Gary Wilson will become the 5th player to amass 200 appearances for Ireland when he lines out against PNG in tonight’s third T20 International, and this will be an extra-special occasion for Wilson as he does so as captain.
The Irish camp has confirmed that captain William Porterfield will be rested for the match, meaning the Surrey-man will skipper the side on the occasion of his double century of appearances.
Wilson, who made his Irish debut way back in 2005 against the MCC at Bangor, spoke to www.cricketireland.ie earlier today and is looking forward to many more matches in the green shamrock.
Wilson had his eye on representing Ireland from an early age, “Obviously I’m very proud to reach 200 games for Ireland. Growing up it was all I ever wanted to do really, so if you’d offered me one game whenever I was a kid I would’ve taken it, so to reach 200 I’m very proud.”
Wilson’s career has coincided with some of Ireland’s most memorable performance, but what has stood out for the Dundonald native? “We’ve had so many good games over the years – obviously the big games in the World Cup were fantastic to be a part of. My own personal favourite game was the Zimbabwe game in 2015. Just because it was so close and it meant so much in terms of qualification, and the way the game too-and-froed and then with the catch to win it at the end.”
“Any time you get to captain Ireland is pretty special,” Wilson continued, “I was very proud when I got asked to do it the first time last year, and from a personal point of view that’s definitely one of my own highlights to be asked to captain my country. It’s my 200th game, but it is just another game that we have to try and win as well.
Having just celebrated his 30th birthday last week, Wilson still has many more years to look forward to in the game and he’s not ruling out another milestone, and with the opportunity to play Test in 2018 at stake Wilson is excited about what the future holds.
“I think to get another 200 would be a steady effort! But, you know, I want to keep playing for as long as I can. I think it’s a really exciting time to be part of Irish cricket with hopefully Test status now achievable.
“We’ve got four more really big games in the InterContinental Cup, we’re sitting nicely at the minute on the table. That’s probably the biggest one for me now to try and top that table and get a shot at Zimbabwe and then hopefully beat them and play a Test match, and not only just play a Test match but compete at Test level. I know England said that they’ll play the next Test team in, so a Test match at Lords will be pretty amazing.”
With inclement weather around Townsville over the last 24 hours, it is hoped that the rain will clear in time for Wilson to lead Ireland onto the field at 4am (GMT). You can follow the live scorecard and updates from that match on www.cricketireland.ie.
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