The Irish captain has etched her name in the history books as she becomes the most capped (185*) Irish women’s player ever. Laura Delany, captain of Ireland, made her 185th appearance for the team on 16th August against the Netherlands in an away bilateral series. She overtook wicket-keeper batter Mary Waldron, who recently retired.
Laura made her debut for the Irish side in 2010 against New Zealand. On her debut match, Laura was dismissed for a 3-ball duck. But she proved the critics wrong in her second match itself as she scored 43 against England 3 days later. She was the top scorer for the Irish women in that match.
Till now, Laura has scored a total of 2022 runs while also picking 83 wickets. Laura got the captaincy in 2016 at the age of 24 years, after the then-captain Isobel Joyce stepped down from the role. In 2021, Laura broke the record of Isobel for captaining the Irish side for the most number of matches.
Laura has one international hundred to her name, which she scored against the Netherlands in 2022. Along with it, she has notched up 4 international fifties across limited overs format, while also getting multiple 3-fers.
Laura has been an integral part of the team ever since she made her debut. The Irish team has shown lots of promise under the leadership of Laura, as they have been continuously improving their performances. In 2022, the Irish side defeated Pakistan in a 3-match T20I series away from home.
The next nearest possible competitor for Laura in terms of appearances is Gaby Lewis (127), who is still 58 matches behind. She made her international debut at the age of just 13 years. The 22-year-old still has time on her hands to eclipse captain Laura Delany.
Mary Waldron (184) who retired last month is second in terms of most appearances is Mary Waldron. When she retired, she was the most capped player, but Laura overtook her. Former opener Clare Shillington is third with 179 appearances. Twin sisters Isobel (167) and Cecilia Joyce (133) are 4th and 5th respectively.
The Irish side are currently facing the Netherlands in a 3-match T20I series. They won the 1st match with rather ease, as they chased a paltry target of 96 from just 13.1 overs without losing a single wicket. Arlene Kelly was the player of the match as she took 5 wickets while conceding just 12 runs.
Ireland will play their last match of the series on 17th August, hoping to clinch the series.