It is a far cry from the generation of players who suffered financially for the privilege of representing their country. “It was big for us when we didn’t have to pay for our own gear or flights,” explains Isobel Joyce, who played from 1999-2018. “We got match fees in two World Cups, that was it. We often had to fundraise, my brother gave me a few hundred quid going to New Zealand in 2000.”
The starkest improvement has come in power hitting. When Joyce played, Clare Shillington was Ireland’s best batter. Her T20I career strike-rate was 99. Lewis (116), Prendergast (117) and Hunter (112) score their runs quicker, a development Joyce puts down to the players being stronger, better pitches and lighter bats that are better suited to the required stroke play.
Previous generations of players, including Garth, Shillington and Joyce’s sister, Cecelia, could be forgiven for wondering what might have been. “We were talking about it when they had those wins [over Sri Lanka], they’re so lucky they’re in this era,” says Isobel Joyce. “The word used was envious rather than jealous, you don’t want to take it away from them. We fought all our careers knowing it was for the next generation.”