Kevin O'Brien (cricketer)
Encyclopedia
Kevin Joseph O'Brien is an Irish
cricket
er who plays for Railway Union Cricket Club and Gloucestershire
. He holds the world record for the fastest century ever scored at a World Cup, coming from 50 balls against England on 2 March 2011. An all-rounder, 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 (ODI) debut in 2006 in Ireland's inaugural match. O'Brien played for Nottinghamshire
in 2009, and in 2010 was awarded a contract with Cricket Ireland, making him one of six players with a full-time contract with the board.
. He has a degree in marketing and advertising. His brother Niall
is 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.
. The following year he played for the MCC Young Cricketers.
In June 2006 he made his One Day International debut in Ireland's inaugural ODI game, against England in Belfast
. 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
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.
Taking part in Ireland's disappointing World Cricket League
campaign in Kenya
, O'Brien was one of the success stories. In their second game of the tournament, against Bermuda
, 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
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
. 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.
in 2009 on a trial basis. The previous season O'Brien had scored 93 against the club, impressing Mike Newell, Nottinghamshire's director of cricket. He joined the club after the end of Ireland were knocked out of the Friends Provident Trophy, 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.
In Ireland's first match at the Sri Lanka Associates T20 Series against Afghanistan, 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
. 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. 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.
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
. In he scored his first century in twenty20 cricket, beating his previous highest score of 39. His innings of 119 runs against Middlesex
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. When O'Brien was finally dismissed, he received a standing ovation.
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
, 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
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
.
, 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."
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er who plays for Railway Union Cricket Club and Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire County Cricket Club
Gloucestershire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Gloucestershire. Its limited overs team is called the Gloucestershire Gladiators....
. He holds the world record for the fastest century ever scored at a World Cup, coming from 50 balls against England on 2 March 2011. An all-rounder, 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 (ODI) debut in 2006 in Ireland's inaugural match. O'Brien played for Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club
Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Nottinghamshire, and the current county champions. Its limited overs team is called the Nottinghamshire Outlaws...
in 2009, and in 2010 was awarded a contract with Cricket Ireland, making him one of six players with a full-time contract with the board.
Personal life and education
O'Brien was educated in Marian College, BallsbridgeMarian College (Dublin)
Marian College is a Marist Catholic secondary school on Lansdowne Road in Ballsbridge, Dublin. The school motto is Optimum Optare - the pursuit of excellence. The school was founded in 1954 and has a student population of 413 boys and 12 girls...
. He has a degree in marketing and advertising. His brother Niall
Niall O'Brien (cricketer)
Niall John O'Brien is an Irish cricketer educated at Marian College, Ballsbridge. He is a left-handed batsman and wicket-keeper. O'Brien's brother Kevin plays with him in the Irish team...
is also a member of the Irish team. Their father Brendan
Brendan O'Brien (cricketer)
Brendan Anthony O'Brien is a former Irish cricketer. O'Brien was a right-handed batsman. He was born at Galway, County Galway....
played 52 times for Ireland. His sister, Ciara, played for the Irish women's hockey team.
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 AustraliaAustralian cricket team
The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877...
. The following year he played for the MCC Young Cricketers.
In June 2006 he made his One Day International debut in Ireland's inaugural ODI game, against England in Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
. 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
Andrew Strauss
Andrew John Strauss, OBE is an English cricketer who plays county cricket for Middlesex County Cricket Club and is the captain of England's Test cricket team. A fluent left-handed opening batsman, Strauss favours scoring off the back foot, mostly playing cut and pull shots...
who was caught at square leg by Andre Botha
Andre Botha (cricketer)
Andre Cornelius Botha is a former South African-born Irish cricketer. He played 55 times in all for Ireland, including the 2005 ICC Trophy and the European Championship in 2004 and 2006...
. Batting at number 8, O'Brien made 35 from 48 balls but Ireland fell 38 runs short.
Taking part in Ireland's disappointing World Cricket League
World Cricket League
The ICC World Cricket League is a series of international one-day cricket tournaments for national teams without Test status, administered by the International Cricket Council. All associate and affiliate members of the ICC are eligible to compete in the league system, which features a promotion...
campaign in Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
, O'Brien was one of the success stories. In their second game of the tournament, against Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
, O'Brien took his career best figures of 2 for 38 by taking the wickets of middle order batsmen David Hemp
David Hemp
David Lloyd Hemp is a Bermudian cricketer. He is a left-handed batsman and a right-arm medium-pace bowler, he has domestic cricket for Glamorgan, Free State and Warwickshire. David has a younger brother, Tim, who has previously played for Glamorgan's second eleven. He has also played List A and...
and Lionel Cann
Lionel Cann
Lionel Olvin Bernard Cann is a Bermudian cricketer. He is an aggressive right-handed middle order batsman and a right-arm medium pace bowler. In his 22 ODI games to date he has struck 28 sixes...
. 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
2007 Cricket World Cup
The 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup was the ninth edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup tournament that took place in the West Indies from 13 March to 28 April 2007, using the sport's One Day International format...
