Joshua Little

Born on November 09, 1999, in Dublin, Ireland, Joshua Brian Little is a left-arm fast-medium pacer representing Ireland in international cricket and playing for the Gujarat Titans (GT) in the Indian Premier League (IPL). He has played for numerous franchises and has become a regular member of various global franchise leagues. 

Little is a great potential unearthed by Irish cricket and destined for greatness within the Irish circuit. His height aids him in being a lethal left-arm pacer and is a rare commodity from the Irish point of view.

Joshua Little: Along the Years

Joshua Little Records

• Second Irish bowler to take a hat-trick in T20Is and T20 World Cups 

• Sixth bowler to take a hat-trick in T20 World Cups

• Leading wicket-taker for Ireland in ICC T20 World Cup 2022 (11)

• First Irish to earn an IPL contract

• First Irish to play in IPL

• Most wickets in T20Is in a calendar year amongst full-member nations (39)

• First Irish to be included in ICC T20I Team of The Year (2022)

• Best bowling figures by an Irish in ODIs

• Tenth Irish to take a five-wicket haul in ODIs

• Sixth-best figures against Zimbabwe in ODIs

• Seventh bowler to take 6+ wickets against Zimbabwe in ODIs

• Third-best bowling figures in The Hundred (4-0-13-5) 

Joshua Little Awards and Accolades

• Named in ICC T20I Team of The Year 2022

Joshua Little Career

Joshua Little has started his professional career on a stellar note. He has been a bombshell for Irish cricket and has created quite some ripples in franchise cricket across various leagues.

Joshua Little Domestic Career

Joshua Little made his domestic debut for Leinster Lightning against North-West Warriors in the Cricket Ireland Inter-Provincial Limited Over Cup 2018 in Eglinton on June 19, 2018. He picked up a solitary wicket, but the match ended in no result due to rain. 

The very next day, Little was on course for his first-class (FC) debut for Leinster Lighting against the same opponents in the Cricket Ireland Inter-Provincial Championship in Bready. He went wicketless in the first innings and scored 27 runs with the bat in the second innings.

In The Hundred 2022 and 2023, Little represented the Manchester Originals and took 21 wickets in 12 games. He also took a five-wicket haul against Oval Invincibles, the then-best figures in the tournament. In The Hundred 2024, the 24-year-old pacer played a couple of matches for Welsh Fire.

The Irishman played in the International League T20 (ILT20) for the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders (ADKR) in the 2023-24 season and scalped 7 wickets in 8 games at an economy of 9.90. He made his Caribbean Premier League (CPL) debut for Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) against St. Kitts and Nevis Patriots on August 31, 2024, in the ongoing CPL 2024 season. Though he was too expensive with the ball by conceding 40 runs in 3 overs at an economy rate of 13.33, he managed to pick up a couple of wickets in the form of skipper Andre Fletcher and Kyle Mayers.

Joshua Little IPL Career

After his The Hundred and T20 World Cup 2022 performances, Little was recruited by the Gujarat Titans (GT) for the IPL 2023 auction.  He was acquired for INR 4.4 crores and became the first Irishman to earn an IPL contract.

Interestingly, Little made his IPL debut against CSK, a franchise where he had served as a net bowler for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in IPL 2022, on March 31, 2023. He was expensive in his maiden outing but managed to scalp his maiden IPL wicket in the form of Ambati Rayudu.  

He played in the final but could not help GT defend their title as CSK won a thriller. In 10 games, he picked up 7 wickets at a decent economy of 8.64 in IPL 2023. The left-arm pacer played a solitary match in IPL 2024 against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and picked up a four-wicket haul, his personal best in IPL, despite leaking runs. 

Joshua Little International Career

Joshua Little has made headlines for the right reason as the Irish have found a bowler to be protected at all costs. Within a young age, the left-arm speedster has already shattered many records and would be aiming to make it big within the Irish bowling unit.

