting and Fielding For Each Team by Ed Joyce, CricketArchive.com, http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Players/7/7213/a_Batting_by_Team.html, retrieved 2011-03-01 
  6. ^ a b c Twenty20 Batting and Fielding For Each Team by Ed Joyce, CricketArchive.com, http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Players/7/7213/tt_Batting_by_Team.html, retrieved 2011-03-01 
  7. ^ Cricinfo staff (3 November). "Joyce quits Middlesex for Sussex". Cricinfo.com. http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/england/content/story/376843.html.  Retrieved on 3 November 2008.
  8. ^ "Ed Joyce Extends Sussex Contract". Cricketworld.com. 11 November 2009. http://www.cricketworld.com/uk_county_cricket/sussex/article/?aid=22408. 
  9. ^ Tallentire, Mark (9 July 2009). "Warwickshire get lucky and pocket Ed Joyce's wicket". The Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2009/jul/09/county-championship-ed-joyce-sussex-warwickshire. Retrieved 1 May 2010. 
  10. ^ Uncapped Joyce wins Ashes call-up
  11. ^ Scorecard at www.cricinfo.com
  12. ^ Cricinfo staff (26 March 2010), Joyce ponders return to Ireland, Cricinfo, http://www.cricinfo.com/ireland/content/story/453586.html, retrieved 2010-11-09 
  13. ^ Cricinfo staff (24 May 2010), Ed Joyce hopes for early Ireland switch, Cricinfo, http://www.cricinfo.com/ireland/content/story/460770.html, retrieved 2010-11-09 
  14. ^ a b ESPNCricinfo staff (9 November 2010), Joyce cleared to represent Ireland at World Cup, Cricinfo, http://www.cricinfo.com/ireland/content/story/486267.html, retrieved 2010-11-09 
  15. ^ ESPNCricinfo staff (20 October 2010), Ed Joyce and Hamish Marshall named in Ireland touring party, Cricinfo, http://www.cricinfo.com/ireland/content/current/story/482896.html, retrieved 2010-11-09 
  16. ^ ESPNcricinfo staff (19 January 2011), Ireland pick Ed Joyce for World Cup, Cricinfo, http://www.espncricinfo.com/icc_cricket_worldcup2011/content/story/497464.html, retrieved 2011-01-27 
  17. ^ Keeping it in the family

External links