The Irish national women's team makes its debut in men's club competition on Saturday April 27. The women will be playing nine matches in the Leinster Men's Intermediate A League - effectively a fifth-grade club competition - and will take on the Clontarf fourth XI at Castle Avenue, Dublin in the opening game.
The strategy of entering the women's team into men's competition is seen as hopefully improving their game at the fifty-overs-a-side international level through more match practice and greater experience at a different level. The women will play each other team in the competition once, their last game in the league coming on June 9.
The Irish women's league season opens with two games this weekend. As well as the Clontarf encounter on Saturday, they take on the YMCA fourth XI at Claremont Road on Sunday. Both matches start at 1.30pm.
The Irish Cricket Union Women's XI (to give its correct title in the Leinster men's competition) for Saturday's game is: Anne Linehan (Downpatrick, capt), Miriam Grealey (YMCA, vc), Catriona Beggs (Malahide), Tracey Fleming (The Hills), Marianne Herbert (Malahide), Clare O'Leary (YMCA), Catherine O'Neill (Rush), Barbara McDonald (Malahide), Ciara Metcalfe (Malahide), Laura Morgan (Malahide), Karen Young (YMCA), Suzanne Kenealy (Leinster, 12th). For Sunday's game, Kenealy, Ellis McGrath (Leinster) and Davina Pratt (Malahide) come into the eleven in place of Fleming, Herbert and Morgan, the latter of whom will be twelfth man.
Ireland are scheduled to play three one-day internationals against New Zealand at the beginning of July, with the possibility of some games against India also pencilled in. They will also host the inaugural European Under-21 Women's Championships in Dublin in early August.
Further information:
Leinster Intermediate A fixture list (LCU site)