Ireland’s Orla Prendergast will end her 624 day wait when she dons her Irish jersey against Scotland’s Women on sunday. In her absence, Ireland’s women have had four tours and series cancelled and a world cup qualifier postponed.
Prendergast made her international debut in August 2019 and the all-rounder has eight caps so far. She was awarded a part time player contract by Cricket Ireland in August 2020. She scored 151 runs at an average of 25.17 in the 2020 Super Series along with taking 10 wickets at 18 runs apiece.
Her form was described as “outstanding” by Ireland womens captain Laura Delaney and scored a maiden century two weeks ago, scoring 116 runs from 129 balls and taking 2-17 in the same match.
Ahead of the Scotland series, Prendergast said “It’s absolutely brilliant to finally be back playing international cricket and definitely an added bonus to have our first home fixture in two years. The possibility of spectators being allowed to attend is a really exciting prospect and hopefully, all going well that will be able to happen. We’ve had a long training block over the last 18 months, so it’s really exciting to be able to compete again and see where we are.”
“The Super Series this year has provided an excellent opportunity for us to prepare for the upcoming series. While we’ve obviously been extremely lucky to continue training over the last months, it’s been vital for us to get time out batting and bowling in the middle to prepare for upcoming international matches. Personally, I feel the Super Series has really helped me prepare for the upcoming series, both bowling and batting. The century I scored two weeks ago has definitely boosted my confidence, and hopefully I’ll carry some of that form through to the Scotland series.”
“Being without international cricket for a long period has left me with a lot of time to work on things that I wouldn’t have wanted to change if I had upcoming matches. I’ve been working on my bowling action and consistency a lot, and also my game plan with the bat.”
“The part-time retainer contract has also been a welcome opportunity. Having extra coaching contact time with Ed [Joyce] and Glenn [Querl] has really helped me further my game already, and it’ll be great to have some matches to test my skills again.”
“With regard to the Scotland series, I’m expecting some high standard and very close games. The two sides look quite evenly matched, so I’m looking forward to seeing how the series plays out. In relation to my own specific goals, I don’t really have any. Obviously, I’m hoping to take wickets and make some runs, but my main focus is just on helping the team win.”
SQUADS FOR THE SERIES
Ireland Women:
Laura Delany (capt), Ava Canning, Rachel Delaney, Georgina Dempsey, Amy Hunter, Shauna Kavanagh, Gaby Lewis, Jane Maguire, Lara Maritz, Cara Murray, Leah Paul, Orla Prendergast, Celeste Raack, Jenny Sparrow, Rebecca Stokell.
Scotland Women:
Kathryn Bryce (capt), Sarah Bryce, Becky Glen, Lorna Jack, Abbi Aitken-Drummond, Ikra Farooq, Abtaha Maqsood, Samantha Haggo, Katie Mcgill, Priyanaz Chatterji, Ailsa Lister, Katherine Fraser, Ellen Watson, Megan McColl.
SERIES FIXTURES
The fixtures in the Celtic International T20 Challenge Series are:
23 May 2021: Ireland Women v Scotland Women – 1st T20I (Stormont, starting 1pm)
24 May 2021: Ireland Women v Scotland Women – 2nd T20I (Stormont, starting 1pm)
26 May 2021: Ireland Women v Scotland Women – 3rd T20I (Stormont, starting 1pm)
27 May 2021: Ireland Women v Scotland Women – 4th T20I (Stormont, starting 11am)
Cricket Ireland’s match centre will livestream and livescore the matches and capped and controlled crowds are expected at games 2,3 and 4.
