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Cricket Ireland has today announced that Ireland men’s international John Anderson has retired from international and Inter-Provincial cricket.
The 35-year old, who was born in Durban, South Africa, made his international debut for Ireland in 2012 and appeared 26 times for the national side. His last match was against Scotland in November 2017. Anderson’s highest first-class score of 127 came in 2013 against the Netherlands in an Inter-Continental Cup match in Deventer.

John Anderson said:

“It has been an honour and privilege to play for Ireland and it is one of the proudest achievements of my life. I am immensely proud of all my contributions to the team, especially those in the I-Cup. I’d like to thank those at Cricket Ireland who believed in me and gave me the chance to play international cricket.”

“I have also decided to step away from all Inter-Provincial cricket. It has been six extremely enjoyable and successful years with Leinster Lightning. Thanks to everyone involved for making it such a memorable time, in particular my team mates.”

“I’d like to thank my family and close friends who have supported and encouraged me during my career. Most of all I’d like to thank my wife, Isobel, for her constant support and motivation, and for always pushing me to achieve my dream of playing international cricket.”

“Now feels like the right time to move on with my life and I am excited to see what the future holds.”
Graham Ford, Head Coach of the men’s international side, said:

“I have known John for many years and he has always been impressive as a person and as a cricketer. He has a commendable playing record and has once again put in some match winning performances at interprovincial level.”

“As expected, he has been the model professional showing great commitment, dedication and support for his fellow squad members. He can be very proud of how he has operated as a squad member and of his cricketing contributions over the years.”

Richard Holdsworth, Performance Director at Cricket Ireland, said:

“It’s always a sad day when an international cricketer retires from the game they love. John is widely recognised as a valuable servant to Irish cricket, on both the international and domestic levels.”

“Fans of Irish cricket will remember his series of crucial innings’ during the 2011-2013 Inter-Continental Cup. Not only did a number of John’s batting performances propel Ireland into the Final, but his innings of 55 in a low-scoring first innings of that Final helped Ireland to a fantastic win.”

“On the domestic front John has been central to the successes of the Leinster Lightning side since 2013, captaining the side to back-to-back trebles before stepping down from the role in early 2018.”

“John has been a pleasure to work with, and we wish John well for the next step in his career.”

Albert van der Merwe, Head Coach of Leinster Lightning, said:

“John has been a rock on which so much of Leinster Lightning’s success has been built over the last 6 years. He has been a model professional in everything he has done. He captained back to back treble winning sides in 2016 and 2017. Although a quiet and unassuming person, John was always a fierce competitor. His toughness, work ethic and standards epitomise everything we at the Lightning try to live by.”

“He leaves a big hole in our top order. Not only his sheer weight of runs, but his calm influence on the rest of the batting line-up. John has this amazing ability to time a run chase or absorb pressure. So many of our batsmen have benefitted from batting with John.”

“Apart from his batting exploits, John captained the side with great success and played a huge part in creating the Lightning culture that we have today. From a coach’s perspective I couldn’t ask more of a player. His attitude was exemplary, his work ethic serves as a marker for younger players and he enjoyed playing for a team that I know means an awful lot to him. He had no airs and graces and importantly, he was coachable. He wanted to improve all the time. I would like to thank John and I wish him all the best as he embarks on life after professional sport.”

John Anderson has announced his retirement
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