Paul Stirling

Paul Robert Stirling (born 3 September 1990) is an Irish cricketer. Stirling is the opening batsman for the Ireland cricket team and an occasional right-arm, off-break bowler. He is one of the top 10 run scorers in T20 internationals. He was one of the eleven cricketers to play in Ireland's first ever Test match, against Pakistan, in May 2018. He was appointed as the vice-captain of the Ireland team in June 2020. He subsequently served as interim captain of Ireland in the T20I and ODI format following the resignation of Andrew Balbirnie, before being appointed as permanent limited-overs captain in October 2023.

Stirling debuted in first-class cricket in March 2008, playing for Ireland in the Intercontinental Cup. The same year, Stirling made his debut in One Day Internationals (ODIs). Having represented Middlesex's youth sides and Second XI, Stirling signed a contract with the club in December 2009. A month later he was awarded a contract with Cricket Ireland, making him one of six players with a full-time contract with the board. He made his Twenty20 and List A debuts for Middlesex in 2010 and 2011, respectively.

In December 2018, Stirling was one of nineteen players to be awarded a central contract by Cricket Ireland for the 2019 season. In July 2019, in the second ODI against Zimbabwe, Stirling became the first batsman for Ireland to score 4,000 runs in ODIs. In January 2020, he was one of nineteen players to be awarded a central contract from Cricket Ireland, the first year in which all contracts were awarded on a full-time basis. In August 2021, Stirling played in his 300th match for Ireland, in the opening fixture of Ireland's series against Zimbabwe. In January 2022, Stirling captained Ireland for the first time in ODIs, in the second match against the West Indies, after Andrew Balbirnie was ruled out of the match due to COVID-19. In the same match, Stirling also became the first cricketer for Ireland to score 5,000 runs in ODIs.