Tim Murtagh was forced to retire from international cricket to continue playing for his Middlesex County team. Credit: Reuters/Andrew Boyers
For Tim Murtagh, Ireland, Lorde's looming test is reminiscent of the best day of his professional life: when he won five of 13 and helped England eliminate 85 before lunch in the same match four years ago.< /p>
Since then, Murta figurines have become an integral part of the Lord's honors board. “This is something that will stay there forever, and something that my family and children can always come and see for years,” he reflects.
The day was even more unusual given Murtagh's detour to test cricket. He always dreamed of taking a new test ball from Lord, but only for England.
«Growing up in London, you hoped you'd be in the dressing room at home, but so be it — no one can take that away from me.» After representing the England under-19s and then moving from Surrey to Middlesex, Murtagh has developed into a prodigious seafarer – seemingly the only one who will never grace the international stage.
Over dinner in Clapham in 2011, his friend Ed Joyce (from Ireland, England and Ireland again) asked about Murtagh's last name. When he learned that Murtagh's grandparents were born in Dublin, Joyce realized that Murtagh would be eligible to represent Ireland if he obtained a passport.
Murtha made his green debut the following year, helping the team on their way to Test cricket. Before Lord's Test 2019, Murtagh was in a rare position: he was an away player and more experienced on the ground than any of the home players. “In fact, I had no reason to play badly. I've played there so often,” he says.
Since 2007, Murtagh has been Middlesex's master at Lord's, excelling — usually downhill from the Baby End — attacking the front court. And so the England test seemed like a unique opportunity.
“People had been putting a lot of pressure on me in the weeks leading up to this — they were saying, especially if it’s green, you get on the leaderboard,” he says. At the gate, as green as the shamrocks on Irish shirts — «fortunately the gardener was Irish» — Murtagh stuck to the basic template he'd perfected in Middlesex.
Murtagh's ninth ball was thrown from his favorite kennel, bounced off to the side and kissed Jason Roy's rib. “There was no way I was going to give up the ball,” he recalls. William Porterfield, Ireland's captain, «kept looking at me after the end of each half and I was just like, 'No, I'm fine.' I will continue».
Where Roy was sacked for quitting, Murtha's most spectacular wicket was Johnny Bairstow, who was knocked out of the net by a hard serve. The dismissal was Murtagh in excelsis: a wicket born of a stunning individual performance that was even better than the culmination of a cunning plan.
«That's what I try to do a lot — bounce the ball down the slope and then return the ball to the stumps from the seam. It becomes quite a dangerous delivery if they are used to going the other way,» he explains.
Even if the Irish batsmen were no match for his flawless performance, Murtha's performance was the perfect start to his international career. After Ireland received test status, the England and Wales Cricket Board ruled that Irish players would no longer be able to play as local players, effectively forcing Murtha to choose between club and country.
“It was a shame. I knew the decision would be made.» It was a «difficult decision» but Murtagh was safely settled in London and had promised Middlesex long ago that he would stay with them if that moment ever came.
How grateful the Middlesex are. Murtagh, 41 and now a player-coach, remains a threat in the right conditions. In a 10-wicket match against Kent the previous month, he tied for the club's 1,000th wicket in all competitions; his first-class account for Middlesex now stands at 834 scalps at 23.56 each.
With Darren Stevens finally retired, Murtha is now the second oldest player in the standings behind only Northamptonshire's Gareth Berg. Stevens attributed his longevity to a pint of Guinness every day; for Murtagh, it's «three pints,» he jokes.
“I would like to say that yoga classes are at 5 am, but I would be lying. I think it's just fun — the love of the game. I don't take on too much, my actions are fairly repetitive. Now I know my body — I know my bowling, I know what I need to do and what not to do.
“In the last 20+ years, I haven’t changed much in terms of what I try to do with the ball. It's been pretty consistent throughout.»
Murtagh, with 950 first-class wickets, «would like» to reach 1,000. But he thinks it will probably be his last season.
«Never say never, but I guess it's probably the last one,» he says. «We have agreed with Alan Coleman, director of cricket, that we will sit down in June and discuss the future.» Now that Ireland is returning to the Lord, Murtagh has a simple wish.
«Hopefully it's time for someone else to put themselves on that board — whether with a bat or a ball, I'll be the first to congratulate them,» he says. He will be at Lord's boxing on opening day, «will be delighted to see these guys walk away with the same enthusiasm and joy that we, 11 players, four years ago.»
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