The Ireland men's cricket team represents All-Ireland in international cricket. The Irish Cricket Union, operating under the brand Cricket Ireland, is the sport's governing body in Ireland, and they organise the international team. The team have a number of home grounds, including Malahide in County Dublin, Stormont, Belfast, Bready in the north-west and Clontarf in Dublin city. A further ground is planned for the National Sports Campus in Abbotstown, Dublin for 2030. Due to the short season allowed by the Irish climate, and lack of large scale facilities, Ireland also occasionally play 'home matches' in venues in England and further abroad.
Ireland's men participate in all three major forms of the international game, Test cricket, One-Day International (ODI) and Twenty20 International (T20I) matches. They are the 11th Full Member of the International Cricket Council (ICC), and the second Full Member from Europe, having been awarded Test status, along with Afghanistan, on 22 June 2017. Ireland and Afghanistan are the most recently appointed Test-playing nations.
Modern Cricket was introduced to Ireland in the 19th century, though cricket may have partly evolved from earlier Gaelic games invented in Ireland. The first match played by an Ireland team was in 1855. Ireland toured Canada and the United States in the late 19th century, and occasionally hosted matches against touring sides. Ireland's most significant early international rivalry, with the Scotland national cricket team, was established when the teams first played each other in 1888. Ireland's maiden first-class match was played in 1902.
Ireland were elected to Associate membership of the ICC in 1993, but played their first full ODI in 2006 against England in the build-up to the 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup, their first successful qualification. At that tournament, a series of eye-catching results against Full Members, including a draw against Zimbabwe, and wins against Pakistan and Bangladesh confirmed Ireland's ODI status after the competition. Since then, they have gone on to play 197 ODIs, resulting in 78 victories, 101 defeats, 15 no results, and 3 ties. Contracts for players were introduced in 2009, marking the transition to becoming a professional team.
Further success in the shortest format meant the Ireland team also qualified for the 2009, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2021, 2022, and 2024 World Twenty20 competitions, and have qualified for the future 2026 T20 World Cup by ICC men's T20 world rankings.
Before attaining Test status, Ireland also played first-class international cricket in the ICC Intercontinental Cup, which they have won four times between 2005 and 2013. Due to their successes in the first-class ICC Intercontinental Cup competition, and further high-profile wins at the World Cups of 2011 (against England) and 2015 (against West Indies and Zimbabwe), they were labelled the "leading Associate" and stated their intention to become a full member by 2020. This intention was realised in June 2017, when the ICC unanimously decided to award Ireland and Afghanistan Full Member status, which allows them to participate in Test matches. Ireland's first test was a home fixture at The Village, Malahide between 11β15 May 2018 against Pakistan, and they have played tests somewhat sporadically since. Their first test victory was against fellow new boys Afghanistan in Sharjah on 12 March 2024.
Ireland remain the only test playing nation, where the women's team have played a test match before the men's team.Netherlands are a test nation in the women's game, but not yet in the men's. In the event Netherlands achieve full member status, they would, upon the men's team's first test, join Ireland in this category. Ireland was a women's test nation seventeen years before the men, playing their only test also against Pakistan.
Modern Cricket was introduced to Ireland by the English in the towns of Kilkenny and Ballinasloe in the early 19th century. In the 1830s, the game began to spread; many of the clubs which were founded in the following 30 years are still in existence today. Retrieved 3 November 2008. The first Irish national team played in 1855 against The Gentlemen of England in Dublin. In the 1850s, the Englishman Charles Lawrence was responsible for developing the game in Ireland through his coaching. In the 1850s and 1860s, Ireland was visited for the first time by touring professional teams. Ireland's first match against Marylebone Cricket Club (the M.C.C.) was in 1858.
