Birthday special: Paul Stirling – A stalwart of Irish cricket

Paul Stirling made his international debut for Ireland in 2008 at just the age of 17. For anyone making their debut at such an early age, it takes some time to get settled at the international stage. It took him some time as well but once he started coming good, it became difficult for everyone to stop him. At one time, he was definitely one of the most feared batsmen in associate cricket. In 2021, the world has already started taking notice of his numbers.

It almost feels that Stirling has been opening the batting for Ireland for years. But he is just about to be 31 years old and probably has another six or seven years of cricket in him. For years, everyone looked at him and thought that he had something special about him. And that is not because he has a beautiful cover drive under his belt or he can whack the ball wherever he wants. Well, he can certainly whack the ball, but it is mainly because of when he has scored his runs.

Out of his 12 ODI centuries, the two of the more early ones were against Pakistan. His 142 last year against England helped Ireland chase down 329 runs in an ODI in Southampton. His 92 was pivotal in Ireland’s win against West Indies in the 2015 World Cup. And he has three centuries against Afghanistan, two of which came earlier this year against Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi and Mujeeb Ur Rahman.

Apart from that, Stirling is someone who has played in various leagues around the globe. Recently, he was seen in the final of the Hundred for Southern Brave, where his fifty ended up being a decisive factor. The way he changed the momentum of that game was only a testament to his amazing capability with the bat. He is destructive and every bit fluent. He is someone who is not afraid of taking the attack to the opposition, especially if the spinners are in the act.

So far, he has played 131 ODIs for Ireland scoring 4874 runs at an average of 39. He has also scored 2343 runs in his 84 T20Is at an average close to 31. His achievements also include 12 ODI centuries to go with 26 fifties. He has 18 T20I fifties as well along with one T20I century which he scored against Zimbabwe on September 1.

Apart from all of that, he has featured in three Tests for the Irish national team as well. One more thing about him which is less talked about is his bowling. He has 43 wickets in ODIs and 19 in T20Is. Stirling will turn 31 on September 3, 2021, and the peak of his batting prowess just seems to have started.