‘We came together well in the Netherlands’ – Kevin O’Brien
Ireland have a tough two-match Twenty20 International series against India, the No.3 team in the world in the format, lined up, and Kevin O’Brien, their star all-rounder, is looking forward to making a mark in what he calls his favourite format of the game.
O’Brien, a well-travelled T20 cricketer who has played in New Zealand, Bangladesh and the West Indies, apart from in Ireland and England, said, “Twenty20 is definitely my favourite format. It suits the type of player I am.”
O’Brien became a star in the world outside Ireland when he smashed what remains the quickest ICC Cricket World Cup century – a 50-ball effort – against England in the 2011 edition, leading Ireland to a historic victory. More recently, he became Ireland’s first Test centurion, scoring 118 in the second innings of his country’s maiden Test match, against Pakistan.
Ireland were playing a T20 tri-series in the Netherlands till the other day, and O’Brien felt switching formats wasn’t too big a problem for him. “Maybe for some. But I try to bat the same in all formats,” he said. “Obviously in T20 you take a lot more risks, so that takes a slight shift in the mental side of it.”
In the Netherlands, Ireland lost both games to the hosts, but won one and tied the other with Scotland.
“We came together well in Holland and we showed great improvements over the ten days – we probably should have won three of the games, which was a little disappointing. But it was great to see George (Dockrell) back to his best as a bowler,” said O’Brien.
Kevin O’Brien hits a 50-ball century – the fastest in World Cup history – as Ireland shock England
ICC CWC 2011; England (327-8) v Ireland (329-7). Ireland won by 3 wickets (5 balls remaining)
“We’ll get a lot more opportunities in the near future, so we can get back to where we were back around 2012, 2013 when we were almost unbeatable.”
One of the concerns among followers of Irish cricket has been the absence of a large-enough pool of young cricketers. But O’Brien has big hopes from some of the players coming up, especially Joshua Little, the 18-year-old paceman who has played two T20Is to date and is in the squad for the games against India.
“I like Josh, he’s got a lot to offer. He played a couple of low-key games a couple of years ago, but there’s something about him,” said O’Brien. “He had two very good Under-19 World Cups and he’s a confident player, not afraid to try things. And he’s a useful bat too.”