Captain Laura Delaney says Ireland’s upcoming eight-game tour of Zimbabwe provides ideal preparation for the Twenty20 World Cup qualifiers in Abu Dhabi in April and May.
The Irish will face the hosts in the first of three ODIs on January 18, ahead of five T20 contests.
“I don’t think the series could have come at a better time,” the captain said.
Delaney is set to extend her record for Irish women’s caps to 191 in the white-ball contest in Harare.
The Dubliner made his 185th appearance against the Netherlands in August, becoming the record holder for caps for Ireland.
“We have a very important year ahead and it’s great to have an away series, three ODIs and five T20s, different conditions and different challenges,” the 31-year-old added.
Sauna session during tour preparation
In particular, the five T20 matches will be an important preparation for the T20 World Cup qualifiers to be held in the United Arab Emirates. Sri Lanka will enter as the top-ranked team in the competition, with only two finalists securing spots in Bangladesh in September and October.
“In qualifying, every game is like a cup final. If you lose, you either lose points or you’re eliminated from the tournament,” added the Dubliner.
“Playing with that expectation is a great frame of mind for us going into this series and the ODIs gave us ample opportunity to put into practice what we have been working on in training before winning five T20s. It’s amazing what happened.”
Conditions in Zimbabwe are expected to be a far cry from the sub-zero temperatures experienced in Ireland this week, with the team undergoing sauna sessions to acclimate to the expected heat in Harare.
The captain, who made his Irish debut in 2010, said: “I’ve done sauna sessions where I sit there for 30 minutes, which may sound relaxing but it’s definitely not and how much sweat you break up. It’s to prepare,” he added.
The Zimbabwe match will be the Irish side’s first competitive game since defeating Scotland 3-2 in a five-match white-ball series in Spain in late October.
With the Irish players currently under contract, the team continued to train four times a week ahead of the Christmas break, with sessions resuming and finishing on 2 January.
Delaney says the introduction of contracts – often full-time – is a huge boost for Irish women’s cricket.
“As we sign more players, we see that young players play very freely and have so much ability and talent.
“Players like Orla Prendergast and Amy Hunter are also very young players but are considered senior players in the team and play big roles at the top of the batting order.
“They have performed incredibly well over the past 12 months and if they can get off to a great start, it will be a great opportunity for 11 of our players to go and win that game.
“Georgina Dempsey, who bowled fantastically against Australia (last summer), is another player who is probably getting a little under the radar, but is getting better and better.”
Delaney has been unhappy in recent weeks.
Delaney has been working slowly over the past few weeks, but hopes to be able to play the full series.
If she plays all eight games, her cap count will rise to 199, with her 200th appearance scheduled for April.
“It would be a great moment for myself and my family if it happened, but that’s probably not what I’m focused on.
“I’ve been struggling with little things, so that’s definitely my focus to be able to get back on the pitch and contribute not only skill-wise, but also leadership-wise, on and off the pitch.” “
Ireland women had a busy 2023, scoring a shock win over Australia in a warm-up match before the World Cup in South Africa, and performed brilliantly despite losing to Pakistan, India, England and the West Indies. Ta.
In the Caribbean tour held from late June to early July, the Irish lost the ODI 0-2 to the West Indies, and in the T20 series they suffered a heartbreaking defeat by two wickets on the final ball in the opening match, losing 3-3. We lost by 0.
The Australians proved too strong for Ireland with a resounding 2-0 victory in the ODI series at Clontarf in late July, but before that they won the ODI and T20 series at Amstelveen. The Irish women’s team bounced back by defeating the Netherlands 2-0 and 3-0 respectively. They defeated Scotland in a white-ball series in Spain.