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Ed Joyce to take interim charge of Ireland Women’s cricket team

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DUBLIN – Cricket Ireland has announced that Irish cricket legend Ed Joyce has been appointed as the interim Head Coach of the Ireland Women’s cricket team through to the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier in August/September.
Joyce, 40, has been involved in the international coaching set-up with the Irish men’s, women’s and performance pathway teams since he announced his international retirement in May 2018.

Following the departure of Aaron Hamilton from the role, he will today take his first training session with the squad at the Cricket Ireland High Performance Centre in Dublin.

Joyce said:

“I’m excited by the talent and potential of this young squad – there were some extremely encouraging performances from several players during the West Indies series and this bodes well leading into potentially more important games later in the summer.”

“It’s a great opportunity for me to further my journey in coaching, albeit on an interim basis until the end of the T20 World Cup qualifier. I have been coaching some of the top order batters on a 1-on-1 basis, as well as joining squad sessions in the lead-up to the West Indies series that just finished. On a personal note, I enjoyed working with Aaron during the last few months and wish him and his family well with the next step.”

“The initial period for me now is getting to know the further squad and helping the team prepare for a tough six-match series against Zimbabwe in July. This series, combined with the quadrangular series in August, is ideal preparation leading into the T20 Qualifier which is undoubtedly our biggest and most important test this summer.”

Richard Holdsworth, Performance Director for Cricket Ireland, said:

“Ed needs no introduction to Irish fans, and he has been working hard behind-the-scenes on coaching within the Cricket Ireland senior structure since May last year. When the need for an interim Head Coach arose, it was great to have such a world-class cricketer and budding international coach available to call upon, and we had no hesitation in approaching him about the opportunity.”

“2019 has been a big year for women’s cricket in Ireland, with some key fixtures ahead that culminate in the T20 World Cup Qualifier. It was crucial for our team’s success that we acted quickly on this interim appointment to ensure the new Head Coach had as much time to work with the squad as possible.”