At 10.10am on Saturday 12 May 2018, the National Chairman of Men’s Selectors, Andrew White, called a team huddle. A very special moment followed.
Cricket Ireland had commissioned special commemorative caps for the 11 players to mark a truly historic occasion in Irish sport.
The embroidered caps denote the match and feature each players Test cap number. The tradition of handing a debutant a cap is not rare, but handing out 11 caps on one day hasn’t happened in world cricket for 18 years (when Bangladesh played its first Test).
For the record, the first 11 caps are:
1. William Porterfield
2. Andy Balbirnie
3. Ed Joyce
4. Tyrone Kane
5. Tim Murtagh
6. Kevin O’Brien
7. Niall O’Brien
8. Boyd Rankin
9. Paul Stirling
10. Stuart Thompson
11. Gary Wilson
Image: The embroidered commemorative cap
Image: Andrew White presents the caps
Image: Ed Joyce receives his cap
Image: Kevin O’Brien receives his cap
The first eleven caps in Ireland Men’s Test history
No
Connaught
