‘The World Cup is where every team wants to be in sport’

ON THE eve of the Ireland Women cricket team’s T20 World Cup in South Africa, captain Laura Delany opened up about what is driving her ambitions for this tournament and what the squad are expecting at their first involvement at a global tournament since 2018.

Ireland, qualified after coming through a tough qualifying tournament in Dubai last September, has been drawn in Group B where they will face England, India, Pakistan, and West Indies.

This will be the second T20 World Cup that Delany from Knocklyon will captain the Irish side, having previously done so in 2018, and will be playing in her fourth T20 World Cup.

Delany is one of two local players involved with the squad along with Mary Waldron from Bohernabreena.

Delany said: “We’re all looking forward to getting over there.

“By the time we face England in our first Group game we will have played four warm-up games in local conditions.

“This opportunity to acclimatise will be crucial as we are coming from the middle of our winter back at home.

“We have been preparing well in our indoor facilities and at the Sports Institute in Dublin and Belfast, but it will be a welcome opportunity to get out on grass in South African conditions.”

According to Delany, narrowly missing out on the last T20 World Cup was a motivating factor: “It hurt us the last time, not qualifying for the T20 World Cup in Australia.

“It was hard for us as a squad to watch those games, but the way that we’ve come back has shown what this team is all about – our character and we’re now relishing the opportunity of going over and playing against some of the best sides in the world.

“The World Cup is where every team wants to be in any sport, so we’re really looking forward to it.

“There should be a strong Irish support there all right, as I know there are some families going out to South Africa to support us, which is brilliant.

“It’s nice to have support when you’re away from home, particularly at a World Cup.”

How has the team progressed in the lead-up to the tournament Laura went on to say: “We have quite a young squad [average age 24], but a squad that has certainly grown in confidence and character over the last few years.

“Nothing exemplifies this more than our tour to Pakistan late last year when we lost the ODI series, but bounced back to claim the T20I series at the end of a tough tour.

“I thought we had a really good summer.

“We had series wins against Holland and Scotland and then we had a really good performance against South Africa, winning one of the T20s at the start of June.

“So from a team point of view, everything’s heading in the right direction.

“From an individual point of view, some of the girls have put in really good performances over the last 12 months and I’m excited for them to go and show the world what they can do at the next level.

“We have a number of players with a great deal of experience and a cohort of younger players who have come into the senior set-up in the last 18 months.

“In terms of our strengths, we have quite an adaptable squad that has the ability to change based on the opponent, the conditions, or the state of the match.

“In years gone by, we perhaps lacked depth but that’s changing – we have a good pool of players now to call upon.

“Compared to the bigger nations we may have a small pool overall, but entering tournament conditions, we believe we have a good squad, and we’re keen to perform on the world stage.”