Ireland’s Women cricketers are looking to end their campaign on a high when they take on South Africa in Colombo tomorrow (SUN).
Ireland’s Women cricketers are looking to end their campaign on a high when they take on South Africa in Colombo tomorrow (SUN).
Friday’s defeat by Pakistan ended their hopes of World Cup qualification but skipper Laura Delany is backing her young team to keep battling.
“At this stage of the competition we needed to be playing our best cricket and yesterday we played below par for us,” said Delany. “This tournament has been a steep learning curve for many of us.
“We have one final game against South Africa and we are determined to come out fighting.”
Ireland Head Coach Aaron Hamilton was in equally resilient form and took heart from previous wins against South Africa last summer.
We’re looking forward to finishing the tournament on a positive note,” said Hamilton. “We played well against them last summer so we should take some of that confidence into Sunday’s game.”
Ireland all-rounder Kim Garth has been the side’s most impressive performer in the competition thus far, but has admitted it’s counted for nothing after failure to qualify.
“It’s been quite a disappointing campaign for us so far,” said Garth. “We know as a team we are capable of beating these sides so we are very disappointed with how the last few results have gone.
“We have absolutely nothing to lose against South Africa and we are looking forward to it and hopefully finishing the tournament off an a high,” added the Pembroke all-rounder.
Teenager Gaby Lewis was honest in her assessment that the Irish have fallen short of the standard required, but hoped the team could put in a strong performance showcasing their abilities.
“We were hugely disappointed to end our World Cup dreams, but with the cricket we played this tournament we haven’t deserved a spot at the eight-team World Cup,” said Lewis.
“We are yet to even show a glimpse of what we are capable of at this level, and are hoping to put in a solid performance against South Africa.”
Ireland’s game against South Africa starts at 4.30am (UK/Ireland).
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