Mark Richard Adair, born on 27 March 1996 in Holywood, County Down, Northern Ireland, is an Irish international cricketer.
He is a right-arm fast-medium bowler and right-handed batsman who operates as an all-rounder.
Nicknamed Sparky, he represents Ireland across all three formats of the game and plays domestic cricket for the Northern Knights.
He has also featured in English county cricket for Warwickshire and later Essex, along with various franchise leagues.
Adair comes from a sporting family; his father Ricky played Irish League football for clubs including Glentoran and Ballymena United and had spells in England, while his mother Joanne was a promising high jumper.
Siblings
Mark has three siblings.
His older brother is Ross Adair who is roughly two years his senior.
Ross was involved with the Ulster Rugby squad and played for Jersey Reds before injury ended his rugby career; he also represented Ireland at youth level in cricket, including the Under-19 side, and later continued in cricket.
Ross is a twin with their sister Caitlin. Mark’s oldest sibling is his sister Jordan.
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Career
Adair began his professional path with a trial at Warwickshire at age 17 and made his first-class debut for the county in 2015, taking the wicket of Marcus Trescothick as his first in that format.
He debuted in Twenty20 for Warwickshire in 2016 and in List A cricket in 2017.
Domestically in Ireland he has been a mainstay for the Northern Knights since around 2014, later playing club cricket for sides including CIYMS and Lisburn.
He earned a full-time central contract from Cricket Ireland in 2020.
Internationally, Adair made his One Day International debut for Ireland against England on 3 May 2019.
He followed this with his Twenty20 International debut against Zimbabwe on 12 July 2019 and his Test debut against England at Lord’s on 24 July 2019, where he claimed three wickets for 32 runs as England were bowled out for 85.
He has since become a regular across formats, contributing as a new-ball or death bowler and useful lower-order batsman.
Career highlights include strong performances in bilateral series and ICC events.
As of recent statistics, he has played multiple Tests (with a highest score of 88 and a five-wicket haul of 5/39), dozens of ODIs (best bowling 4/19), and around 100 T20Is (best bowling 4/13), amassing significant wickets especially in the shortest format while adding useful runs.
Accolades
Adair’s achievements include becoming the first male Irish cricketer to reach 100 T20I wickets, a milestone he achieved in December 2023 against Zimbabwe in his 72nd match, making him one of the faster bowlers overall to the landmark.
He was selected in the ICC Men’s T20I Team of the Year for 2023 and received the Fáilte Solar Men’s International Player of the Year award at the Irish Cricket Awards.
He has also been Ireland’s leading wicket-taker in certain tournaments, such as the 2019 T20 World Cup Qualifier, and has delivered notable individual performances including multiple four-wicket hauls in limited-overs cricket and a five-wicket haul in Tests.
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