Ireland Women are looking to the future with the appointment of Gaby Lewis as their new captain taking over from their most experienced player ever, Laura Delany.
Delany represented Ireland 207 times across formats, and for the past eight years she's been leading them as well. They were unable to make the Women's T20 World Cup but have had recent success, levelling a bilateral contest with Sri Lanka 1-1 in August, when Lewis scored a century and was named Player of the Series. They beat Sri Lanka 2-1 in the ODIs that followed.
"I know when I first came into the senior set-up, Dells was one of those team-mates you looked to for inspiration," Lewis, who is currently in Melbourne, playing club cricket, said. "Moving from the amateur to professional era, she has continually looked to develop and improve her game, and I look forward to playing alongside Dells on many more occasions as we move into the next stage of our squad's development."
Lewis made her debut for Ireland when she was just 13. She is their highest run-scorer with a tally of 3,742 at 28.95 across formats with two centuries and 21 half-centuries. The 23-year-old has also captained her country 12 times and will now take over full-time ahead of tours to Bangladesh and India coming up in November and January respectively.
"I am delighted to be asked to be Ireland Women's captain on a permanent basis," Lewis said. "I thoroughly enjoyed acting in the role during the summer and am genuinely excited about the young talent coming through the system. While we are a young squad, the results in recent years have shown that we can compete with the best."
Ireland selector Ciara O'Brien confirmed that Delany would continue playing for the team and head coach Ed Joyce praised her contributions through the course of a career that began in 2010.
"I have been privileged to work closely with Laura over the last five years," Joyce said, "And have profound respect for the work she has done, both on-the-field and off.
"Not only has she led the squad through the transition from the amateur to professional era, but the incredible support she offered the squad during those Covid years goes largely unrecognised. Laura's one of the most competitive and focused players I have worked with, and I have greatly enjoyed every minute."
Orla Prendergast, 22, has been named Ireland's vice-captain. She made a telling contribution with both bat and ball as Ireland came from behind to draw a T20I series against England in September.
"Orla also got the opportunity to lead the team this summer when both Laura and Gaby were injured, and we were very impressed with how she handled some high-pressure situations during the Sri Lanka series," Joyce said. "Gaby and Orla together then worked very well as the leadership team in the games where both played.
"We have tours of Bangladesh and India this winter, an Under-19s Women's T20 World Cup and a crucially important year ahead in 2025. Not only will we have another busy home summer, but there are qualifying tournaments to navigate for both the 2025 50-over World Cup and 2026 T20 World Cup. As such, we considered now the right time in the cycle to give the new leadership team time to settle in and begin planning."