Kyle McCallan

William Kyle McCallan (born 27 August 1975), usually known as Kyle McCallan, is a former Irish cricketer from Northern Ireland. A right-handed batsman and off spin bowler, he has played more times for the Ireland cricket team than any other player, more than 40 caps ahead of the next player in the table, the retired Peter Gillespie. Only three players have captained Ireland more times than McCallan, and only Jason Molins has captained them to more wins. He has also played second XI cricket for Derbyshire and Surrey.

He announced his retirement from international cricket on 2 December 2009, after a record 226 caps. He scored 3616 runs at an average of 23.33 and he also took 256 wickets. He also captained Ireland a record 54 times.

His matches for Ireland include fifteen first-class matches, 61 List A matches and 19 One-Day Internationals, all of Ireland's ODIs to date. He represented Ireland at the 2007 Cricket World Cup, and the ICC Trophy in 2001 and 2005. He also represented Northern Ireland in the cricket tournament at the 1998 Commonwealth Games.

Playing career

1990s

McCallan made his debut for Ireland on 2 June 1996, playing against Wales in Dublin, taking a wicket with his first delivery. He scored his first century in his following match, against the MCC in Malahide. but only played one match, against the hosts. again playing just one game, against Gibraltar. The year finished for McCallan with a match against Scotland,

The year continued with a first-class match against Scotland, two matches against South Africa Several matches against Australia A in August, in Zimbabwe, playing against Scotland, Kenya and Denmark in addition to the host's A team. The summer started with a NatWest Trophy match against Shropshire which was followed by a first-class match against Scotland. and was named man of the match against the Netherlands. Returning to Ireland, he played a match against Australia and a C & G Trophy match against the Hampshire Cricket Board. a match against the MCC He played several more matches that year, including internationals against South Africa and Denmark. He also played that year against the MCC, before two matches against Bangladesh.

The following year, 2006, was a busy one for Irish cricket as they prepared to make their World Cup debut and McCallan was a key part of their side. and a further Intercontinental Cup match against Scotland in Aberdeen. McCallan was present in all of these matches, He also played in Ireland's ODIs against South Africa and India. and his wicket tally is the sixth highest.

In first-class cricket, his top score is 65, and his best innings bowling is 5/34, for Northern Ireland. His best List A innings bowling is 4/36 also his best ODI bowling. He made his 225th appearance for Ireland in their 22 August 2009 ODI win over Scotland.