Cricket had flourished throughout the Ireland until the early 1880s. However, the Irish Land War, the Gaelic Revival cultural movement and its offshoot the Gaelic Athletic Association, founded in 1884, began to challenge the popularity of cricket. There were widespread calls to establish a national cricketing union in Ireland the 1870s to oversee the sport but landlords who owned the estates on which cricket was predominantly played declined to do so, many believing the game would distract their tenant farmers from working and thus impact the estates' income at a time when the Land War was already depleting landlords wealth. One of those to call for a formal body to organise cricket was Michael Cusack, later the founder of the GAA. Cusack, was a keen cricketer, later tried to organise cricket under the umbrella of the newly formed Gaelic Athletic Association. His motion, however, lost out narrowly. Consequently, in 1902 cricket fell under the GAA's newly introduced Law 27 banning its members from playing "foreign", in practice, British, games. Until the ban was lifted in 1970, anyone playing foreign games, such as cricket or association football, was banned from the membership of the GAA, the organisation responsible for games such as hurling, Gaelic football, rounders, and Gaelic handball.
Thereafter Cricket in Ireland declined in popularity, especially in the era after the Land War as the sport became associated with being a "garrison game" of the British Army. Participation became increasingly restricted to Catholic and Protestant public schools, the Anglo-Irish population, and unionists. Irish teams toured Canada and the US in 1879, 1888, 1892, and 1909. On top of this, Ireland defeated a touring South African side in 1904. Their first match with first-class status was played on 19 May 1902 against a London County side including W.G. Grace. The Irish, captained by Sir Tim O'Brien, won convincingly by 238 runs. Retrieved 5 November 2008. An Irish Cricket union was eventually set up in 1923 but some clubs refused to recognise its legitimacy. It was only in 2001 that Cricket Ireland became the official oversight body for cricket in Ireland recognised by all cricket clubs on the island.
The Irish played yearly first-class matches with the Scots, only interrupted by world wars, until 1999, but all their other cricket depended upon touring international sides finding it convenient to include a visit to Ireland in their schedules. However, Ireland sometimes surprised Test cricket nations on these occasions, beating the West Indies by 60 runs in a three-day match in Dublin in 1928, for example; it was Ireland's first match against the West Indies. In 1969, in a match played at Sion Mills in County Tyrone, the team defeated a West Indian side including Clive Lloyd and Clyde Walcott by nine wickets, after bowling them out for 25. Retrieved 16 November 2008. This was the last time Ireland defeated a touring side until 2003, when they beat Zimbabwe by ten wickets.
The Scots and the Irish were mostly competing with Sri Lanka for the title as the best non-Test nation at the time β indeed, Ireland drew with Sri Lanka in a rain-hit first-class match in 1979, Ireland scoring a total of 341 for 7 in two innings, while Sri Lanka made 288 for 6 in one innings. Ireland, along with Scotland and the Netherlands, has at times played in competitions for English county cricket sides, including the Benson & Hedges Cup and the Friends Provident Trophy (previously the C&G Trophy). Since there is no nationality restriction in county cricket, non-Irish people were allowed to compete for Ireland in these matches. For example, Hansie Cronje of South Africa played for Ireland in 1997, Retrieved 10 November 2008. as did New Zealander Jesse Ryder in 2007. Retrieved 10 November 2008.
With the introduction of the ICC Intercontinental Cup in 2004, Ireland had a chance to play first-class on a regular basis. After failing to progress beyond the group stages in the 2004 competition, Retrieved 11 November 2008. Ireland won their first Cup title in October 2005 with a six-wicket win over Kenya. Retrieved 11 November 2008. The 2005 ICC Trophy, which was hosted in Ireland β the group stages in Belfast, Northern Ireland, the final stages in Dublin, Republic of Ireland β saw the Irish make the final, which they lost to Scotland. Retrieved 3 November 2008. Though Ireland were runners-up, they had secured their place at the 2007 World Cup as well as an extra $500,000 over the next four years from the ICC to encourage development of Irish cricket. Retrieved 3 November 2008. They also gained official ODI status.
Ireland's inaugural ODI was played in front of a full house of 7,500 spectators at Stormont, Belfast, on 13 June 2006 against England. It was the first time Ireland had played the full England side. Though Ireland lost by 38 runs, they were praised by Andrew Strauss, England's stand-in captain. Retrieved 3 November 2008. Retrieved 3 November 2008.
