Joshua Little

Joshua Brian Little is an Irish cricketer. He made his international debut for the Ireland cricket team in September 2016. He has also played in T20 franchise leagues, most notably for Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League.

Early life

Josh Little emerged through Cricket Ireland’s development programme, picking up softball cricket for the first time as a ten – year – old at the St Andrews Primary School and being guided by his development cricket coach in Dublin Andrew Leonard who is now a renowned broadcaster.

He soon rose through the ranks during his stint at Pembroke Cricket Club through the Under – 11 programme and also played alongside the likes of future Irish captain Andy Balbirnie for Pembroke Cricket Club in Under – 15 age category level matches.

Little also plied his trade in the sport of field hockey at Monkstown Hockey Club and even represented Ireland national field hockey team at age – group level especially for the Irish Under – 16 side. At the age of 16, he was used as a net bowler for Ireland’s bilateral home series against Sri Lanka in 2016.

He is the brother of 2 sisters who are famed cricketers – Hannah Little and Louise Little.

Domestic Career:

• He excelled at the 2016 U – 19 World Cup having picked up a haul of 11 wickets which also helped him to be fast-tracked into the senior Irish side within a year. It was Graham Ford who shaped the mentality of Little to make him seriously consider making cricket a professional career.
• Ford acknowledged that Little at the age of 18 was keen more on his social life than having second thoughts about professional career and Little also missed training sessions and including an occasion he missed out to play in an interprovincial game in order to attend the music festival Electric Picnic.
• List A debut: for Leinster Lightning in the 2018 Inter – Provincial Cup on 19 June 2018
  First – class debut: for Leinster Lightning in the 2018 Inter – Provincial Championship on 20 June 2018
• In April 2019, he was one of five cricketers to be awarded with an Emerging Player Contract by Cricket Ireland, ahead of the 2019 domestic season.
• He received his maiden call – up to join the Manchester Originals during the 2022 season of The Hundred in an Instagram direct message from England’s Phil Salt and was subsequently a mid – tournament replacement for Sean Abbott during the context of 2022 Hundred season.
• He was eventually Manchester Original’s second highest – wicket taker during the course of the 2022 Hundred season with a wicket tally of 13 in just five innings and was only behind Paul Walker’s 14 scalps.
• On 31 August 2022, Little achieved the best bowling figures in the history of The Hundred of 5/13. He is the fourth person to obtain a 5 wicket haul in the history of the competition, sending Manchester Originals into the top three on the final day and into the playoffs.

Indian Premier League (IPL) T20 Franchise Career:

• He was roped in by the Chennai Super Kings franchise as its net bowler ahead of the 2022 Indian Premier League.
• In December 2022, Gujarat Titans bought Little in the Indian Premier League auction ahead of the 2023 season. This made him the first ever Irish player to get an IPL contract.
• IPL debut: for Gujarat Titans against Chennai Super Kings on 31 March 2023, taking the figures of 1-41 from 4 overs and in the process, becoming the first Irish cricketer to play in the IPL and take a wicket
• Twenty20 International (T20I) debut: against Hong Kong on 5 September 2016

International Career:

• Little was 16 years old at the time of his debut, making him the second – youngest to have played at that level, after Hong Kong’s Waqas Khan.
• ODI debut: for Ireland against England on 3 May 2019
• On 4 November 2022, in a match against New Zealand in the 2022 T20 Cricket World Cup, Little took a hat – trick by dismissing Kane Williamson, James Neesham and Mitchell Santner.
• Little became the sixth player to claim a hat – trick in the history of ICC Men’s T20 World Cup history and became the second bowler to do so during the 2022 edition of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup after Karthik Meiyappan of the United Arab Emirates.
• He also became the second Irish bowler to take a hat-trick in a T20I match after Curtis Campher and both in fact achieved the milestones in T20 World Cup tournaments.
• He ended up winning the 2022 T20 World Cup with seven scalps in four matches during the Super 12 phase of the tournament.
• He set an Irish record for having picked up the most wickets in T20Is in a single calendar year when he picked up a tally of 39 scalps in 26 T20I matches in 2022.
• He was also the second highest wicket – taker in all T20Is in 2022 with only behind Tanzania’s Yalinde Nkanya who had picked up 45 wickets in 28 matches.
• He also holds the record for having grabbed most number of wickets in T20Is by a bowler from a full member nation in a single calendar year and is also second behind for having captured the most number of wickets in T20Is in a single calendar year.

Major Achievements:

• He was eventually Manchester Original’s second highest – wicket taker during the course of the 2022 Hundred season with a wicket tally of 13 in just five innings and was only behind Paul Walker’s 14 scalps.
• On 31 August 2022, Little achieved the best bowling figures in the history of The Hundred of 5/13.
• He is the fourth person to obtain a 5 wicket haul in the history of the competition, sending Manchester Originals into the top three on the final day and into the playoffs.
• IPL debut: for Gujarat Titans against Chennai Super Kings on 31 March 2023, taking the figures of 1-41 from 4 overs and in the process, becoming the first Irish cricketer to play in the IPL and take a wicket
• Little became the sixth player to claim a hat-trick in the history of ICC Men’s T20 World Cup history and became the second bowler to do so during the 2022 edition of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup after Karthik Meiyappan of the United Arab Emirates.
• He also became the second Irish bowler to take a hat-trick in a T20I match after Curtis Campher and both in fact achieved the milestones in T20 World Cup tournaments.
• He ended up winning the 2022 T20 World Cup with seven scalps in four matches during the Super 12 phase of the tournament.
• He set an Irish record for having picked up the most wickets in T20Is in a single calendar year when he picked up a tally of 39 scalps in 26 T20I matches in 2022.
• He was also the second highest wicket – taker in all T20Is in 2022 with only behind Tanzania’s Yalinde Nkanya who had picked up 45 wickets in 28 matches.
• He also holds the record for having grabbed most number of wickets in T20Is by a bowler from a full member nation in a single calendar year and is also second behind for having captured the most number of wickets in T20Is in a single calendar year.