Ireland have named their squad for next month’s ICC Women’s Championship series at home against Sri Lanka.
Laura Delany will once again captain the Ireland side throughout the five white-ball contests in Belfast and Dublin. The three ODIs between the teams will count towards the ongoing ICC Women’s Championship.
Alice Tector, the younger sister of star Ireland men’s batter Harry Tector, has received her maiden call-up, while Christina Coulter-Reilly is also in line for a debut after being named in the 14-player squad for the two T20I matches commencing on August 11.
Ireland coach Ed Joyce is anticipating a tough battle against the Sri Lanka team and wants his players to embrace the challenge ahead.
“Every international series for us is really important because we know we want to see progression. It’s always tricky looking at results, especially when playing against teams ranked much higher than us,” Joyce said.
“Sri Lanka have really improved – we were obviously hoping to play them in the final in the (ICC Women’s T20 World Cup) qualifiers, but didn’t quite get there. They’ve got one of the world’s best in captain Chamari Athapaththu, but the rest of their players are young, hungry, and performing well. So I think both series will be very tough for us.”
T20I Squad: Laura Delany (c), Ava Canning, Christina Coulter-Reilly, Alana Dalzell, Amy Hunter, Arlene Kelly, Gaby Lewis, Jane Maguire, Cara Murray, Leah Paul, Orla Prendergast, Una Raymond-Hoey, Freya Sargent, Rebecca Stokell
ODI Squad: Laura Delany (c), Ava Canning, Alana Dalzell, Amy Hunter, Arlene Kelly, Gaby Lewis, Joanna Loughran, Aimee Maguire, Leah Paul, Orla Prendergast, Una Raymond-Hoey, Freya Sargent, Rebecca Stokell, Alice Tector
Series Schedule:
- First T20I: August 11, Pembroke
- Second T20I: August 13, Pembroke
- First ODI: August 16, Stormont
- Second ODI: August 18, Stormont
- Third ODI: August 20, Stormont
