William Porterfield

• Born: 6 September 1984, Londonderry
• Occupation: Professional Cricketer
• Club: Warwickshire CCC
• Previous Clubs: Killyclooney CC, Donemana, Rush, MCC Young cricketers, and Gloucestershire
• Secondary School: Strabane Grammar School
• Representative Honours: Ireland U13's, U15's, U17's, U19's, Ireland A.
• Ireland Statistics: 113 caps, scoring 3771 runs at 33.37, with 16 fifties and 8 centuries. Highest score of 166 against Bermuda in 2007. In addition he has taken 53 catches and made 12 run outs.

Cricketing Career

Who had the greatest influence on your career? Well it was my father that got me involved in cricket so I would have to say that's where it started, but Brian O'Rourke in the underage Ireland system and then progressing through with Adi Birrell would have been the two main people but there were a lot of people along the way.

What is your ultimate cricketing aspiration? Win a World Cup with Ireland.

What is your most memorable cricketing moment? Quite a few to be honest, the 2007 WC was pretty big and stands out for obvious reasons and every other WC that we have played in with Ireland. Scoring my first hundred for Ireland as well as Gloustershire.

What was your worst cricketing moment? Missing out on the U19 WC in New Zealand has to be up there. We made it to the one in Bangladesh though!!

What is your funniest cricketing moment? Looking back now probably getting run out in the T20 qualifiers in Dubai with Boatsy, pretty sure a lot of people would have seen that clip by now.

Who is your best friend in Irish Cricket and why? Would have to say Gary Wilson, we spend quite a lot of time together of the pitch both on tour and back in England. I'm also his best man so I may have to break the golden rule of what goes on tour stays on tour for the speech!! .

Irish Cricket

Who is your favourite Irish cricketer (past and present), and why? Growing up in the North West I would have to say Dekker Curry as he was a lefty himself and always took it to the opposition, not sure I enjoyed playing against him too much though. Present I would say Paul Stirling, I love standing at the other end watching him bat.

Which is your favourite Irish cricket ground, and why? Donemana, simply for the atmosphere that is created the on the big match days!

Who is the best young Irish cricketer you have seen in recent times? Stirling again, he's got all the shots and can take any attack apart on his day.

What do you think of overseas professionals in Irish club cricket? I think it is a great thing. I know that growing up Donemana's first overseas Kendrick Marshall helped me a lot and I feel that coaching should be a major part of their role as well as bringing some extra class to the leagues.

Do you think bowlers should be restricted in domestic cricket? Yes I do, I think that it will help bring more depth to teams.

What are your main complaints about Irish cricket? I think we are moving in the right direction!

How would you set about improving the standard of Irish cricket? I think the inter-pros should be brought back and if possible play multi-day cricket.

How would you set about making Irish cricket more popular? We need to get more games on tv that are based in Ireland to keep the game spreading. The England game being on Sky this year will help towards that.

International Cricket

Which Test team, if any, do you support, and why? I don't really support a test team but I do enjoy watching the big series when they are on.

Which overseas countries have you played cricket in? Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, West Indies, South Africa, Namibia, Kenya, Holland.

Which was your favourite, and why? I love playing in the West Indies for the sheer comedy value of the crowd. I'm looking forward to playing in front of a big crowd in India, that will be special.

Who is your favourite world cricketer, and why? Probably Sachin Tendulkar because of how long he has played the game for at the top, not just that but how he has dealt with the extra pressure and spotlight of doing it in India.

Your Interests

• Which other sports do you play regularly? Not many now, but I still enjoy the odd game of indoor football.
• What are your hobbies? Pretty much watching TV on the sofa after training or heading out to catch up with mates.
• Who is your favourite musical artist? Don't really have one, I suppose Eminem.
• Who is your favourite author? Can't say I read much!
• Which is your favourite film? The Hangover, or any comedy or war movie.
• What is your favourite newspaper? Any of the tabloids, theres normally some good lies in there.
• What is your favourite television programme? Im starting to get into Entourage, great show
• What is your favourite web site? Its gonna have to be cricketireland.com
• What is your favourite type of food? Mexican at the minute
• Where is your favourite place to go on holiday? Anywhere Northern Ireland are playing!