Education
From Perth, Irvine attended Hale School, and played grade cricket for West Perth.
From Perth, Irvine attended Hale School, and played grade cricket for West Perth.
He played regularly at Sheffield Shield level for Western Australia, and after scoring over 500 runs during the 1969-1970 season, was selected for Australia"s 1969-1970 tour of Ceylon, India, and South Africa. Irvine did not play in any of the Test matches on tour, and played only one further season at state level Irvine made his first-class debut for Western Australia during the 1964-1965 season, in a Sheffield Shield match against New South Wales at the WACA Ground.
In what was the last match of the season, he batted seventh in Western Australia"s first innings, and scored 74 not out out of a team total of 184.
His second first-class match came against England during the team"s 1965-1966 tour of Australia, with Irvine making a pair. He played only two first-class matches during the 1965-1966 Sheffield Shield season, and none the following season.
The 1967-1968 season was Irvine"s break-out season, and the most consistent since the start of his career. At grade cricket level, he led the competition"s batting averages with 364 runs at an average of 52.00, which included a score of 156*.
At state level, he played in all eight of Western Australia"s Sheffield Shield matches, recording 376 runs at an average of 31.33, as well as a match against the touring Indians.
Although usually playing as a middle-order batsman, Irvine opened the batting alongside Keith Slater in several matches during the middle of the season, although he had returned to his old position in the batting order by the season"s education Irvine"s form improved further during the 1968-1969 season. His average of 53.90 from eight matches placed him in the top ten of the competition, although his 539 runs placed him only fourth in Western Australia"s runs aggregates.
Irvine"s season included two centuries.
The second was an innings of 182 against South Australia the following month, which was to be his highest first-class score and last first-class century. During the 1969-1970 season, the Australian Cricket Board elected to send two representative teams on overseas tour.
The Australian national side was to tour Ceylon and India, playing five Test matches, and then progress to South Africa for a four-Test series, while a second team, consisting mainly of upcoming young players, was to tour New Zealand. As a result of his form from the previous season, Irvine was selected in the fifteen-man squad for the tour of Ceylon, India, and South Africa.
He was not a serious contender for Test selection.
Rather, the selectors preferred that younger players—in particular, Greg Chappell—not be subjected to a gruelling tour at a young age, instead choosing them to tour New Zealand. Irvine played in eleven first-class matches on tour, with little success, and was twelfth man for each Test on tour. Irvine never toured overseas again, and the 1970-1971 season was his final season at state level
In seven matches, he scored 326 runs at an average of 27.16, with two half-centuries.
Irvine also played three limited-overs matches during the season, and top-scored on debut against Tasmania in the Vehicle and General Knockout Cup.