DUBLIN—Ahead of a crucial month for the senior women’s team, Una Raymond-Hoey, the top-order batswoman for Ireland’s women, is rapidly readjusting to Irish cricket after spending the previous five years playing in Australia.
Before relocating to Australia in 2019, 27-year-old Raymond-Hoey made 15 appearances for the Girls in Green and made her debut for Ireland internationally in 2014.
She began her career as a player for Ringwood Cricket Club, moved up the ranks to play for Victoria Women, and made the Melbourne Stars roster in 2022–2023.
In accordance with the terms of their retainer agreement, Raymond-Hoey will be available for the majority of the overseas schedule. She works as an exercise scientist at a Melbourne physiotherapy clinic, so she had to sort out a leave of absence from her job to make this possible.
She played with the Scorchers in the last two Evoke Super Series games as part of her preparations and acclimatisation.
Raymond-Hoey, speaking from his training, stated:
“It’s good to be back; it has been five years,” the speaker said. Although I must admit that playing Premier cricket and working abroad in Australia didn’t exactly have me thinking about playing for Ireland again, Ed Joyce reached out to me a few months ago to enquire about possible solutions due to the Irish squad’s shifting dynamics and a few retirements. Although it was a little challenging at work, I’m quite appreciative that we were able to resolve the issue.
It has been beneficial to return a few weeks ahead of the Sri Lanka series. Since I just returned from an Australian off-season, I haven’t played much cricket recently. Sadly, I haven’t scored any runs since coming back, but I’ve finding it difficult to adjust from Australian wickets. It’s important to control the wicket pace because they can be more slower and lower in this area. Thus, even though I haven’t been in the centre for very long, I believe it has been worthwhile.
Raymond-Hoey is happy with the advancements made in the five years since her departure:
“I couldn’t have been more thrilled to return and observe the changes. The females weren’t professional before I left; much has changed since then. There are significant differences in the quality of training, quantity of training, and availability of resources for the girls, even in terms of simply working out and recuperating from it.
Additionally, since my last visit, the Irish team’s and the Super Series’ calibre of play has increased. In my opinion, the younger players in that group also possess far higher calibre skills than they did five years ago.
What about the series from Sri Lanka?
“I can’t wait to see where this Ireland team is headed. Honestly, I think it’s a terrific test, and it has been for the past ten years, given how closely Sri Lanka is ranked from us.
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We always want to come out on top. I’m curious to see how everything works out because I have no doubt that we can win this series based on some of the innings that I’ve seen from the girls in the Super Series.
SQUADS
The Ireland Women’s teams consist of:
T20I Squad:
- Laura Delany (c) (Leinster), Ava Canning (Leinster), Christina Coulter Reilly (Clontarf), Alana Dalzell (Bready), Amy Hunter (Instonians/Malahide), Arlene Kelly (Malahide), Gaby Lewis (Phoenix), Jane Maguire (The Hills), Cara Murray (Saintfield), Leah Paul (Merron), Orla Prendergast (Pembroke), Una Raymond-Hoey (Ringwood), Freya Sargent (Clontarf), Rebecca Stokell (Merrion).
ODI Squad:
- Laura Delany (c) (Leinster), Ava Canning (Leinster), Alana Dalzell (Bready), Amy Hunter (Instonians/Malahide), Arlene Kelly (Malahide), Gaby Lewis (Phoenix), Joanna Loughran (Leinster), Aimee Maguire (The Hills), Leah Paul (Merron), Orla Prendergast (Pembroke), Una Raymond-Hoey (Ringwood), Freya Sargent (Clontarf), Rebecca Stokell (Merrion), Alice Tector (Phoenix).
The touring Sri Lanka Women’s squad is:
- Chamari Athapaththu (c), Vishmi Gunaratne, Harshitha Samarawickrama, Hasini Perera, Kavisha Dilhari, Nilakshi Silva, Anushka Sanjeewani, Kawya Kavindi, Udeshika Prabodhani, Achini Kulasuriya, Sugandika Kumari, Sachini Nisansala, Inoshi Fernando, Shashini Gimhani, Ama Kanchana, Kaushini Nuthyangana.
FIXTURES
T20Is:
- 11 August 2024: Ireland vs Sri Lanka – 1st T20I (Pembroke; start 4pm)
- 13 August 2024: Ireland vs Sri Lanka – 2nd T20I (Pembroke; start 4pm)
ODIs:
- 16 August 2024: Ireland vs Sri Lanka – 1st ODI (Stormont; start 10.45am)
- 18 August 2024: Ireland vs Sri Lanka – 2nd ODI (Stormont; start 10.45am)
- 20 August 2024: Ireland vs Sri Lanka – 3rd ODI (Stormont; start 10.45am)
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