August saw them participate in Division One of the European Championship, against Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands and Scotland. The games against the Netherlands and Scotland had ODI status. In the tournament, and what was the team's second ODI, Ireland recorded their first ODI win, beating fellow Associates Scotland by 85 runs after man-of-the-match Eoin Morgan made 99. Retrieved 10 November 2008. Although the match against the Netherlands was a no-result, Ireland won the European Championship title. Retrieved 10 November 2008. Ireland's second Intercontinental Cup title came in the 2006β2007 competition. They faced Canada in the final and won by an innings and 115 runs, the four-day match concluding within two days. This made Ireland the first team to successfully defend the Continental Cup. Retrieved 10 November 2008.
For the 2006 season, the C&G Trophy was reorganised to include a round-robin stage instead of being entirely knock-out. Whereas Ireland had only one match guaranteed in the tournament before, they now had more fixtures against English county sides. Ireland recorded one win in their nine matches. Retrieved 10 November 2008. Ireland participated in the competition until it was restructured again in 2009. In that time they played 25 matches and won two. Retrieved 10 November 2008. Retrieved 10 November 2008. The latter of those victories was against Worcestershire; in that match Ireland bowled Worcestershire out for 58, which was their lowest ever one-day total. It was the first time that Ireland had bowled out a county for less than 100. Ireland were invited to participate in the reformatted competition from 2010 onwards, but chose not to do so, and instead focused their limited financial resources on international cricket. Retrieved 15 March 2011.
These two results were enough to advance Ireland to the Super-8 stage of the tournament. In their final group-stage game, the West Indies beat them by eight wickets. Retrieved 5 November 2008. In the Super 8 stage, they lost their matches against England, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, and Sri Lanka, but recorded a 74-run victory against Test-playing nation Bangladesh, the 9th-ranked team in the world. The team received a heroes' welcome in Dublin.
After the World Cup, former West Indies cricketer Phil Simmons took over the role of coach from Birrell. Retrieved 5 November 2008. India were scheduled to play South Africa in a series of One Day Internationals in Ireland in June 2007. Ireland also played one-off matches at Stormont against the two teams. Missing several players from their World Cup squad, Ireland lost both games. Retrieved 16 November 2008. Ireland hosted a quadrangular tournament in Dublin and Belfast in July involving the West Indies, the Netherlands, and Scotland. Ireland and the West Indies both won their games against Scotland and the Netherlands with their direct encounter ending in no result due to rain. The West Indies won the tournament because of a bonus point won against the Netherlands. Retrieved 10 November 2008. Trent Johnston stepped down as captain and was replaced by William Porterfield in March 2008.
The 2007β08 ICC Intercontinental Cup began in June, with Ireland playing their first match in August. In November 2008, the team's campaign ended. After finishing second in the round-robin stage of the competition, Ireland faced Namibia in the final. Ireland won by nine wickets, securing their third consecutive Intercontinental Cup title. Retrieved 3 November 2008. In March 2008 Ireland toured Bangladesh, playing three ODIs against the hosts and losing all of them. Retrieved 10 November 2008. In July, Ireland played a tri-series against New Zealand and Scotland in Aberdeen but lost both matches. Retrieved 4 November 2008.
Reigning champions Ireland hosted the European Cricket Championship (Division One) in late July and they won their third European title, winning every match, including the decisive encounter against Scotland by seven wickets. Retrieved 4 November 2008. In early August, Ireland hosted five other Associate nations at the 2009 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier in Belfast; this was Ireland's Twenty20 International debut. Ireland would have faced the Netherlands in the final, however the match was rained off and the teams shared the trophy. Retrieved 11 June 2009. By getting to the final of the tournament, Ireland qualified for the 2009 ICC World Twenty20 in England in June 2009. Later in August, Ireland were due to play three ODIs at home against Kenya. Ireland won the first game, the second game could not be finished due to rain and the last match was completely washed out. Retrieved 3 November 2008. In October, the team visited Kenya for a tri-series of ODIs with the hosts and Zimbabwe. Only two of Ireland's four games in the round-robin stage could be played, the others were rained off. Ireland lost their first match to Zimbabwe, Retrieved 11 November 2008. but won their second against Kenya, though they failed to qualify for the final. Retrieved 11 November 2008. Retrieved 23 November 2008.
