Dalzell named in Ireland Women's squad for ICC Emerging Nations Trophy
The 14-player squad will compete in the UAE between November 12 to 25, with Alana Dalzell one of three North West cricketers included in the squad.
BREADY Cricket Club's Alana Dalzell has been named in Ireland Women’s 14-player squad for the upcoming ICC Emerging Nations Trophy tournament.
She is one of three North West cricketers included in the squad, with Eglinton all-rounder Zara Craig earning her first senior international call-up and Coleraine's Kia McCartney also named.
A spokesperson for the North West Cricket Union (NWCU) said: "Massive congratulations and best of luck to our local stars.
"Huge pride across the North West as the Ireland Women’s squad is announced for the upcoming ICC Women’s Emerging Nations Trophy in the UAE.
"A massive shoutout to our brilliant local cricketers heading out to represent their country: Alana Dalzell (Bready CC), Kia McCartney (Coleraine CC) and Zara Craig (Eglinton CC).
"A particularly special mention to Zara Craig and Kia McCartney, who are both in line to make their senior international T20I debuts on this tour—an incredible milestone and thoroughly deserved.
"The girls are heading out to Ajman to take on Sri Lanka, UAE, PNG, and Scotland starting November 12.
"We are all behind you every step of the way. Go smash it, girls!"
The 10-team tournament will be played in the UAE between November 12 to 25, with the squad flying out on Sunday.
This is the first year of the newly-expanded Emerging Nations Trophy.
The previous iteration – won by Thailand – involved Associate teams only, however, the new format now sees five Full Members and five Associates competing.
The teams are:
Group A: Ireland, Papua New Guinea, Sri Lanka, Scotland and UAE
Group B: Pakistan, Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, Netherlands and Thailand
Gaby Lewis will lead the squad, with Amy Hunter taking on the vice-captaincy in Orla Prendergast’s absence. Prendergast has been granted approval to miss the tournament to be able to play in the Women’s Big Bash League in Australia.
Also missing from the squad are Rebecca Stokell (see here), Leah Paul, who has made herself unavailable for this tournament, and Christina Coulter Reilly, who has an injury.
Coming into the squad are Zara Craig, who plays for Eglinton and Phoenix and Abbi Harrison (Waringstown) who are both in line to make their international debuts, if selected:
In addition, receiving an international recall is Lara Maritz. The 25-year old Irish international all-rounder has 43 caps to date, making her debut in 2017 and last playing for her country in 2021.
Coleraine's Kia McCartney is also uncapped in T20I cricket, however, has five ODI caps for her country.
Graeme West, director of High Performance at Cricket Ireland, said: "With no International cricket scheduled until March next year, the timing of the Emerging Nations Trophy provides our Performance Squad with the perfect opportunity to put the learning from the training programmes that have taken place over the last six weeks into high level competition.
"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.
“We have a few notable absentees from the squad we took to the T20 World Cup in June, but such absences provide opportunities for players that are progressing through the High Performance Pathway to showcase their talent and strengthen our pool of players capable of consistently producing impactful performances in international cricket."
Squad: Gaby Lewis (c), Amy Hunter (vc), Zara Craig, Alana Dalzell, Laura Delany, Georgina Dempsey, Abbi Harrison, Louise Little, Aimee Maguire, Jane Maguire, Lara Maritz, Lara McBride, Kia McCartney and Cara Murray.
Fixtures
Group stage:
November 12: Ireland Women v Sri Lanka – T20I (9am start, UAE – 5am Irish time)
November 13: Ireland Women v UAE – T20I (1.15pm start, UAE – 9.15am Irish time)
November 16: Ireland Women v PNG – T20I (1.15pm start, UAE – 9.15am Irish time)
November 18: Ireland Women v Scotland – T20I (9am start, UAE – 5am Irish time)
The finals stage:
November 20: Super Sixes
November 22: Super Sixes
November 23: Super Sixes
November 25: Final