Ireland left to ponder under Table Mountain

Dave Sihra (Substack - Dave Meets Ball)

In Game One of the T20I series, Ireland found life very difficult against the T20 World Cup finalists but will need to keep focused with an eye on the Global T20 qualifier in Nepal early next year.

South Africa 220-2 (L Wolvaardt 115*; A Canning 1-33). Ireland  115  (18 overs; L Paul 34; S Luus 4-22). South Africa won by 105 runs

We finally had it: Aimee Maguire’s return to an Ireland Playing XI since being cleared to resume bowling in international cricket. She’s been a part of the playing group since, but Cara Murray and Lara McBride have been the go-to spinners. 

Picking Maguire for this tour was a big part of her return before the qualifiers in Nepal. But playing her in the opening game was obviously a big confidence call from head coach Lloyd Tennant.

However you’d have to say any teenager who can come through all of this must have decent reserves of moxy.

The process has been so quick that we haven’t really seen too much of Aimee Maguire 2.0. She’d played club cricket and some Super Series matches but as a batter.

There were snippets of her net bowling on social media but the first look was during a Ireland Under-19s tour during the summer as well as a domestic emerging series at Oak Hill.

Under the circumstances against a strong South Africa side, the Hills’ spinner started very well today - almost opening her account in her opening over. There was also some great flight which occasionally confused batters when they used their feet.

Major credit must really go to the bowler as well as Ireland Women’s spin coach James Cameron-Dow to get to this point.

It seems strange to mention growth spurts in international cricket, but the left arm spinner also looks slightly taller since her last international which could aid that strength at the point of delivery.

If the selection of Aimee was a bold move, it was especially so picking her alongside Lara McBride who is on her first tour with the senior side.

It was tough day out for the young right arm off-spinner (0-40 from 3 overs) but she’s been backed by Tennant and rewarded that faith with some good performances during the summer.

For Game Two in Paarl you could look at bringing in Arlene Kelly for McBride for an extra seam option. Or rotate your spinners with Cara Murray accompanying Aimee Maguire.

Either way, you might want some extra experience to bolster the attack against such a strong South African line up.

In total, Game One was a very challenging day with bat and ball for the visitors. There was an early wicket for Jane Maguire with a wide delivery that got extra bounce and found the outside edge. But then Ireland found themselves up against a rampant Laura Wolvaardt (115) and Sune Luus (81) on a very good batting wicket.

Notably it was the first time Ireland Women have conceded 200 in a T20I and also South Africa Women’s highest ever score in the format.

Luus then came on in the first over with her off-spin and took 2-5 to send back both Amy Hunter and Orla Prendergast. From there Ireland really struggled to mount a credible challenge with such a formidable total up ahead of them.

Another notable omission was of course Rebecca Stokell who perhaps could have helped Ireland put on a better display with the bat, however it was those very early wickets that really hurt Ireland.

The visitors were obviously coming up against the ODI and T20I World Cup runners-up in their home conditions. A tough day out. But you want tours like this, especially with the ODI Championship fixtures at the end.

Ireland of course have had a very good summer in T20I cricket. There was an historic series win against Pakistan, the series win Zimbabwe but also a very solid showing at the European regional qualifier.

The group just need to be in a good place coming out of this series with their plans ready to go for the Global qualifier in Nepal. Improvements in accuracy and ground fielding could help to see where they really are against a side like South Africa.

Ireland played their last match against Italy on August 27th, and their series against Pakistan finished on August 10th. So rustiness could be an element.
If the case, the visitors will need to get up to speed quickly with lots to ponder before Nepal.

This article was originally published on Dave Sihra’s Substack: Dave Meets Ball