Andy Balbirnie steps down as Ireland's white-ball captain, Paul Stirling appointed interim captain

Ireland failed to qualify for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 after a poor show in Qualifier in Zimbabwe.

After Ireland failed to qualify for the 2023 Cricket World Cup, Andy Balbirnie stepped down as the country's captain in limited overs cricket. Ireland have also announced Paul Stirling as interim leader of the Irish limited overs sides. Ireland had a disappointing run in the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifiers in Zimbabwe. They were placed in Group B along with Sri Lanka, Scotland, Oman, and United Arab Emirates. They could only defeat UAE in the group round and finished 7th in the tournament after winning the 7th place playoff game against Nepal. They could only defeat the USA, UAE, and Nepal in the 6 games they played in the tournament. 

Leaving the captaincy, Balbirnie said, “After much thought and consideration, I have made the decision to step down as ODI and T20 captain. It has been one of my great honours to lead this team over the last few years and I am hugely grateful for all the support I received on and off the pitch from the many players, coaches, Cricket Ireland, and supporters of the team”. He added, “I feel this is the right time for me, but more importantly the team. I will continue to do my best for this team and work hard to contribute towards what I hope will be a successful period over the next number of years”. 

Stirling will be the interim captain of Ireland’s limited overs team till September. Ireland are set to play in ICC World T20 regional qualifier Europe in July. After the qualifiers, they will be taking on India in a 3-match T20 series. Stirling’s final assignment as Interim captain will be a 3-game ODI series against England. Balbirnie led Ireland in 52 t20s and ended up winning only 19 while he lost 31 games as captain. In ODIs, He led thr country in 37 games and won only 8 while losing 27. Balbirnie will remain Ireland’s test skipper.