Gaby Lewis to lead 14-member Ireland squad for England series

Dublin, Aug 19 (IANS) Ireland have named a 14-member women’s squad for their upcoming three-match ODI series against England next month, with national women’s selector Lauren Rowles stressing the importance of competition for places and regular exposure against top-ranked teams through the ICC Women’s Championship.

Gaby Lewis will take on the role of captain, and opener Amy Hunter will aim to keep up her excellent form since she scored 193 runs in the most recent series against the West Indies at an average of 64.33.

Ireland are currently in ninth place in the ICC Women’s Championship table and hope to revive their campaign after their three-match series was beaten by the West Indies last month.

The team now have Arlene Kelly and Alice Tector back from injury, with Kia McCartney still holding her position as a spinner. Aimee Maguire, Sarah Forbes and Ava Canning, though, are still injured and therefore unavailable.

“There is real competition for places in the short-term, and there is an exciting depth of talent coming through the pipeline which is promising for the medium-to-long term,” Rowles said.

“To have genuine competition for places within a senior squad is important as it drives standards and raises the desire of players to achieve more with every opportunity they get,” she added.

Rowles also underlined the value of Ireland regularly facing the world’s leading teams as they look to strengthen their competitiveness.

“That’s why the ICC Women’s Championship is so important. It provides a regular programme of fixtures against the world’s best sides, which in turn benefits the development and competitiveness of our players,” she said.

Ireland’s three-match series against England will start on September 1 at the Uptonsteel County Ground in Leicester, with the second ODI to take place at The County Ground in Derby on September 3 and the series being concluded at New Road in Worcester on September 6.

Ireland squad:

Gaby Lewis (captain), Christina Coulter Reilly, Georgina Dempsey, Amy Hunter, Arlene Kelly, Louise Little, Jane Maguire, Lara McBride, Kia McCartney, Cara Murray, Leah Paul, Orla Prendergast, Rebecca Stokell and Alice Tector.

–IANS

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