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We spake to Aaron Hamilton before the World Cup Qualification Tournament, which starts tomorrow against Zimbabwe in Sri Lanka
Before the World Cup Qualification Tournament in Sri Lanka, which starts tomorrow against Zimbabwe, we caught up with Head Coach Aaron Hamilton on how the winter has been going with the team, as well as his hopes for the competition.

We started off by asking him about the players that played in Australia and New Zealand:
You must be happy with so many of your players playing cricket in the Southern Hemisphere during the winter?

“Yes, there were six players that are in Australia, and Jennifer Gray who is in New Zealand. It is great to see that they are taking the initiative to increase their development as players. They are playing at good levels over there. From this their mindset towards cricket will change, and hopefully they can bring this back to the Irish group. We really noticed this with Kim (Garth) and Laura (Delany) last year, when they went away to train with the teams in the WBBL during the 2015/16 season. It really kicked them on as player because they saw what the top players do every day in their training, and I felt that they brought some of that back with them, which is good to see.”

How have the sessions throughout the winter been at home like?

“We have found that they have been very productive. This winter has really felt like the norm for an international side, because of the players that are away down under, so the whole group isn’t together as a whole unit, which hasn’t been the way with this team over the past few seasons.

‘With the smaller numbers that have been at our winter sessions, what we have been able to do is have focussed group sessions and work on subtle changes with each player, which we would have learned from the South Africa and Bangladesh Series during the summer. These are things such as exposure to playing at a high level for a longer period of time in the 50 over format, where these players have been more used to the T20 game.

‘For these winter sessions, we have also been working with Adam Sullivan on getting the players refreshed after a busy international season for us. By doing lots of prehab to clear up any niggles and strains from last season. He has also done a lot of physical work with them to increase their power.”

‘It has also been good to include players like Leah Paul, Cara Murray and Lara Maritz as part of the winter setup. It gives them a great opportunity to expose themselves to what is being done at the international level in the off season.”

What has it been like to have Andrew Poynter for the winter sessions?

“He has been a welcome addition to the staff during the winter. He has had a good connection with the players, and they have gotten used to him. He has been able to help the players improve with the bat and it is good to have that type of coach within the team. He was part of the coaching staff at La Manga, as well as the party that goes to Sri Lanka.”

Talk to us more about what you did in Dubai.

“We used Dubai as a pre tournament camp with the key area being volume and playing some matches. As I have said before, the winter sessions has been about honing their skills. What we did over in Dubai is to supplement what we have been doing during the winter, except that we will be doing lots and lots of it in preparation for the qualifying tournament. This will be done especially for their batting and fielding skills, to get them ready for Sri Lanka.

‘We were there from about the 25th of January for nine days where we will played Scotland in two 50 Over games there. The players who have been in Australia will met up with the rest of the team in Dubai and we will all went from there to Sri Lanka. We then had a pre tournament game against Bangladesh, which was our last preparation for the competition.”

What has this side learned from 2016?

“After the 2016 season, I feel that this group believes that they can compete on the world stage. This is mainly come about due to their wins against South Africa and Bangladesh. They are beginning to know what it is all about at international level, and they are starting to have the belief that they are as good as any of the other teams in the world.

‘There is now a sense of maturity in this team. Beforehand, they may have had a fear of the unknown; a fear of these big teams mainly because they had never faced them before. Now, they are feeling more comfortable at this level and it isn’t scary to them anymore, which I feel is a significant change in their mindset as a side. You got to remember that a lot of these players are learning their game at international level, which isn’t easy. Many of them are still in school. So to see how they went about their game for last season has been great.”

How do you feel about the Group you are in for the tournament?

“I feel that we got a good draw in the four games we are playing in the 1st Round of fixtures. We know that India will be tough. However, we did play them in a warm up match before the ICC World T20 last year in India, and we were really encouraged by how they played in that game.

How did you feel with Kim Garth and Isobel Joyce playing in the WBBL, as well as Kim being part of the ICC Women’s Team of the Year?

“It is awesome for women’s cricket in Ireland that this achievement happened during the winter. It highlights that players who are in associate cricket are able to compete at the highest level. This is especially important for the domestic players in Ireland. They can now relate to these local players who are performing well at world stage. There are role models for young girls playing the game, and that there is a pathway for them from their local club to big international tournaments on TV.”


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