Ireland Cricket Team Records and Statistics: Most First Class Wickets

Ireland made their 19th-century cricket official debut versus England in Dublin in 1855. In 2006, the team encountered England in its first One-Day International. Ireland defeated Oman in a qualifying match to earn a spot at the T20 World Cup in 2022. This article lists the most first-class wickets recorded by Ireland. In international cricket, Ireland’s cricket team symbolizes the entire nation of Ireland. The Irish Cricket Union, which functions under the brand Cricket Ireland, is the administrative authority of the sport in Ireland and manages the international team.

Ireland participates in all three significant forms of international cricket: Tests, One-Day Internationals (ODIs), and Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is). They are the 11th Full Member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the second Full Member from Europe, having been conferred Test status on 22 June 2017 along with Afghanistan. The first-class match in Ireland was conducted in 1902.

Ireland was appointed to Associate membership in the ICC in 1993, but played their first comprehensive ODI in 2006, against England, in preparation for the 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup, which they qualified for the first time. Since then, they have contested in 176 One-Day Internationals (ODIs), with 74 wins, 89 losses, 10 no results, and three draws. Contracts for players were implemented in 2009, signaling the start of the shift to a professional squad. 

This article talks in brief about the most first-class wickets records of Ireland:- 

Player	Wickets	Matches	Average
James Boucher	168	28	14.04
Trent Johnson	97	28	17.20
Alec O’Riordan	75	25	21.39
Dermott Monteith	70	19	18.96
Bob Lambert	67	23	23.03
Scott Huey	66	20	18.23

James Boucher

James Chrysostom Boucher was a cricketer from Ireland. He batted right-handed and bowled off-breaks. He made his first appearance for Ireland against a team named as “The Cataramans” in July 1929. He went on to make 60 appearances for them, including the final one against Scotland in July 1954. 28 of his Ireland appearances were first-class, and he collected 168 wickets at an average of 14.04 in those games. In September 1937, he bowled 7/13 versus New Zealand. In total, he took 307 wickets for Ireland, making him one of only two Irish bowlers to achieve this.

Trent Johnson

David Trent Johnston (born 29 April 1974) is a former player and coach from Ireland. He was birthed in Wollongong, New South Wales, and started his cricket career for the state of New South Wales in Australian domestic games. He eventually relocated to Ireland and made his first appearance for the Ireland cricket team in 2004 as a right-handed batsman and right-arm fast-medium bowler. Johnston was subsequently elected Ireland’s captain and was a regular member of the national squad until his retirement in 2013. From 2019 until 2022, he has also served as the coach of the Hong Kong national cricket team.

Alec O’Riordan

Considered one of Ireland’s finest cricketers, O’Riordan made his first-class debut against the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) in Dublin in 1958, after playing club cricket for Clontarf and Old Belvedere. From 1958 to 1977, he appeared 25 times for Ireland in first-class cricket. He was an all-rounder who earned 614 runs at a 15.74 average. O’Riordan grabbed 75 wickets at a bowling average of 21.38 with his fast-medium bowling. He was also an excellent fielder who caught 19 balls. O’Riordan collected 206 wickets and earned 2,018 runs for Ireland in minor matches before being overtaken by Kyle McCallan.

Dermott Monteith

Irish cricketer James Dermott Monteith played for Ireland on the international stage. He was a right-handed batsman and bowled slow left-arm orthodox deliveries. Monteith captained Ireland on 38 occasions, claimed victory 11 times, surpassed James Boucher’s record for wickets in 1984, and concluded his playing career with Ireland with 326 wickets in 76 games which continues to stand as an Irish record.

Bob Lambert

Irish cricketer Robert James Hamilton Lambert (18 July 1874 – 24 March 1956) was born in Dublin. Between 1893 and 1930, he appeared 51 times for the Ireland cricket team, including 23 first-class matches, and bowled right-arm off spin. He also served as captain 13 times. For Woodbrook Club and Ground and London County, he also competed in first-class cricket. He was the best all-rounder Ireland had ever seen, as stated by the Wisden Cricketer’s Almanack at the time of lambert’s death.

Scott Huey

Cricketer Scott Huey, officially known as Samuel Scott Johnston Huey, was an exceptional irish ricketer.  Between 1951 and 1966, he appeared in 36 games, including 20 first-class matches, for the Ireland cricket team as a right-handed batsman and left-arm orthodox bowler. He is famous for being the last bowler in first-class cricket to strike out Sir Len Hutton.