Ireland has included two uncapped players in its 14-player squad for the upcoming ICC Emerging Nations Trophy tournament. Seam bowling all-rounder Zara Craig and wicketkeeper-batter Abbi Harrison received their first senior call-ups, while Lara Maritz returned to the international setup after a five-year absence.
Squad Additions and Notable Absences
The 23-year-old Craig represents Eglinton and Phoenix and previously featured in the 2023 Women’s Under-19s T20 World Cup squad. Harrison, 20, plays for Waringstown and appeared in both the 2023 and 2025 editions of the Women’s Under-19s T20 World Cup. Meanwhile, 25-year-old all-rounder Maritz holds 43 caps after making her debut in 2017, last playing for the national team in 2021.
Gaby Lewis will captain the side, with Amy Hunter serving as vice-captain. Hunter steps into the leadership role because Orla Prendergast received permission to skip the tournament to play in the Women’s Big Bash League in Australia. Rebecca Stokell is also unavailable as she serves a voluntary suspension following responsibility for an inadvertent breach of prescription medication reporting requirements. In addition, Leah Paul is unavailable for selection, and Christina Coulter Reilly remains sidelined with an injury. Kia McCartney, who has five ODI appearances but no T20I caps, earned a spot in the squad alongside Alana Dalzell, Laura Delany, Georgina Dempsey, Louise Little, Aimee Maguire, Jane Maguire, Lara McBride, and Cara Murray.
Tournament Details and Fixtures
The 10-team T20I competition takes place in the United Arab Emirates from November 12 to 25. The tournament has expanded to feature five Full Member teams and five Associate teams, following a previous edition won by Thailand that exclusively involved Associate nations.
Group A action begins for Ireland against Sri Lanka on November 12, followed by matches against Papua New Guinea, the UAE, and Scotland.
Graeme West, Director of High Performance at Cricket Ireland, stated that the timing of the Emerging Nations Trophy offers the performance squad an ideal chance to apply lessons from six weeks of training into high-level competition since no international fixtures are scheduled until March of next year.
“The tournament itself offers our squad the opportunity to take on sides that share a similar goal of entering the top six ranked teams in the world, making for a very competitive event – just what we need as we build towards the next T20 World Cup in 2028,” West said, as reported by BBC Sport.
