WINDHOEK, Namibia – Leg-spinner Gavin Hoey may have claimed Player of the Match plaudits, but teammates George Dockrell and Paul Stirling also enjoyed a memorable day as Ireland Men completed a convincing win by 55 runs over Namibia in the first of a five-match ODI series.
Hoey, the son of former Irish international Conor Hoey, was playing in only his sixth ODI appearance, but looked calm and focussed, bowling with control and variations of pace as he claimed 3-29 off 9 overs. His performance was exactly as head coach Gary Wilson had asked for during the pre-series press conference when he spoke about searching for genuine wicket-taking options through the middle overs.
Starting the day, captain Paul Stirling and Andrew Balbirnie put on 70 for the first wicket after being put in to bat first by the home side. Stirling dominated early, striking eight fours and a six during the compilation of his 32nd career half-century, and fell on 56 caught at deep mid-on trying to accelerate the scoring rate. During his innings, Stirling became the first batter to pass 13,000 runs for Ireland and has now scored over 3,500 more runs than the second-best Irish batter on the run-scoring list.
Cade Carmichael (45), Harry Tector (28) and Lorcan Tucker (28) provided stability in the middle order, but the Namibian bowlers adapted to conditions best as the ball softened and runs became harder to score.
Wickets fell at regular intervals and the visitors eventually finished on 229-9 in their 50 overs – a score that was around 30 runs below the average first innings scores in ODI cricket at the venue.
Needing early wickets to put the pressure back on their hosts, the Irish bowlers met a positive-looking Michael van Lingen and Louren Steenkamp who together put on 48 for the first wicket.
Once Jai Moondra removed van Lingen in the 9th over, the Irish bowlers began to gradually wrestle back control of the match. Over the next 16 overs the home side lost 6-60 and the momentum they had built from the opening stand dissipated.
For Ireland, amongst Hoey’s three wickets were the significant scalps of Steenkamp (26) and the dangerous Jan Frylinck (9), while Moondra (2-27) and Dockrell (2-22) chipped in with important dismissals – Dockrell’s first of his two wickets took him to 327 international wickets across all formats, which put him top of the all-time wicket-taking list for Ireland (see list here).
Ruben Trumpelmann struck a late half-century to inject some interest in the run-chase, but when Liam McCarthy got through Trumpelmann’s defences and knocked back his off-stump with a lovely angled ball that cut back between bat and pad, Ireland were worthy victors in Game One of this five-match series.
MATCH SUMMARY
Namibia Men v Ireland Men, 1st ODI, Windhoek, 22 October 2026
Ireland 229-9 (50 overs; P Stirling 56, C Carmichael 45; R Loftie-Eaton 4-36)
Namibia 174 (37.5 overs; R Trumpelmann 50; G Hoey 3-29)
Ireland Men won by 55 runs
