Lauren Rowles, the current Head Coach of Devon Women, has been appointed by Cricket Ireland as its new National Women’s Selector and will attend her first Ireland Women’s match in the role on Wednesday.
Rowles, 33, started playing at age 16 for Gloucestershire, then spent time with Worcestershire, Derbyshire and Staffordshire before finishing her playing career in 2022.
She has been in coaching and leadership roles within cricket since she was 16 years of age. In February 2025, she was appointed the Women’s Head Coach of Gloucestershire County Cricket Club – at the time she was the youngest head coach ever appointed to a head coach role in the County system.
Currently, Rowles heads up Devon Women’s programme and is the England Mixed Disability support coach.
An ECB Specialist Coach (Level 4), she has extensive experience in the talent identification and talent development areas and will be in attendance at the 3rd ODI of the current series between Ireland Women and West Indies Women at Bready Cricket Club.
Graeme West, Director of High Performance at Cricket Ireland, said:
“We are delighted to have engaged Lauren in the lead selector role and I look forward to working with her closely. Based on her previous and current experiences within high performing environments, I expect her to challenge our current Talent Identification and Talent Development methods, finding ways to improve the High Performance Pathway and to increase the depth of the talent pool in Ireland.
“Lauren’s introduction coincides with the start of two new cycles within the women’s programme. Firstly, the start of the new ICC Women’s Championship cycle – a platform that offers competing nations the opportunity to qualify automatically for the 2029 50-over Women’s Cricket World Cup. Secondly, with the 2026 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup finishing earlier this month, we have now moved into the new two-year cycle ahead of the 2028 edition of the tournament.
“The role will be busy one – combining squad selection with identification of talent and working with the Talent Pathway systems around Ireland. In addition, Lauren will actively seek to increase playing and training opportunities for Irish talent in England.”
Lauren Rowles said:
“I am very thankful to Cricket Ireland for entrusting me with this important role – one that not only deals with the ‘here and now’ but also looks ahead to the future of the women’s programme in Ireland. My view is that talent identification and management within a high performance environment requires focus and leadership, but also an openness and willingness to work with existing regional structures in a collaborative and inclusive manner.
“Over recent years, I have watched Ireland demonstrate a dynamic approach to redesigning its women’s programme – investing in its female pathway programmes, support structures around the senior squad and through professional contracts. I look forward to being involved in this work and getting to know many of the talented female cricketers across Ireland.”
