Lewis, who is currently standing in for Laura Delany, led from the front with a matchwinning 72 from 56 balls in the third ODI, but it was left to Ireland’s lower-order to scramble over the line by three wickets, despite a spirited England fightback led by Lauren Filer and Mady Villiers.
The result didn’t impact the series, which England claimed 2-1 after emphatic wins in the first two fixtures, but the feelgood factor has been palpable for the hosts, especially after the disappointment of failing to qualify for next month’s T20 World Cup.
Not only can they look forward to eager crowds in Clontarf for the T20Is, but the fact that Ireland came out on top in a contest that was reduced to 22 overs a side clearly augurs well for their prospects in the shorter format.
“It’s huge,” Lewis said. “If you suffer a defeat in the last game of the series, you’re on a bit of a downer coming into the next series. But that just puts the defeat to the back of your mind. It’s not forgotten, we have obviously learned from it, but all you can all you can remember is the buzz we had on Wednesday.
“So, we’re looking forward to bringing that positivity into these two games this weekend. And especially because it was a shortened game, it gives us that confidence in the T20 format. We’re looking forward to a 2-0 series win this weekend!”
“Ultimately the result was probably a fair one,” Cross said. “Ireland were the better team in that third ODI, but what our girls did really well was they fought to stay in the game. If you can take games of cricket as deep as possible, then you just don’t know.
“We got a little bit of a sniff at the end of that game, but incidents like what happened with Hollie are just part of the game. Obviously it’s more upsetting that it’s off the final ball, but I just said to her that we all made some mistakes in the field at some points, which contributed to us losing that game.”
England’s T20I squad will feature some more fresh faces, with Seren Smale and Charis Pavely among the players who could make their international debuts this weekend. Katie George has also been called into the squad, partially as cover for Mahika Gaur, the 18-year-old left-arm seamer whose comeback from a side strain is being carefully handled by the team management.
“Mahika is coming back from an injury,” Cross said. “She’s not played much cricket this summer, and to throw her into back-to-back games feels like it might be a bit of a risk for her, especially when there’s a World Cup around the corner, plus a South Africa series and an Ashes to play for this winter.
“Katie’s been added to the squad to just give us a little bit more depth in the seam attack. She’s had to fight back through a lot of injuries herself. Stress-fracture rehabs are never easy, you end up doing a lot of lonely work, So for her to have her name back in an England squad is absolutely exceptional for her.”