He was part of Ireland's squad for the 2016 Under-19 Cricket World Cup[2] and made his international debut for the Ireland cricket team in September 2016.[3] He currently plays for MI Emirates in the ILT20.[4] In January 2020, he was one of nineteen players to be awarded a central contract from Cricket Ireland,[5] the first year in which all contracts were awarded on a full-time basis.[6] In 2022 he was awarded a further two-year contract.[7]
Biography
His father Barry Tucker was also a cricketer who is currently serving as the Chair of Pembroke Cricket Club in Dublin.[8] Barry also played for the said club during his playing days. His brothers Donncha Tucker and Fiachra Tucker are also cricketers.
He also incidentally played alongside Fiachra during the 2016 Under-19 Cricket World Cup where he played a crucial knock of 57 in a losing cause during a group stage match against eventual runners-up India, his knock received attention from the then Indian Under-19 head coach and former Indian cricketer Rahul Dravid.[9]
In July 2019, Tucker was selected to play for the Dublin Chiefs in the inaugural edition of the Euro T20 Slam cricket tournament.[13][14] However, the following month, the tournament was cancelled.[15]
In December 2022 he was signed by MI Emirates to play in the inaugural season on the International League T20 franchise league based in the UAE.[4] He made his debut on 29 January against Desert Vipers.[16] Tucker made 85 runs from 4 innings in the tournament at a strike rate of 120.[17] He was controversially retired out in a game against Abu Dhabi Knight Riders while on 33(23).[18]
He was one of six Irish players who signed up to play at the 2022 USA T20 Open.[19]
In July 2019, he made his first international fifty for Ireland in the 2nd ODI of Zimbabwe's tour of Ireland. Tucker made 56(51) to help Ireland to win by 5 runs. Later that month he was named in Ireland's Test squad for their one-off match against England at Lord's, but he did not play.[29]
In September 2019, Tucker was named in Ireland's squad for the 2019 ICC T20 World Cup Qualifier tournament in the United Arab Emirates.[30] He played one match in the tournament but did not bat.[31]
On 10 July 2020, Tucker was named in Ireland's 21-man squad to travel to England to start training behind closed doors for the ODI series against the England cricket team.[32][33] Tucker did not play in the series as after a poor run of form he had been replaced by Neil Rock as first-choice wicketkeeper.
In February 2021, Tucker was named in the Ireland Wolves' squad for their tour to Bangladesh.[34][35] He high scored with 82* in the third unofficial ODI.[36]
In September 2021, Tucker was named in Ireland's provisional squad for the 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup.[37] He did not play in the tournament.
Breakthrough
Tucker made a long-awaited breakthrough in late 2021 as he made 141 runs across two T20Is against the USA in Florida.[38] This included a match winning 84(56) in the second T20I.[39] He had been moved up the order to the number 3 role and his form in T20Is improved.[40][41]
In September 2022, he was named in Ireland's squad for the T20 World Cup. He would have a highly successful tournament of finish as team's top scorer with 204 runs across 7 games.[44] His 45* (35) against West Indies helped Ireland make it through to the Super 12s round.[45] He then made 34 (37) as Ireland famously beat England[46][47][48][49] at the MCG before smashing 71* (48) in defeat to Australia.[50][51][52]
In February 2023, Tucker was named in Ireland's Test squad for their tours of Bangladesh in March 2023 and Sri Lanka in April 2023. He was also named in the T20I and ODI squads for the tours.[53] He made his Test debut against Bangladesh, on 4 April 2023,[54] and scored his maiden Test century.[55] He also became the second Irishman to score a century in Tests and Test debut and the first to score an away Test century.[56][57][58] He became the sixth wicket-keeper to score a Test century on debut and the first Irish wicket-keeper batter to score a century on debut.[59] He also became only the second wicket-keeper batsman to score Test century on debut in away soil after England's Ben Foakes. He also became the first wicket-keeper batter to score a century in his team's second innings of his debut Test match while the other five keeper batters including Sri Lanka's Brendon Kuruppu, Romesh Kaluwitharana, England's Matt Prior, New Zealand's Tom Blundell and England's Ben Foakes all scored centuries on their debuts in their teams first innings. He also became the second Irish batsman to score a century on Test debut.[60]
In May 2024, with permanent captain Paul Stirling rested, he captained Ireland in the third T20 international against Pakistan, becoming the seventh Irishman to captain the team in T20 internationals.[61] In May 2024, he was named in Ireland’s squad for the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup tournament.[62]
