For the first time in over two decades, there will be no Joyce siblings representing either the men’s or women’s teams of Ireland.
On Sunday, the Joyce twins Isobel and Cecelia announced their retirement from international cricket following Ireland women’s loss to their New Zealand counterparts in the ICC Women’s World Twenty20.
The eight-wicket loss to the White Ferns in Ireland’s final group clash brought an end to their winless campaign in the West Indies. The Joyce twins then conveyed their decision to lay down their bats in the post-match team huddle.
Isobel and Cecilia were not the only Irish women to play their final game on Sunday with team-mates Clare Shillington and Ciara Metcalfe also calling time on their respective careers. The duo had already announced their plans ahead of the clash and were given a guard of honour by both teams.
With Isobel and Cecilia’s retirements, the Joyce connection with Ireland cricket came to an end. Isobel, who had captained Ireland until the World T20 in 2016, played a total of 79 ODIs and 55 T20s for her country since making her international debut in 1999.
Her sister Cecilia, on the other hand, played 57 ODIs and 43 T20s for Ireland since making her debut in 2001.
“I can’t thank them enough for what they’ve done for us. The next 10-12 months will be about transitioning the team as we don’t have any international fixtures coming up,” Ireland captain Laura Delaney said about the twins.
The retirement of the twins comes after Ed Joyce had called time on his career earlier this year following the inaugural Test for Ireland men’s cricket team. Joyce had taken up retirement following the one-off Test against Pakistan at Malahide.
Apart from Ed, Isobel and Cecilia, siblings Dom and Gus Joyce have also represented Ireland. Dom played three ODIs for his country while Gus played a sole first-class game for Ireland in 2000.
All in all, five Joyce siblings have represented Ireland over the course of the last two decades and the retirements of Isobel and Cecilia brought an end to that chapter.