Paul Stirling Height, Weight, Age, Body Statistics

Paul Stirling is a Northern Irish professional cricketer who has represented Ireland in all 3 formats of the sport (Tests, ODIs, and T20Is), as a batting all-rounder. He was appointed the vice-captain of the team in June 2020. As of mid-July 2022, he was the 5th-highest male run-scorer in the history of the T20I format with 2,820 runs in 104 matches. Widely acknowledged as one of the greatest Irish/Northern-Irish cricketers of all time, he was also Ireland’s leading male run-scorer in ODI cricket with 5,172 runs in 139 matches, as of mid-July 2022. In the Irish/Northern Irish domestic circuit, he has played for Northern Knights (2020–Present) across all 3 formats. A rare occurrence in modern cricket, Paul has also played domestic cricket outside of his home country representing teams such as Middlesex County Cricket Club (2010–2019, 2021), Northamptonshire County Cricket Club (2020), and Warwickshire County Cricket Club (2022) in England; and Northerns in South Africa.

Born Name

Paul Robert Stirling

Nick Name

Stirlo

Sun Sign

Virgo

Born Place

Belfast, Antrim County, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom

Residence

Belfast, Antrim County, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom

Nationality

Education

Paul had attended the Belfast High School, a co-educational voluntary grammar school in Jordanstown, Newtownabbey, Antrim County.

Occupation

Professional Cricketer

Family

• Father – Brian Stirling (Former International Rugby Union Referee, Former Primary School Headmaster)
• Siblings – Richard Brian Stirling (Older Brother) (Former Cricketer)

Manager

He has been represented by Niall O’Brien (Former Irish International Cricketer), Manager & Booking Agent, CSM Sport and Entertainment, Global Integrated Sports and Entertainment Agency, Spratton, Northamptonshire, England, United Kingdom.

Batting

Right-Handed

Bowling

Right-Arm Off Break

Role

Batting All-Rounder

Jersey Number

• 1 – One Day International (ODI), T20 International (T20I), Islamabad United (PSL)
• 39 – Northamptonshire County Cricket Club (English Domestic Cricket), Southern Brave (The Hundred)

Build

Average

Height

5 ft 9 in or 175 cm

Weight

84 kg or 185 lbs

Girlfriend / Spouse

Paul has dated –

1. Caitlyn Adair

Race / Ethnicity

White

He is of Northern Irish descent.

Hair Color

Light Brown

Eye Color

Blue

Sexual Orientation

Straight

Distinctive Features

• Stocky frame
• Short-cropped hair
• Affable smile
• Sports a thick beard

Paul Stirling Facts

1. Although he had already represented Ireland in the ODI and T20I formats by then, Paul was selected in Ireland’s squad for the 2010 Under-19 ICC Cricket World Cup. Ireland ended up runners-up to Bangladesh in the ‘Plate Championship’ of the tournament, finishing 10th overall out of 16 teams. Paul was the leading run-scorer for Ireland in the tournament, with 209 runs in 5 matches.
2. In August 2010, he was nominated for the ‘Emerging Player of the Year’ and the ‘Associate and Affiliate Player of the Year’ categories of the annual ICC (International Cricket Council) Awards. He was the only cricketer from an associate member country (Ireland was granted full-member status by the ICC only in June 2017) to have been nominated in the former category that year, the other 15 players coming from full-member countries.
3. In September 2010, during an ODI match against Canada, he recorded his maiden ODI century. His mammoth effort of 177 runs was the highest individual score for Ireland in an ODI match, a record that was still intact, as of mid-July 2022.
4. In Ireland’s last group stage match of the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup, against the Netherlands, chasing a steep target of 307 runs, he stitched together a sensational 177-run partnership with team captain William Porterfield. It was the then-record for Ireland’s highest partnership for the first wicket in ODIs.
5. Paul ended up scoring 101 runs from just 72 balls in that match. His century came off just 70 balls, making it the then 4th-fastest in the tournament’s history. Ireland went on to win the match at a canter – by 6 wickets, with 14 balls remaining. He was named the ‘Player of the Match’ for his brilliant all-round performance, having also recorded figures of 2/51 with the ball in the 1st innings of the match.
6. A hard-hitting opening batter who can bowl some crucial overs, he has been featured in franchise-based T20 leagues around the world, turning out for Sylhet Royals (2013) and Khulna Titans (2019) in the BPL (Bangladesh Premier League); Kandahar Knights (2018) in the APL (Afghanistan Premier League); Dambulla Viiking (2020) (now known as Dambulla Giants in the LPL (Lanka Premier League); Islamabad United (2021–2022) in the PSL (Pakistan Super League); Chitwan Tigers in the EPL (Everest Premier League); Boost Defenders in the SCL (Shpageeza Cricket League); and Paarl Rocks in the MSL (Mzansi Super League).
7. In March 2017, in an ODI match against Afghanistan, Paul (6/55 in 10 overs) and Rashid Khan (6/43 in 9.3 overs) became the first pair of bowlers to take 6 or more wickets for their respective teams in the same ODI match. In that match, Paul had recorded his first 5-wicket haul in ODI cricket as well as the then-best bowling figures for Ireland in ODIs. In that match, Rashid too had recorded his first 5-wicket haul in ODI cricket as well as the then-best bowling figures for Afghanistan in ODIs.
8. In May 2018, he participated in Ireland’s first-ever match in the international test format. In that match, against Pakistan, he had scored 17 runs in the first innings during which he recorded the first boundary for Ireland in test match cricket.
9. In September 2019, he was the leading run-scorer in the ICC World T20 Qualifier tournament, with 291 runs in 8 matches. His performances helped Ireland finish 3rd overall in the competition and qualify for the 2021 ICC World T20.
10. In January 2021, in an ODI match against Afghanistan, he recorded his 12th ODI century, the most by a cricketer for Ireland in ODIs. As of mid-July 2022, he had extended the sole ownership of that record, with 13 centuries to his name.
11. He has also played for Southern Brave (2021) in The Hundred, a professional franchise 100-ball cricket tournament that was introduced by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) as a new format of cricket that was played for the first time in July and August 2021.
12. In September 2021, in a T20I match against Zimbabwe, he had scored 115 runs not out off 75 balls. As of mid-July 2022, this was the 2nd most number of balls faced by a male batter in a T20I match.
13. For his performances in 2021, he was included in the ‘ICC Men’s ODI Team of the Year’ at the annual ICC Awards held in January 2022.
14. In January 2022, Paul captained Ireland for the first time in ODIs, after regular captain Andrew Balbirnie was ruled out of the match after testing positive for COVID-19. During that match, against the West Indies, he became the first cricketer for Ireland to have scored 5,000 runs in ODIs.
15. As of mid-July 2022, he had recorded 325 4s in T20Is, the highest by a male cricketer in the history of the T20I format.

Featured Image by Paul Stirling / Instagram