IRE-W vs SA-W | 1st ODI | Match Preview | Spotlight: Gaby Lewis

As the saying goes, 'Age is just a number'. Nevertheless, some players deliver impressive performances, do well for their respective teams, and earn recognition early. 

Today the Spotlight is on the talented top-order batter and captain of the Ireland women's team, Gaby Lewis.

At 13 years and 166 days, Lewis emerged as the first international cricketer born in the 21st century when she made her T20I debut against the South Africa Women's team in September 2014. 

In the 2018 edition of ICC Women's World Twenty20 Qualifier, she garnered 95 runs in five innings and thus helped Ireland to emerge as a runner-up. 

For her contribution of 330 runs and five wickets in 16 appearances in 2018, Lewis was one of the breakout stars of ICC. 

In the 2021 edition of ICC Women's T20 World Cup Europe Qualifier, the 21-year-old became the first player from Ireland women to hit a century in any format. 

In the later part of 2021, the talented batter achieved her career-best WODI score of 96 against Zimbabwe Women. 

In the absence of Laura Delany, Lewis became the youngest player ever to lead the Ireland women's team in June 2022 against South Africa. In this pursuit, she became the first daughter of an Ireland cricket skipper (Alan Lewis) to follow the same path. 

In the first fixture of this series, the right-handed batter passed the milestone of 1000 WT20I runs and soon crossed Clare Shillington in terms of run-tally to become the highest-ever run-scorer for the Ireland team in the shortest format. 

In the T20I series, Lewis amassed 112 runs in three innings and returned as the best batter. 

Witness her performance in the 1st ODI for Ireland Women against South Africa at Women Castle Avenue, Dublin. A total of three 50-over matches have been scheduled on this tour. 

Squads

South Africa: Anneke Bosch, Tazmin Brits, Trisha Chetty, Nadine de Klerk, Lara Goodall, Shabnim Ismail, Ayabonga Khaka, Sune Luus (captain), Nonkululeko Mlaba, Raisibe Ntozakhe, Tumi Sekhukhune, Andrie Steyn, Chloe Tryon, Delmi Tucker, Laura Wolvaardt

Ireland: Gaby Lewis (captain), Alana Dalzell, Rachel Delaney, Georgina Dempsey, Sarah Forbes, Shauna Kavanagh, Arlene Kelly, Sophie MacMahon, Jane Maguire, Kate McEvoy, Cara Murray, Leah Paul, Celeste Raack, Mary Waldron