Ireland's star all rounder Gaby Lewis epitomizes what they call a 'young prodigy achieving great things'. Having made her International debut at the age of just 13, Gaby is the third generation of Lewis family pursuing cricket. In 2018 Lewis was named as one of the five breakout stars in women's cricket by ICC.
The 20 year old is a fierce competitor and has been instrumental in scripting many victories for her national and domestic sides, inarguably making her a player to watch out for in International women's cricket.
In an exclusive interview with SPOGO, the young gun talked about her debut, her journey so far and the most influential people in life.
Q 1) How was it representing your country at the age of 13? What according to you have been the highlights of your journey so far?
It was a huge privilege to represent my country at such a young age. To be honest I don’t quite remember much of the day but I remember how nervous I was but also how welcoming and friendly my teammates were.
I have a few highlights so far but if I was to pick out just one it would be winning the Qualifiers in Thailand. It was a great tournament to be involved in.
Q 2) Who were your idols or role models growing up? How big of an impact your family's cricketing legacy had in you taking up the sport professionally?
Clare Shillington was someone I looked up to growing up. She moved to my club and I got the opportunity to open the batting with her and I learned a lot from her.
Growing up in a cricketing family was obviously the reason that I started the game but it was my decision to pursue the career semi-professionally. There wasn’t any pressure on me to stay in the game from my family, it’s always been me because I love the sport.
Q 3) What is your post match unwind routine?
I don’t really have one to be honest, just a big feed and a good night's sleep!
Q 4) Who have been the most influential people in your journey so far? What role have they played in making you who you are today?
As I mentioned above Clare Shillington, but also my coach from when I was a kid, Kamal Merchant. He has had a massive impact on me being where I am today. I have worked with him from a very young age.
Q 5) What are your expectations from the 2022 ICC Women's World Cup? How well can the Irish team fare according to you?
I assume you mean the 50 over World cup. We have our qualifying tournament for it in December in Sri Lanka. We obviously hope to qualify and know that we will need to play our best cricket for that to happen. We have our Super Series competition this summer to help us prepare which has been brilliant. The standard has improved tremendously from last year and hopefully that will be of huge benefit for when we go to Sri Lanka.
Q 6) What are you looking forward to next?
I am looking forward to a lot of cricket this summer after 20 months off. We have started our season and I’m loving it so far so can’t wait for what the rest of the season holds
Q 7) Any message for the young girls aspiring to be future cricketers?
Keep enjoying the game and take every opportunity you can get.
