Ireland is one of the successful associate nations in cricket. They have evolved as a team, where a bigger team losing to Ireland might not be considered an upset anymore.
Ireland’s batting unit is well led by their opening batter-cum-captain Paul Stirling for a long time now. He, along with William Porterfield and Kevin O’Brien, are local heroes when it comes to batting for their team.
Nobody would have forgotten Kevin O’Brien’s brilliant match-winning century knock against England in an ODI World Cup match 2011. His innings of 113 helped Ireland chase England’s 327 in the last over of the chase. It is one of Ireland’s greatest moments, as they have been looked up to by other cricketing nations ever since.
This article will list the top ten batters who have scored the most centuries for Ireland in One-Day Internationals.
Most ODI Centuries for Ireland
| PLAYER | 100s | INNINGS | HIGH SCORE | 50s |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paul Stirling | 14 | 157 | 177 | 30 |
| William Porterfield | 11 | 145 | 139 | 20 |
| Andy Balbirnie | 8 | 105 | 145* | 16 |
| Ed Joyce | 5 | 60 | 160* | 12 |
| Harry Tector | 5 | 44 | 140 | 12 |
| Jeremy Bray | 2 | 15 | 116 | – |
| Kevin O’Brien | 2 | 141 | 142 | 18 |
| Eoin Morgan | 1 | 23 | 115 | 5 |
| Curtis Campher | 1 | 32 | 120 | 6 |
| Simi Singh | 1 | 30 | 100* | 1 |
| Gary Wilson | 1 | 99 | 113 | 12 |
| Nathan O’Brien | 1 | 101 | 109 | 18 |
Key Stats
The retired batter Kevin O’Brien’s famous World Cup Century against England in 2011 is also the fastest Irish century in ODIs. The 50-ball ton is also the fastest century in the history of the ODI World Cup to date.
The elder O’Brien brother is also the first and only Irish batter to score a century in all three international formats for his side. You can check the batters who have done that for other sides here.
Harry Tector is one to be looked out for among the current-day batters. The right-hand middle-order batter has a solid technique and has started his international career in a blistering manner- averaging around 50 in his first 1500 runs, which includes 4 centuries. The best part is he is only 23 at the time of me writing this article and has everything set to top this chart in the days to come.
Also Read: The Progress of Ireland Cricket under their coach Heinrich Malan
