BAN v IRE: Gaby Lewis proud of Ireland's recent achievements

Laura Delany led Ireland for eight years, but 23-year-old Gaby Lewis has now stepped up to fill big shoes. A star since she was 13, Lewis is now Ireland's highest run-scorer in international cricket with two centuries and 23 half-centuries. Ireland had some impressive wins in recent times including a 1-1 T20I series draw against Sri Lanka before winning the ODI series 2-1. The Irish team also managed to draw the T20Is against England and also pulled off an ODI win against the neighbours. Ireland are now in Bangladesh for a six-match limited over series. 

It’s not just Lewis, Amy Hunter, 19-year-old wicketkeeper-batter, is also making rapid strides in international cricket. Hunter made the headlines for becoming the youngest cricketer - male or female - to score an international century on her 16th birthday. She is also the only Irish player with centuries in both T20Is and ODIs in women’s cricket.

Ahead of the Ireland tour of Bangladesh, Lewis opened up about her experience as a full-time captain, the impact of Irish players gaining recognition in top leagues, and some recent famous wins while Hunter shared insights into the challenges of being the youngest in the squad, the atmosphere in the dressing room, and her experience of leading the U-19 team.

Excerpts from the Gaby Lewis chat:

Q: This is your first series as the full-time captain of Ireland. How do you feel about the pressure and pride of leading the team?

There's obviously added pressure, but I'm just trying to keep things as normal as I can with how I go about my day-to-day things. I think it's important to make sure that I don't get too overwhelmed by the things added to my schedule and such. I just try to keep everyone, as you know, as relaxed and normal as we can, especially with being abroad in new conditions and things like that.

Q: How has drawing on the experience of a long-time skipper like Laura Delaney helped you in your new role?

Yeah, it's been brilliant. When I first came into the squad, having Izzy Joyce and then Laura for the eight years that she was in the role, I think she's been amazing for me to learn from. And I'll still be learning from her to this day. She was a great role model for all of us, and that doesn't change with things now. She has so much experience, especially in a condition like we are now.

Q: Ireland players like Orla Prendergast are gaining recognition by playing in the WBBL. How does this impact the team?

Yeah, I think it just shows that we're not just little Ireland from a small nation. I think we've got unbelievable players in our team that can compete on a world stage. So I think Orla showed how good she is and how good our players are. And I think she's done our country proud with how she went about in that series and put it up to them, showing that our players are able to compete at that world stage.

Q: Ireland registered some famous wins against Sri Lanka and England. How do these victories influence the team's confidence and aspirations?

Brings massive confidence from the summer into the series. And I think after the defeat in May (T20 World Cup Qualifier), we were obviously very down. So I think we really looked to refocus and target this summer, which we did brilliantly, and, you know, we can bring great confidence into this series.

                                                                    *****

Excerpts from the chat with Amy Hunter:

Q: Hello, Amy! How are you looking forward to your first experience of playing in the subcontinent?

Yeah, I think obviously it's pretty exciting. We did play in Pakistan, I think, a couple of years ago, so kind of drawing off that experience and sort of just assessing conditions as much as we can. But obviously, it'll be challenging conditions and very far from what we're used to. So, we're just going to look to adapt as quickly as we can.

Q: Also, being young, how do you balance the freedom to play an attacking game with the challenges of occasional failure?

Yeah, I think it's a tricky one. I think it's something that I'm still working on.Obviously, Ed (Ed Joyce) has given the batting unit the freedom to kind of go out and back ourselves and take the game on, which is obviously nice to feel that you're backed in that way. But yeah, I think obviously balancing that with also trying to score runs at the end of the day is a tricky one, but it's definitely one I'm still learning to do.

Q: Can you talk about your Under-19 experience? How was it leading the Under-19 team in South Africa, and how has that experience shaped your approach to the game?

Yeah, I think it was a great experience. Unfortunately, I did get injured pretty early on in the tournament, but no, it was great to kind of play with players of a similar age to myself that I've grown up playing with, and then to compete against players of my own age from some of the best countries around the world. I think it was a very good experience.

Q: Can you describe the atmosphere within the Ireland team, especially with it being a young and fun bunch?

Yeah, I think we've got a great kind of culture within the team. It's a very close-knit bunch, so when you're touring away, you spend so much time together. I think we know each other very well at this stage. But yeah, it is a really good environment, and it's one that I think I and all the girls really enjoy.

Ireland captain Gaby Lewis and Amy Hunter talked to Women's CricZone in a chat faciliated by FanCode, the official streaming partner of Ireland tour of Bangladesh. If you are in India, you can watch all the matches live from November 27.