Ireland U19 women's skipper Amy Hunter opens up on significance of U19 World Cup

The Ireland Under-19s Women’s squad leaves for a preparation camp in South Africa on Sunday in advance of their participation in the inaugural ICC Women’s Under-19 World Cup - captain Amy Hunter was speaking after the final training session at North County prior to departure.

Hunter, 17, who has 24 caps already for the senior Ireland Women’s squad, was recently named captain of the Ireland Under-19s squad. She said:

“I was pretty honoured to be asked to captain the side by Glenn [Querl]. I am excited by the prospect and am glad Glenn is backing me with the captaincy.”

About the squad’s preparation, Hunter said:

“We’re here at North County today having a final training session before we head off to South Africa on Sunday. Since mid-September we’ve been able to have a number of national weekends. The squad have also had a few fitness tests, so we’ve luckily been able to have a lot of preparation. 

We now fly to Johannesburg on Sunday and have a week-long prep camp. We’ll play a few warm-up games then before getting into the competition itself.”

About the importance of an Under-19 World Cup, she said:

“It’s an important opportunity as it bridges the gap between underage cricket and senior international cricket – it gives the players the chance to perform on the world stage and gives them a chance to better understand what international cricket and world cups are all about.”

Ireland Under-19s Women’s squad:

Amy Hunter - captain (Instonians/Malahide), Siúin Wood – vice captain (YMCA), Zara Craig (Eglinton), Georgina Dempsey (YMCA), Rebecca Gough (The Hills), Abbi Harrison (Waringstown), Jennifer Jackson (Eglinton), Joanna Loughran (Leinster), Niamh MacNulty (Merrion), Aimee Maguire (The Hills), Kia McCartney (Coleraine), Ellie McGee (Rush), Julie McNally (Clontarf), Freya Sargent (Clontarf), Annabel Squires (Merrion)

Non-travelling reserves: Aoife Fisher (CSNI), Alice Walsh (Clontarf)

Coach and support staff for the tournament:

Glenn Querl (Head Coach), Aideen McGuinness (Team Operations Manager), Jay Shelat (Performance Analyst), Julia Webster (Physiotherapist), Robyn Lewis (Assistant Coach), Alison Cowan (Team Doctor).

The Tournament

The 16-team tournament will be held between 7 January and 24 January 2023 (it was originally scheduled for 2021, however the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the event twice).

The 16 teams are divided into groups of four as below:

 Group A: Australia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and USA
Group B: England, Pakistan, Rwanda and Zimbabwe
Group C: Indonesia, Ireland, New Zealand and West Indies
Group D: India, Scotland, South Africa and the UAE

The top three teams from each group will progress to the Super Six round, where teams will be pooled in two groups of six. Group 1 will comprise the three teams each from Groups A and D, while Group 2 will have three teams each from Groups B and C. The top two teams from each group will progress to the semi-finals, which will both be played on 27 January. The final will take place at the same venue on 29 January.

Ireland Under-19 Women’s fixtures

9 January: Ireland Under-19s v Pakistan Under-19s (Tuks Oval, Pretoria)

11 January: Ireland Under-19s v Rwanda Under-19s (Hammanskraal Cricket Club, Gauteng)
 

Ireland Under-19s Group Stage fixtures:

 15 January: Ireland Under-19s v West Indies Under-19s (North West University Oval, Potchefstroom)
17 January: Ireland Under-19s v New Zealand Under-19s (JB Marks Oval, Potchefstroom)
19 January: Ireland Under-19s v Indonesia Under-19s (JB Marks Oval, Potchefstroom)
 

The squad will depart on 1 January for a preparation camp at the University of Pretoria (during this week they will play unofficial warm-up fixtures against Zimbabwe and the UAE).