Gaby Lewis paving the way for Irish women cricketers in England

You wouldn't think that there is much that can faze someone who first played international sport at the age of 13. That wasn't the case when Irish cricketer Gaby Lewis, now 20, received a phone call from Charlotte Edwards, formerly of England and one of the game's icons.

Edwards, head coach of the Southern Brave franchise in English cricket’s newest tournament The Hundred, wanted Lewis to be a replacement overseas signing for a run to the final at Lord’s.

“I was in such shock, literally shaking,” she admits. “I know that I had put my name out there but deep down I wasn’t very confident (of being picked up).

“I couldn’t have asked for a better group to come into, especially so late in the tournament. I would have loved to have scored more runs but I did as much as I could to contribute to the team.

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“Fingers crossed it’s not my last chance. Hopefully I won’t be the last Irish person to have that opportunity.”

Maybe not the last, but the first Irish player to have such a prominent role on England's domestic scene turned plenty of heads. So much so that Edwards took Lewis with her to the other English domestic side she coaches, the Southern Vipers. Lewis became part of the group that won the Rachel Heyhoe Flint trophy.

Ireland's recent history with players going abroad for opportunities is tricky. The most recent example is Kim Garth, the all-rounder who forged a professional pathway in Australia. She decided to forego playing for her country so she could be considered a local player down under, a status that makes contract opportunities easier to come by given restrictions on overseas signings.

The fact that the next big name Irish player to secure a contract abroad has done so while continuing her career in green should not be understated. Even still, Lewis doesn’t necessarily see herself as a role model.

“I probably don’t think of it like that but if I do influence other people and make it seem possible to do what I’ve done then that’s brilliant. We wouldn’t want key players leaving, we want Irish cricket to be taken to the next level,” she explains.

“My main focus is what I enjoy the most which is playing for my country with a great group of girls. There might be more franchise cricket opportunities and there’s no reason why we can’t do that but still play for our country.”

Playing for Ireland didn't always act as a barrier to opportunities abroad. Irish players used to count as 'local' in England, meaning they didn't take up valuable overseas slots.

Once full test status was achieved in 2017 on the back of a campaign driven largely by the World Cup successes of the men's side, the 'local' status no longer applied. They now compete with players from the likes of Australia, New Zealand, India and the West Indies - countries where the game is better developed - for overseas contracts.

The issue concerns the Irish men and women, but the latter don’t play test cricket. Their already limited opportunities abroad have been hampered further by a development that doesn’t affect them, at least on the playing side of things.

A solution that makes Irish women exempt from overseas status certainly would help. These overseas slots will become even harder to find post-pandemic when more international players can travel and compete for places.

“I know how much test matches mean, but I don’t see us (Ireland women) playing any anytime soon,” says Lewis.

“I think that (an exemption) would be huge, I don’t know how it works or if they can exclude the women from overseas status but it does put us in an awkward position. I would love for us to not be in that situation but I don’t really know the ins and outs of how that could be done.”

Lewis was speaking from Harare, where Ireland are preparing for a four-game One Day International series against Zimbabwe (starting on Tuesday morning, the games are being streamed on Zimbabwe Cricket's YouTube channel). It is Ireland's first ODI since 2018, a break induced both by the pandemic and a focus on T20.

This winter’s World Cup qualifier tournament - which also takes place in Zimbabwe - necessitates a return to 50 over action. After this series, Ireland will return to Zimbabwe hoping to secure both World Cup qualification and a spot in the next cycle of the ICC Women’s Championship, a tournament that brings with it more games, funding, exposure - all the usual suspects that the sport needs to grow.