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We Will Embrace Playing in Front of Travelling Irish Fans

Column by Ireland captain Gaby Lewis on behalf of the ICC:

The fact the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup is in England this year is a really exciting prospect. Having the competition so close to home is going to be really special, and it will be great to see as many fans as possible at all of the matches.

Often, when you play at World Cups, they are further afield and it’s the hosts or the opposition that brings the fans to the stadiums. So, on this occasion, it will be nice to have a lot of Irish people travelling and a lot of young kids and girls supporting, who I hope have ambitions to one day play for the team.

Our preparation has been great. Our tri-series against Pakistan and the West Indies here at home was fantastic preparation for the girls. There has obviously been a change in the squad, with Laura Delany going to be a big miss, but it is excellent that we have been able to bring in someone like Alice Tector.

There are a lot of players to look out for in our squad, and we’ve got some great youngsters. Aimee Maguire has been brilliant for us over the last couple of years, and you can’t pass over the likes of Orla Prendergast and Amy Hunter as well. We don’t rely on one or two players though; we’ve got a real group of match-winners. There’ll be a lot of players putting their hands up in this World Cup and winning games.

It’s been great to see the way the group have grown over the last few years. Our average age is quite young, but I think every year that gets said, it’s actually getting higher and higher. The more experienced the girls get, the better they are at international cricket. We don’t have a major provincial setup that they come through, so they’re learning a lot at international level. The more games they play, the more they learn. They’ve come a long way in the last two years, and hopefully we can build on the last World Cup.

My favourite thing about playing in a World Cup is getting the opportunity to play against top nations in a short period of time. There are huge eyes on the tournament as well, and that is great. If you can turn over a few teams, you’re in the spotlight.

The increased prize money for the tournament is great too. The more investment into the women’s game, the better. It’s striving to be as close to the men’s game as possible, and it’s great to see these financial increases. But most importantly, our focus is on winning games of cricket.

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