Former Ireland skipper Trent Johnston to retire at the end of the year

Trent Johnston

Trent Johnston, who has been at the forefront of Ireland cricket’s rise, is set to retire from international cricket and representative cricket after the Intercontinental Cup in December, which unfolds following the ICC World T20 Qualifier.

A trailblazing captain with rich tactical acumen, the Australian born cricketer led Ireland to the Super-eights stage in the 2007 World Cup. Labeled as minnows and underdogs, Ireland forced the detractors to eat a humble pie, slaying Pakistan after their incredible tie with Zimbabwe.

It was only fitting that Johnston scored the winning runs against the Asian powerhouse – a massive six- to cap a memorable St.Patricks day. His impromptu ‘chicken dance’ that matched the Caribbean Calypso was among the bumper hits of the tournament.

The charismatic all-rounder sits third on the list of all-time Irish wicket-takers with 264 scalps, whilst his 60 appearances as Ireland skipper is second only to his successor, William Potterfield. The 39-year-old is also one of the only three Ireland players to have picked up a hat-trick, and in addition he has 2398 runs with 10 fifties to his name, although he registered three figures in an uncapped fixture against versus Scotland in 2005.

Commenting on his decision to retire Johnston said “It’s been a difficult decision, and I’ve racked my brains ever since I came back from the UAE in March”.

“It’s becoming harder to recover from matches now, so much so that I can hardly walk for a couple of days. Indeed after the UAE tour, it took me a full week to recover and my young son Charlie and daughter Claudia were having to pull on and off my socks, so that was quite embarrassing. “

“It’s time to move onto new things and give (coach) Phil(Simmons) the chance to find somebody to replace me.”

Johnston, who is assured of a place in Ireland cricket’s hall of fame can never be replaced though.

The Irish titan intends to shift focus to full-time coaching after calling time on his glittering career.