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DUBLIN – Cricket Ireland today announced a 14-player squad to travel to the ICC Women’s Twenty20 World Cup Qualifier tournament in Scotland, starting 31 August 2019.
The league-cum-knockout tournament sees Ireland Women in Group B alongside Namibia, Netherlands and Thailand, with the top two sides progressing to a semi-finals stage. The two winners of the semi-finals not only contest the final but qualify for the World Cup being held in Australia in early 2020.

The league-cum-knockout tournament sees Ireland Women in Group B alongside Namibia, Netherlands and Thailand, with the top two sides progressing to a semi-finals stage. The two winners of the semi-finals not only contest the final but qualify for the World Cup being held in Australia in early 2020.

The squad

Laura Delany (c), Kim Garth (vc), Shauna Kavanagh, Gaby Lewis, Louise Little, Sophie MacMahon, Lara Maritz, Leah Paul, Orla Prendergast, Celeste Raack, Una Raymond-Hoey, Eimear Richardson, Rebecca Stokell, Mary Waldron.

The fixtures

Warm-up match
29 August: Ireland v Papua New Guinea (10.00am, Forfarshire Cricket Club)

Qualifier group stage
31 August: Ireland v Namibia (2.00pm, Arbroath Cricket Club)
1 September: Ireland v Netherlands (2.00pm, Forfarshire Cricket Club)
3 September: Ireland v Thailand (10.00am, Forfarshire Cricket Club)

Finals stages
5 September: Semi-Finals
7 September: Final

Speaking after the Ireland Women’s squads return from the recent Quadrangular Series in the Netherlands, Ireland captain Laura Delany said:

“The Quadrangular Series was a good opportunity to see where we’re at as a squad. It also gave us an opportunity to have a look at some of the teams we will play against in the qualifiers. Ed [Joyce] and I got a chance to try out different bowling and batting combinations, which with a young squad is crucial as we seek to find the right balance. Playing six games in seven days was an intense schedule but I was really impressed with how the squad approached each game, especially the younger players.”

“Looking ahead to the Qualifier, Thailand are a well-organised side and have made serious progress since we played them this time last year. We also know a lot about the Netherlands having played against them regularly, but we are yet to play Namibia so that is an unknown for us at this stage. As a relatively new squad, we’re really trying to focus on being more specific with our plans both with the bat and ball for these upcoming games.”

“Throughout the summer we have been fortunate that various senior players have stood up and put in match-winning performances – it was especially great to see a number of players take advantage of the Quadrangular Series and spend time in the middle in the Netherlands, which hopefully should give these players confidence heading into the qualifiers. It’s brilliant to have Kim Garth back in the side, the experience and skill she has with both the bat and ball will be a huge asset to us.”

Laura Delany will captain the side in the Qualifiers
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