Joshua Little ODI Career

Just before the commencement of ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, England had toured Ireland for a one-off ODI. Under the leadership of veteran Irish batter William Porterfield, Joshua Little made his ODI debut for Ireland against England in Malahide on May 03, 2019. He scored a couple of boundaries in the first innings before picking up an impressive four-wicket haul, that included the priced scalp of English skipper Eoin Morgan.

Up next, Little featured in the tri-series involving West Indies and Bangladesh, but could not utilize his skillset. In the ICC Cricket World Cup (CWC) Qualifier 2023, he managed to pick up 6 wickets in 4 innings at an economy of 6.90 as Ireland failed to qualify for the ICC CWC for a second straight time. 

The 24-year-old Irishman registered his career-best ODI figures against Zimbabwe in the second ODI of Ireland’s tour of Zimbabwe in December 2023. He took a six-wicket haul and registered the best figures (10-2-36-6) by an Irishman in ODIs, surpassing the previous record held by Paul Stirling. He also became the seventh bowler to take 6+ wickets against Zimbabwe in ODIs and registered the sixth-best figures against Zimbabwe in ODIs.

Joshua Little T20I Career

Soon after representing Ireland Under-19s at the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup 2016, Joshua Little was drafted into the senior national cricket team and was handed over a maiden Irish cap. He made his international debut in a T20I against Hong Kong in Bready on September 05, 2016, in Hong Kong’s tour of Ireland. He could not pick up a single wicket in his maiden outing but was economical with the ball. 

Little represented the Irish team at the ICC T20 World Cup 2021, held in the United Arab Emirates and Oman. In the three matches he played, he managed to pick up 5 wickets at a mere economy of 4.91. He grabbed a four-wicket haul against Sri Lanka which is also his career-best T20I figures (4-0-23-4), but thanks to Wanindu Hasaranga’s heroics with the bat, Ireland was defeated by a huge margin of 70 runs.

Little featured in the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 held in Australia and ended the tournament as Ireland’s leading wicket-taker. 

He was instrumental in Ireland scripting a famous win against their neighbors and eventual champions England as he dismissed the opening pair of Alex Hales and English skipper Jos Buttler cheaply for Ireland to register a victory by a margin of 5 runs on the Duckworth-Lewis method.

He was impressive, economical, and consistent with the ball throughout the tournament. He scalped 11 wickets in 7 innings at a healthy economy rate of 7.00 and also grabbed a hat-trick against New Zealand, which included the valuable scalps of skipper Kane Williamson, all-rounders James Neesham and Mitchell Santner in the penultimate over of the first innings. He also became the second Irishman to register a hat-trick in T20Is as well as T20 World Cups after Curtis Campher and the sixth overall to do so in T20 World Cup history.

In the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 held in the West Indies and the United States of America, Josh Little failed to live up to his expectations as Ireland crashed out of the tournament in the group stage. Barring a cameo of 22 off 17 balls against Pakistan with the bat, he was expensive and wicketless with the ball, with a stark contrast in his performance when compared to the previous T20 World Cup.

Joshua Little Under-19 Career

Joshua Little was selected to represent Ireland at the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup (CWC) 2016. In the five matches he played, the left-arm pacer only managed to pick up four wickets at an economy of 5.19, including a three-wicket haul against

With age on his side. Little went on to play in the next edition of the ICC Under-19 CWC as well in 2018 under the captaincy of Harry Tector. He partially bettered his performance by picking up 7 wickets in 6 innings at a meager economy of 4.69, including a 3/33 against Namibia Under-19s. He also contributed vital runs lower down the order with the bat, accumulating 128 runs in 6 innings at a strike rate of 121.90.

Joshua Little Family

Joshua Little has two younger sisters named Hannah and Louise. Much similar to their brother, both the sisters developed a liking for cricket and have pursued it professionally. 

According to ESPNCricinfo, Louise made history when she became the fifth-youngest female cricketer to play an ODI, against South Africa. His other sister Hannah has also played for Ireland at the Under-17 and ‘A’ level.