Trent Johnston: Playing for Ireland gave me unimaginable highs

Losing my New South Wales player contract in mid-2000 seemed to spell the end of all hopes I had held of playing international cricket. Coming shortly after the birth of my first child, I was devastated and, for a time, I questioned whether I would even continue to play the game I loved.

I did continue, but the ICC Cricket World Cup dream was gone.

The chance to declare for Ireland now feels destined, but when it came it was as a bit of a surprise. I qualified for Irish citizenship by virtue of my marriage and via a process called ‘post-nuptial dependency’, which was withdrawn shortly after my passport was granted. I met the requirements of Cricket Ireland as I had already spent several seasons playing the game and coaching in Dublin.

By now it was 2003, I had many friends in the Irish set-up and already felt an affinity. My wife Vanessa and I discussed the situation and agreed that I could not miss out on this second chance to play in a World Cup. At this stage, it was still only a chance. Ireland had yet to qualify and I felt strongly that, if I was to join the Irish set-up, I would have to assist in that qualification process and not just turn up when the hard work was done.

So we left Australia in 2004 with a three-year plan. We would move to Ireland until after the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies. Who knew then that a decade later I would have played in two World Cups and three World Twenty20 tournaments with the Irish team and experienced some unimaginable highs from the game I loved, which had given me a second chance?

We qualified for the 2007 World Cup and it came around pretty quickly. Unexpectedly, I was to lead the team in the West Indies, having been asked to take up the captaincy by our coach Adrian Birrell.

Adi and I had, in a short space of time, forged a strong relationship and he felt that together we could take on the challenge that faced us. I was immensely proud to be given this responsibility and would not let him down. Adi has had the greatest influence on my career to date and I am fortunate to regard him as a coaching mentor and valued friend.

Looking ahead to the tournament, we knew we had landed a pretty good group with teams we knew we could beat. We backed ourselves, but at the same time we knew that we would need to play to the best of our ability to cause an upset or two.

Adi’s preparation was first class. We played well against South Africa and Canada in the warm-up games and felt momentum was with us. When we tied with Zimbabwe in our first-ever World Cup game, we felt that we had arrived. What happened two days later would ensure that Irish cricket would never be the same again!

St Patrick’s Day 2007 was the day we beat Pakistan, a former World Cup-winning nation, at Sabina Park. This victory was a team effort that reflected the strength of the squad of 15 men.

There were no superstars, just normal blokes with a common goal, to play on the world stage and have a good old-fashioned crack. To have our families and most loyal fans in the crowd made it very special. Together we celebrated this momentous victory long into the night.

While the win against Pakistan was significant, beating Bangladesh in the Super Eights was equally important in my view. It was the most complete game I have been involved in, despite playing 198 games for Ireland.

I would have said that those seven weeks in the Caribbean would never be equalled. This tournament signified Irish cricket’s emergence from the shadows onto the world stage. However, Kevin O’Brien had other ideas.

Kevin’s achievement at the 2011 World Cup in India was remarkable. He produced a once-in-a-lifetime batting display, a match-winning performance that lifted a nation and dispatched our neighbour and closest full ICC member, England. The support that Kevin received from Alex Cusack that night doesn’t get the mention it deserves, but was just as vital to us winning that game.

Another sweet World Cup victory and another special night of celebration shared with families and supporters — and, to give them credit, a few English players including my old mate Andrew Strauss, whose birthday it was that day. Sorry pal!

By the time I retired from international cricket last December, I had played almost 11 years for Ireland. Vanessa and I had taken a leap of faith leaving Australia with a young family in 2004, but the gamble had paid off and the memories will be forever treasured. I will always be grateful to Vanessa, Claudia and Charlie for allowing me to pursue this dream.

The growth of Irish cricket could not have happened without the support of Richard Done and the ICC High Performance Team. In his role, ‘Doney’ was often challenged about the true potential of associate cricket.

Ireland continued to provide him with ammunition to fight this worthy cause and to justify investment. Ireland have dominated associate cricket since 2007 and beaten full members along the way. As they campaign for full membership, the new custodians of Irish cricket owe a lot to that band of merry men who lit a flame in the Caribbean in 2007.

— 2015 © ICC Development (International) Limited