(Cricket news) It was just over a month ago when Amy Hunter broke the record by becoming the youngest cricketer (men or women) to score an international century in a One Day International as the 16 year old scored 121 runs against Zimbabwe on October 11th which was also her birthday. She has now returned to Zimbabwe with the Ireland Women’s squad for the World Cup Qualifier tournament as her side take on West Indies, Sri Lanka and the Netherlands in the group stage. Ireland Women will also face off against Thailand and Pakistan in warm-up matches before the Qualifier fixtures begin.
Speaking after training at Old Georgians Sports Club today, Hunter said about that record-breaking innings: “It was pure relief and delight, to be honest. I found out about the record during the innings break, but didn’t fully understand how big it was until after the game. The girls and management were delighted for me as I’d obviously gone through a bit of a tough patch just previously. I had hardly done one interview before, so it was quite a shock to do all the ones that followed.
“It is not something that I ever would’ve expected and while it was an amazing experience, it was definitely new territory and unlike anything I’d experienced before. It was definitely a day I will cherish forever and never forget. It was a bit surreal to be honest, I have grown up watching Mithali Raj on TV so for her to tweet about me was an incredible feeling. I’ve worked pretty closely with Ed [Joyce] this season – primarily on game plans and mindset. I’ve always struggled with batting for long periods of time, but Ed has been invaluable to work with. The whole management team, particularly Ed and Glenn Querl (Assistant Coach) just told me to be really positive at the crease and back my skills. No one put pressure on me despite previous low scores, the girls were so supportive and just kept reassuring me and backing me.”
Having started playing cricket at the age of 8 at Instonians Cricket Club, Hunter played her first women’s Super Series match at the age of 11, leading to her selection for the Ireland Girls Under-15s and in 2017 was selected for the Ireland Girls Under-19s. Hunter said “Last November I was delighted to get my first national call-up – it was for a series against Scotland. Unfortunately that series didn’t go ahead due to Covid reasons, but in May this year the series was rescheduled and I made my international debut at Stormont in front of home supporters. It has been challenging to balance my studies with cricket, but school – Methodist College, Belfast – makes it relatively easy for me to work online when I’m away from home. I tend to work in the car to or from training if I have work to get done, but it isn’t too hard.”
During the time, Amy has also had the support of a Northern Irish athletics legend – Lady Mary Peters LG, CH, DBE, DstJ: “Yes, myself and Cara Murray are recipients of scholarships from the Mary Peters Trust. It has absolutely helped me, from making it easier to combine work and school to being able to attend more training sessions. I’m so grateful to the Mary Peters Trust for their continued support.”
While her debut series against Scotland was special, Hunter feels the Zimbabwe series was where she gained the most confidence in her game: “It was a great series for the girls, despite losing the first game we bounced back in great fashion. Personally, I just wanted to give myself a chance to get in and experience what international cricket was really like. The only real plan I had was to be really positive in my batting and to play my own game, taking bowlers on from the beginning. It was great to be able to bat with the likes of Gaby Lewis and Laura Delany. In the middle Gaby and I mainly just chatted about batting long but still showing intent to score runs and to enjoy it. She was so supportive of me and kept reassuring me with my plans.
“Laura is incredible – she’s absolutely clear about her plans, and I think this really helped me when I was out there as she helped me establish what I was trying to do and supported me in doing it. I’ve played a lot of cricket with Laura with the Typhoons in the Super Series – she’s an amazing person to play under, as regardless of how you are doing she will always back you. This season when I was struggling with the Typhoons, she kept reassuring me. Laura has definitely made me a better cricketer as I have and continue to learn so much from the way she goes about her game.”
Looking ahead to the qualifying tournament, Hunter said “Going into the Qualifier, we are hoping that if we play our best cricket we can come in the top five and qualify for the ICC Women’s Championship. This will be a huge step in the right direction for us as it will ensure we have regular fixtures against the best sides in the world.”
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