Born in Australia, Trent Johnston is remembered fondly by the Irish cricketing fraternity for his role in the historic victory against Pakistan in the 2007 WC which helped the relatively unknown Irishmen a passage into the next phase of the competition. An instinctive leader of men, it was Johnston who scored the winning runs as Ireland shockingly eliminated Pakistan.

Trent played for New South Wales in the Australian domestic circuit and has played along with the likes of Mark Taylor, Slater and Brett Lee. A captain known for his never say die spirit, Johnston imbibed the same culture into the Irish team as they bounced back from a disappointing time at the World Cricket League to the finals of the Inter Continental Trophy. A final finish in the 2005 ICC trophy helped Ireland qualify for the 2007 WC.

The World Cup provided Johnston with some of the high points in his cricket career, leading his team to a thrilling tie against Zimbabwe and hitting the winning runs against Pakistan to record one of the biggest upsets in cricket history. He also captained Ireland to a win over Bangladesh in the Super Eight stage of the tournament as Ireland finished eighth in the tournament.

Johnston’s career best figures were achieved in April 2009 when his 5-wicket haul destroyed Canada in the finals of the ICC trophy. He was at the centre of action again as he picked up four wickets and scored an unbeaten 20 as Ireland came close to upsetting England in August 2009. This was also his 100th ODI match for Ireland.

Johnston was a part of the Irish squad for his second WC in 2011 and was a solid performer as Ireland thumped England in one of the biggest upsets of the tournament.

However, Johnston's career has been no swan-song. He struggled to find a place in team being neglected in favour of younger candidates. In the 67 ODIs that he played, he picked 66 wickets at a decent economy of 4.33. Recognizing the need to move forward, the 39-year old called quits in December 2013 after lifting the ICC InterContinental Cup - his 12th title in a glorious ten-year span that also saw him feature in two World Cups and three World T20s. The good news for Irish cricket is that the veteran player has taken up the charge of the Ireland women's team and has also become fast-bowling coach at the recently-formed National Academy.

By Cricketlineguruji staff
As of April 2014