O’Brien keeps at mind games for Zimbabwe opener

ANYONE tuning in to Ireland’s Cricket World Cup campaign this week will be seeing a lot of Niall O’Brien.

As the Irish team’s wicketkeeper and one of their top batsmen, the Northamptonshire player will be centre-stage on our screens for hours on end against Zimbabwe tomorrow and again against Pakistan on St Patrick’s Day.

Thanks to the all-encompassing reach of technology, we will be hearing a lot from him too. Wicketkeepers spend as much time talking as they do fielding, and O’Brien is more vocal than most.