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
Prosper Utseya
Prosper Utseya is a Zimbabwean cricketer. Rising from the ranks of township cricket in Harare's Highfield suburb, he attended Churchill High School , thanks to Zimbabwe Cricket Union scholarships...
hit it straight to Eoin Morgan
Eoin Morgan
Eoin Joseph Gerard Morgan is an Irish cricketer who plays for the England national cricket team. A left-handed batsman, he plays county cricket for Middlesex and has been selected for England's Test, ODI and Twenty20 squads. He originally represented his native Ireland at international level...
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
Shoaib Malik is a Pakistani cricket player and former captain. He made his One-Day International debut in 1999 against the West Indies and his Test debut in 2001 against Bangladesh. He has taken over 100 ODI wickets, and has a batting average in the mid 30s in both Test and ODI cricket...
. 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 ClubNottinghamshire County Cricket Club
Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Nottinghamshire, and the current county champions. Its limited overs team is called the Nottinghamshire Outlaws...
in 2009 on a trial basis. The previous season O'Brien had scored 93 against the club, impressing Mike Newell, Nottinghamshire's director of cricket. He joined the club after the end of Ireland were knocked out of the Friends Provident Trophy, 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.
Professional contract with Ireland
Cricket Ireland, the governing body for cricket in Ireland, awarded O'Brien a full-time contract in January 2010. He was one of six players to be awarded such contracts with Cricket Ireland, 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, 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 ten Doeschate
Ryan Neil ten Doeschate is a South African-born cricketer who plays internationally for the Netherlands due to his Dutch ancestry. He has played cricket for Essex since 2003....
. O'Brien was selected in Ireland's 15-man squad for the 2011 World Cup
2011 Cricket World Cup
The 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup was the tenth Cricket World Cup. It was played in India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. It was Bangladesh's first time co-hosting a 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. 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.
County cricket
O'Brien's performance at the World Cup attracted the attention of Gloucestershire County Cricket ClubGloucestershire County Cricket Club
Gloucestershire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Gloucestershire. Its limited overs team is called the Gloucestershire Gladiators....
and he secured a contract with the club for 2011. John Bracewell
John Bracewell
John Garry Bracewell is a New Zealand cricketer and coach. He played 41 Test matches between 1979-80 and 1990, as well as 53 One Day Internationals. He has been the coach of the New Zealand cricket team since the autumn of 2003...
, 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 County Cricket Club
Glamorgan County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Glamorgan aka Glamorganshire . Glamorgan CCC is the only Welsh first-class cricket club. Glamorgan CCC have won the English County...
. In he scored his first century in twenty20 cricket, beating his previous highest score of 39. His innings of 119 runs against Middlesex
Middlesex County Cricket Club
Middlesex County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Middlesex. It was announced in February 2009 that Middlesex changed their limited overs name from the Middlesex Crusaders, to the...
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
Hamish Marshall
Hamish John Hamilton Marshall is a New Zealand cricketer. He is the identical twin brother of James Marshall. Hamish and James became the second pair of twins to play Test cricket, and are the first identical pair.Marshall, a middle-order batsman, made his Test debut against South Africa in...
, who also scored a century, and the pair set a record partnership for any wicket in the format. When O'Brien was finally dismissed, he received a standing ovation.
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 Stirling
Paul Robert Stirling is an Irish cricketer. He debuted in first-class cricket in March 2008, playing for Ireland in the Intercontinental Cup. The same year Stirling made his debut in One Day Internationals . Having represented Middlesex's youth sides and Second XI, Stirling signed a contract...
, he was one of two Ireland players shortlisted for Associate and Affiliate Player of the Year at the 2011 ICC Awards
2011 ICC Awards
The 2011 LG ICC Awards will be held on 12 September 2011 in London in England. awards will be presented in association with Federation of International Cricketers' Associations....
. 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
2011–13 ICC Intercontinental Cup
The 2011–13 ICC Intercontinental Cup is the sixth edition of the ICC Intercontinental Cup, an international first-class cricket tournament between leading associate members of the International Cricket Council. The tournament will run from June 2011 to October 2013. The format has been changed...
. With regular captain William Porterfield
William Porterfield
William Thomas Stuart Porterfield in Donemana, Northern Ireland, is an Irish cricketer. He is a left-handed batsman and the captain of the Ireland cricket team. He has played for the senior Ireland since 2006 and the Under-19s since 2003...
playing for Warwickshire
Warwickshire County Cricket Club
Warwickshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Warwickshire. Its limited overs team is called the Warwickshire Bears. Their kit colours are black and gold and the shirt sponsor...
and Trent Johnston
Trent Johnston
David Trent Johnston usually known as Trent Johnston is an Australian-born Irish cricketer...
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
Hong Kong International Cricket Sixes
The Hong Kong Cricket Sixes is an annual 10-team international cricket tournament held at the Kowloon Cricket Club and fully sanctioned by the International Cricket Council. The tournament is made for television, with rules and a venue that encourage aggressive batting and high scoring...
.
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 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 SimmonsPhil Simmons
Philip Veraint Simmons is a former skilled all-round cricketer who played as an opening batsman a useful bowler and a talented slip fielder.-Career:...
, 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."
External links
- Kevin O'Brien at Cricket Archive
- Kevin O'Brien at Cricinfo
- Kevin O'Brien Fastest Century Video at Cricket World Cup 2011