Tour squad named

DUBLIN – Gaby Lewis, Ireland Women’s new permanent captain, will lead a youthful squad to Bangladesh later this month when the Irish side visit the Asian country for the first time in 10 years to play a six-match multi-format series.

Lewis, 23, was confirmed in the leadership role last month and this will be her first tour as permanent captain – and she will lead a squad that has an average age of less than 23 years. Despite the young age demographic, seven of the tourists have more than 50 caps across all formats, with Laura Delany (207 caps) and Lewis (155 caps) being the longest-serving players in the current squad.

The series will be played between 27 November and 9 December with all games live-streamed on the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s Youtube channel.

The three ODIs are part of the ICC Women’s Championship.

SQUADS

Ireland Women ODI Squad:

• Gaby Lewis (captain) (Phoenix), Ava Canning (Leinster), Christina Coulter Reilly (Clontarf), Laura Delany (Leinster), Sarah Forbes (Pembroke), Amy Hunter (Instonians/Malahide), Arlene Kelly (Malahide), Aimee Maguire (The Hills), Jane Maguire (The Hills), Cara Murray (Waringstown/Clontarf), Leah Paul (Merrion), Orla Prendergast (Pembroke), Una Raymond-Hoey (Ringwood), Freya Sargent (Clontarf), Alice Tector (Phoenix).

Ireland Women T20 Squad:

• Gaby Lewis (captain) (Phoenix), Ava Canning (Leinster), Christina Coulter Reilly (Clontarf), Laura Delany (Leinster), Sarah Forbes (Pembroke), Amy Hunter (Instonians/Malahide), Arlene Kelly (Malahide), Aimee Maguire (The Hills), Jane Maguire (The Hills), Cara Murray (Waringstown/Clontarf), Leah Paul (Merrion), Orla Prendergast (Pembroke), Una Raymond-Hoey (Ringwood), Freya Sargent (Clontarf), Rebecca Stokell (Merrion).

FIXTURES

• 27 November 2024: Bangladesh v Ireland (1^st ODI; Mirpur; start 10am)
• 30 November 2024: Bangladesh v Ireland (2^nd ODI; Mirpur; start 10am)
• 2 December 2024: Bangladesh v Ireland (3^rd ODI; Mirpur; start 10am)

• 5 December 2024: Bangladesh v Ireland (1^st T20I; Sylhet; start 2pm)
• 7 December 2024: Bangladesh v Ireland (2^nd T20I; Sylhet; start 2pm)
• 9 December 2024: Bangladesh v Ireland (3^rd T20I; Sylhet; start 10am)

             * all times local to the venue

HEAD-TO-HEAD

Bangladesh (ranked 8^th in ODIs and 9^th in T20Is) last met Ireland (ranked 11^th in ODIs and 10^th in T20Is) in 2022, and have played each other 18 times across formats:

• 11 x T20 Internationals (Bangladesh 8 wins, Ireland 3 wins)
• 7 x One-Day Internationals (Bangladesh 4 wins, Ireland 1 win, 2 no results)

Ed Joyce, Head Coach of Ireland Women, said:

“It’s probably the toughest selection we’ve ever had – and I think that’s a really positive thing. One of the objectives when I took over the job was to try and build depth in the group. If you’re making selection difficult it’s a good sign of progress. The players are all hungry to get into the team, so there were some difficult phone calls there to make.

“In terms of specifics, we we’ve picked three spinners as we feel going to that part of the world may potentially require playing all three of them. And then on the batting side of things, I think we have a strong group that have shown they can get big scores in both formats.

“Obviously, welcoming back Laura Delany from injury will make a massive difference to that middle order. Her experience and quality across both formats is key, but she also balances the team beautifully for us in terms of her being able to bowl – so it gives us a chance to play an extra batter, if needed.

“With two all-rounders in the top four, and Amy Hunter our keeper also opening, it gives a nice balance to the team and we look in good shape with everyone fit and healthy at the start of the tour.”