In the run-up to the 2009 ICC World Twenty20, Ireland were deprived of batsman Eoin Morgan, similarly to Ed Joyce several years earlier, who was selected to play for England, making him ineligible to play for Ireland again. Ireland played their first Twenty20 International against a full ICC member side on 8 June 2009 and in their opening match of the tournament defeated Bangladesh by four wickets and knocked them out of the tournament. Ireland progressed to the second stage of the competition. They were grouped with New Zealand, Pakistan and Sri Lanka and lost all three of their matches. In 2009, Ireland played nine ODIs, winning the seven they played against Associate nations, losing their only match against a Test team (England), and one match was abandoned.
Ireland played 17 One Day Internationals in 2010, winning 11 (including a victory over Bangladesh) and losing six. Ireland were knocked out of the 2010 ICC World Twenty20, hosted by South Africa in April and May, after being beaten by the West Indies and a washed out match against England.
The 2011 Cricket World Cup was held between February and March and hosted by Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka. Though Ireland did not progress beyond the first round they secured a historic victory against England. Ireland beat England by 3 wickets with Kevin O'Brien hitting the fastest century in World Cup history, managing the feat in just 50 balls. In passing England's total of 327 for victory, Ireland broke the record for the highest successful run chase in the World Cup.
Shortly after the tournament ended, the ICC announced that the World Cups in 2015 and 2019 would contain ten teams; the Associate countries, who were most likely to miss out in a tournament with fewer teams strongly objected, and, led by Ireland, urged the ICC to reconsider. In June the decision was reversed. After the World Cup Ireland played Pakistan, England, and Scotland in ODIs but lost each match. A further ODI against Sri Lanka was rained off. In all, Ireland played 12 ODIs in 2011, winning four.
Ireland qualified for the 2015 Cricket World Cup, and were promoted to the ICC ODI Championship, leaving the World Cricket League, but not the ICC Intercontinental Cup. In their first match of the World Cup, Ireland defeated the West Indies by 4 wickets, chasing down 304 runs with 25 balls to spare.
In their second match they beat the United Arab Emirates by two wickets with four balls to spare; the target was 279. Out of only five successful World Cup chases of 300 runs or more, Ireland have provided three.
In July 2016, Ireland played in its first five-match ODI series against Afghanistan which ended 2β2 with the first ODI being washed out. In September, Ireland toured South Africa for a one match ODI series against Australia and the hosts but lost both games. At the ICC's board meeting in October, Ireland was awarded first-class status for its domestic competition, the Inter-Provincial Championship.
In May 2017, Ireland travelled to England to play a two-match ODI series for the first time, though they ended up losing both games.
Deutrom had already sent a letter to the ICC in 2009 stating his board's intention to apply for Full Membership β a potential pathway to Test cricket β and to seek clarification on the process. Former Australian bowler Jason Gillespie said that if Ireland got Test status it "would be huge news in world cricket, and it would be a massive positive story for the world game". Following Ireland's victory over the West Indies in the 2015 Cricket World Cup, former fast bowler Michael Holding said that the International Cricket Council should grant Ireland Test status immediately, saying "they need to be recognised now". The ICC said in 2015 that Ireland would be granted Test status in 2019 should they win the 2015β17 ICC Intercontinental Cup and beat the 10th ranked Test nation in a four-match Test series in 2018.
However, on 22 June 2017, after more than a decade of playing top-class international cricket, full ICC membership was granted to Ireland (along with Afghanistan) at an ICC meeting in London, thus making them the eleventh Test cricket team. In October 2017, the ICC announced that Ireland's first Test match would be at home against Pakistan in May 2018. Ireland played their first 'touring' Test in India in March 2019 against fellow newcomers Afghanistan, where they lost by 7 wickets. This was followed by a four-day Test match against England at Lord's in July 2019. According to the ICC Future Tours Programme for 2019β23, Ireland are scheduled to play sixteen Tests, but along with Afghanistan and Zimbabwe, are not included in the first two editions of the ICC World Test Championship.
Ireland played England in a four-day Test match at Lord's in July 2019. Even though they bowled England out for 85 before lunch on the first day, they were themselves all out for 38 in the final innings, losing the match by 143 runs.http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/1152839.html
In October 2019, Andrew Balbirnie was appointed Test and ODI captain and one month later, in November he also took over the captaincy of T20I from Gary Wilson, thus becoming all format captain for Ireland.
