John Mooney has announced his retirement from Inter-Provincial cricket with immediate effect
The 33 year-old informed the Leinster Lightning’s team management and selectors late last week.
“It's been a great time in my life being able to represent Leinster over the past 21 years” said Mooney.
“I regard my first Inter-Provincial cap at U-13 level as one of the proudest days of my life. To come full circle and finish up by captaining the senior Provincial side to all three trophies this past season fills me with immense pride. Over 21 years of Inter-Provincial cricket, I lost less than five games and cannot thank enough people, in particular Bernard O'Donnell, Brian Kelleher, Ray Daly, Kevin O'Herlihy, Brian O'Rourke and the legend - Vinnie Savino. All these and lots more are responsible for the development, not just of my success, but that of a whole crop of outstanding talented players”.
“My decision to retire from the Lightning is based solely on making sure young players with Irish ambition will have the best possible chance and I will always only be a phone-call away from helping out any of players trying make their way”.
Mooney captained the Lighting for the past two and a half years, having taken over from Kevin O’Brien mid-way through the 2013 season while O’Brien fulfilled his Caribbean Premier League commitments.
From the start he set about instilling a pride and passion in his players which saw them secure seven of the nine titles since the Inter-Pro’s were relaunched in May 2013, including all three trophies in 2015, an achievement which saw him voted by his teammates the ‘Player’s Player of the Year’.
Mooney could always be counted on to dig in after a poor team start or showcase his unique brand of shotmaking to accelerate the scoring when required, dispatching the ball through 360 degrees including an entertaining array of switch hits and reverse sweeps. The team will also miss his bowling, in particular his ability to break a stubborn partnership.
Lightning coach, Ted Williamson had the following comment upon hearing the news: “Not only have we lost our most consistent player across all formats, we've also lost our leader and one of the main driving forces behind the Lightning's success over the last three years. John would however be the first to acknowledge that the show must go on and opportunities will now be there for others. We'd all like to wish him and his family the very best for the future”.