Andy McBrine is a cricketer from Donemana, the same club out of the North West which produced future Ireland captain William Porterfield, who contributes in all three disciplines of the game. A second-generation Ireland representative - his father Junior played for Ireland from 1985 to 1994 - McBrine was more of a batting allrounder while representing Ireland at Under-19 level under the captaincy of George Dockrell, batting at No. 4 for the side that competed in the 2012 U-19 World Cup in Australia.

But it is for his offspin that McBrine earned his first chance in the senior team. He showed an impressive temperament in taking 2 for 26 from four overs in Ireland's victory over Zimbabwe in the 2014 World T20, his first game against a Test-playing side. But his next game was less successful - his only over against Netherlands went for 24 runs, including four sixes, in a stunning defeat. In Ireland's World Cup acclimatisation tour of Australia and New Zealand in autumn 2014, McBrine improved as the tour went on to edge ahead of Andrew White, a cricketer with similar skills at the end of his career, on the selectors' radar.

At the domestic level, McBrine has developed into a respected captain for North West in the Interprovincial tournament. Apart from his steady contributions in coloured clothing, he has since become a key figure in Ireland's white-ball Intercontinental Cup squads, moving ahead of Dockrell in the pecking order. In May 2018, he was the one frontline spinner named in the Ireland squad for the country's maiden Test, against Pakistan.
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