On 16 January 2022, Ireland claimed their first away ODI series win over a fellow Test nation by beating the West Indies by two wickets at Sabina Park in Jamaica. On 31 March 2023, Ireland claimed their first win against Bangladesh on Bangladeshi soil in the third match of their T20 three match series. Ireland achieved their first-ever series win in Zimbabwe, after winning a three-match series 2β1 in December 2023. The following week they followed up their T20 success with a 2β0 one-day international series victory, which was their first ODI series win in Zimbabwe.
Ireland won their first Test on 1 March 2024 (after losing their first seven), defeating Afghanistan in Abu Dhabi by six wickets.
A couple months after their first Test victory, Ireland secured their first T20 victory over Pakistan in two attempts, winning by five wickets with one ball remaining. In July 2024 Ireland beat Zimbabwe by four wickets at Stormont and recorded a second consecutive Test victory and a first on home soil. In September 2024 Ross Adair's maiden century powered Ireland to their first T20 win over South Africa to share the series 1β1. Ireland followed this up with a 69-run victory over South Africa in the final match of their ODI series, their second ever victory over South Africa in the ODI format.
In May 2025 Ireland beat the West Indies by 124 runs in the first ODI in Dublin marking, its biggest win by runs against a Full Member and their fourth-biggest victory overall.
In common with a number of other Ireland sporting governing bodies, the Union was formed to represent cricket throughout the island of Ireland, rather than just the Republic of Ireland. In common with its counterparts for rugby union, rugby league and field hockey, the Union therefore does not use the Irish tricolor, but instead employs its own flag, which is used by such bodies as the International Cricket Council to represent the team and in ICC tournaments; "Ireland's Call" is used as the national anthem.
After the World Cup, Irish cricket had poor results in the 2007 Friends Provident Trophy, as many players were unavailable. The Irish cricket team was an amateur side and most of the players had full-time jobs with commitments conflicting with cricket.
Warren Deutrom, the chief executive of the ICU, has stated that it wants to "seek actively to place Irish players into top-level cricket, by developing relationships with especially county cricket which will incorporate appropriate player release for Irish international duty, and feeder systems for developing Irish cricketers". The reorganised ICU sought closer links with the English county teams, to encourage the development of age group cricket, and to introduce a professional element into the Irish game. They also want to take the Ireland cricket team on winter tours more often.
In an attempt to prevent the game losing players to counties or other commitments such as jobs, it was suggested that central contracts should be introduced. This was done in June 2009, with the first two going to Trent Johnston and Alex Cusack. The number of full-time contracts was expanded to six in January 2010 with support for a further nine players; the contracts were split into three categories. In January 2012 the number of contracts was increased to 23, and coach Phil Simmons highlighted the process of becoming professional as an important factor in the team's success.
Dark blue, sometimes referred to as 'presidential blue', taken from both the Irish Presidential seal and the Irish quarter of the British Royal coat of arms, is historically considered a secondary national colour of Ireland, and frequently appears along with green on the kit of all-island teams e.g. hockey and rugby union.
In ICC-regulated tournaments, the sponsor logo goes to the non-leading arm sleeve, making space for the inscription "IRELAND" written in white, on the centre section of the shirt. The current kit supplier is Macron, who signed a four-year deal in April 2023.
β‘ Only the matches between Scotland, Ireland and the Netherlands in the 2006 tournament have official ODI status.
Key
Most Test runs for Ireland Retrieved 16 May 2018.
Most Test wickets for Ireland Retrieved 16 May 2018.
Test record versus other nations
Most ODI runs for Ireland Retrieved 16 July 2022.
Most ODI wickets for Ireland Retrieved 16 July 2022.
Highest ODI scores for Ireland Retrieved 19 January 2015.
ODI record versus other nations
Highest T20I scores for Ireland
T20I record versus other nations
Test status (2017βpresent)
International grounds
1 17 13 9
Governing body
Team colours
Tournament history
Cricket World Cup
Not eligible 1979 1983 1987 1992 Did not qualify 1999 2003 0 0 0 Did not qualify 2023 TBD 2031
T20 World Cup
Did not qualify 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 Group stage 18/20 4 0 3 0 1 Group stage 13/20 4 1 2 0 1 2028 Qualified Qualified as co-hosts
Summer Olympics
No tournament 100.00 No tournament colspan="8" colspan="8"
European Annual Tri-Series (T20I)
0 1
Other tournaments
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Current squad
2026 2024 β 2026 2026 2026 β 2026 2026 2026 β 2026 2023 2025 β 2026 2026 β 2025 2025 2026 β 2026 2025 2026 β 2026 2022 2025
Coaching staff
High performance director Graeme West Head coach Heinrich Malan Batting and wicketkeeping coach Gary Wilson Fast bowling coach Ryan Eagleson Spin bowling coach Chris Brown Fielding coach
Coaching history
Records
Last updated 14 February 2026
Playing record 11 May 2018 13 June 2006 2 August 2008
Test matches
43.93 32.27 23.82 26.05 26.33 41.69 28.60 20.00 37.13 16.38
Records complete to Test #2607. Last updated 23 November 2025.
1 March 2024 28 July 2024
One-Day Internationals
37.76 30.58 29.42 32.00 28.05 41.36 23.81 47.32 22.44 33.72 32.68 35.89 28.27 38.01 25.85 29.20 30.94 32.04 33.95 23.96 7 September 2010 27 June 2023 19 July 2016 5 March 2019 4 August 2020 2 February 2007 12 May 2023 13 January 2018 7 March 2024 11 May 2019
Records complete to ODI #4877. Last updated 25 May 2025.
v. Full members 3 July 2010 15 April 2007 2 March 2011 17 March 2007 13 July 2021 16 February 2015 30 September 2010 v. Associate Members 31 January 2007 6 April 2009 24 August 2008 4 July 2023 11 July 2007 6 March 2018 5 August 2006 25 February 2015 30 June 2023
Twenty20 Internationals
26.31 23.45 21.21 24.93 22.76 20.41 21.13 20.40 20.35 20.92 19.80 22.10 22.24 25.15 29.28 26.47 19.81 22.12 27.84 27.38 Kevin O'Brien Hong Kong, 7 Oct 2019 Paul Stirling Zimbabwe, 1 Sep 2021 Ross Adair South Africa, 29 Sep 2024 Harry Tector Italy, 25 Jan 2026 Paul Stirling West Indies, 15 Jan 2020 Lorcan Tucker Austria, 23 Jul 2023 Lorcan Tucker Oman, 14 Feb 2026 Paul Stirling Afghanistan, 23 Feb 2019 Gareth Delany Oman, 21 Oct 2021 Lorcan Tucker United States, 23 Dec 2021
Records complete to T20I #3708. Last updated 14 February 2026.
v. Full members 1 February 2010 8 June 2009 26 October 2022 10 May 2024 29 September 2024 19 February 2014 17 March 2014 v. Associate Members 23 July 2023 19 February 2022 3 August 2008 22 March 2012 21 July 2023 21 February 2022 7 October 2019 20 July 2023 25 October 2019 4 August 2008 2 November 2019 13 July 2015 13 February 2010 26 October 2019 13 February 2019 12 October 2021 2 August 2008 19 March 2014 23 December 2021
First-class
Most First-class runs
Most First-class wickets
Kevin O'Brien 40.17 1848 William Porterfield 40.95 1802 Andrew White 52.81 1637 Stanley Bergin 34.26 1610 Niall O'Brien 49.23 1526
Highest individual innings
Jimmy Boucher 14.04 168 Trent Johnston 17.20 97 Alec O'Riordan 21.39 75 George Dockrell 26.06 71 Dermott Monteith 18.96 70
Best bowling in an innings
Ed Joyce Malahide Eoin Morgan Abu Dhabi Andrew Balbirnie Malahide Ed Joyce Windhoek Jeremy Bray Windhoek Andre Botha Belfast William Porterfield Windhoek Niall O'Brien Windhoek Niall O'Brien Abu Dhabi Andre Botha Rotterham
Note: Ivan Anderson's 198* v. Canada was in a non-first-class match
Francis Fee College Park Garfield Harrison Myreside Scott Huey College Park Robert Gregory Rathmines Bob Lambert College Park Jimmy Boucher Rathmines Jimmy Boucher North Inch Perth Dermott Monteith Mardyke Roy Torrens Cambusdoon Ayr Henry Morgan Ormeau
See also
Notes
Further reading
External links
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