Why did Ireland replace Laura Delany?
Why did Ireland replace Laura Delany?
Ireland's captain for the previous eight years has been replaced by Gaby Lewis ahead of the winter touring schedule
Every now and then in this profession, a cursory glance at your phone can cause something approaching shock.
As unsolicited WhatsApps go, Monday night’s message will rank highly in the career annals. “Why is Laura Delany stepping down as captain?”
Come again?
Cue a frantic check of Cricket Ireland’s social media channels. Some of their press releases have recently gotten lost on the way to my email. Could I really have missed such a big story?
No. News this big wouldn’t be officially announced at 7pm on a Monday. The WhatsApp acquaintance is simply better connected and had an inside scoop. Time to find a second source.
“Sorry Natho, haven’t heard!”
Damn. Who’s next?
“Yes is the answer.”
Just like that, one of the biggest changes that can be made to this team - short of replacing the head coach - was confirmed.
The next day, the email pinged, the CI media WhatsApp buzzed and the social channels were alive. Official word. After eight years and 125 matches in charge, Delany is no longer captain.
This wasn’t a case of a player in her 30s making a decision to step away after a lengthy stint. This was a call made by higher up figures before being communicated to Delany. More cynical folks than I would say she has been sacked.
Three days ago, Ireland’s now former captain Instagrammed a montage of pictures in Vietnam. Everyone hates going back to work after a holiday, but this is one heck of a crash landing back into the day job. The harsh realities of elite sport and all that.
To be fair to Cricket Ireland, they danced around the issue as well as they could. They didn’t say she was sacked, but they also didn’t pretend Delany was voluntarily making way for younger blood. “Gaby Lewis was today confirmed as Ireland Women’s new permanent captain, replacing Laura Delany.”
The language is clear, “replace” being the key word.
It was telling that Delany wasn’t quoted in the announcement. A copy would have been sent to her in advance, along with the opportunity to contribute. Cricket Ireland was asked would she like to speak to media, given how important a figure she was. This opportunity was turned down. Either CI didn’t want her to speak or, given the move was only made towards the end of last week, more time is needed to adjust.
Decisions this significant are not made overnight. Delany missed plenty of Ireland matches this summer with an ankle injury. Lewis and even Orla Prendergast for a short stint captained the side to victories over Sri Lanka and England. A glimpse into the future was offered.
Head coach Ed Joyce, assistant Glen Querl, selector Ciara O’Brien and quite possibly both of Ireland’s new high performance head honchos, Richard Holdsworth and Graeme West, would have been involved in this decision. Given his influence on this team over the previous five years, Joyce’s voice would held the most weight. Ireland’s coach feels that Lewis is better placed to take the side forward than Delany.
But why now? It’s not often you see change come after a period of success. Sport is all too used to sackings or resignations in the midst of bitter lows. It’s only just over a year ago that Andrew Balbirnie stepped away from the men’s captaincy after a disappointing ODI World Cup qualifier.
By contrast, the women’s side is a significant success story. They won an ODI series against Sri Lanka. They beat England in a 50-over game for the first time since 2001, and for the first time ever in T20s.
The official reason is that, with Lewis seen as a better fit going forward, she now has further time to bed into the role with tours to Bangladesh and India this winter preceding an ODI World Cup qualifier.
The unofficial reason is not vastly different. Eight years is a long time for any one individual to be in charge. Captaincy is a heavy burden for a player. It is natural for any side to undergo transition. Perhaps it is better to do so when in a position of strength on the back of some good form. No further reasons have been given as to why Lewis is seen as a better fit, be it tactical nous, communication skills, relationships with players etc.
At the 2023 World Cup, Delany acknowledged a failure to check the DLS when batting against India, a game which was rained out with Ireland only five runs behind the adjusted target. Lewis was batting with her at the time, so both were at fault. That won’t have been the main reason behind the captaincy decision. Perhaps there have been further lapses in judgement; there has to be a reason why Lewis is seen as a better leader now. Both Delany and Lewis are steadfast in their beliefs. Do those of the latter square up with the coaching staff better than the former?
Both publicly and privately, everyone is keen to stress the impact Delany had. She will always be the captain who led this side into professionalism, who oversaw the mentoring of a young group of players to the point where they can now dream of ODI World Cup qualification. She was a good face of the franchise, able to handle the growing external fan and media attention as this group achieved greater success. Despite being injured, she was one of two players who appeared on breakfast television in the run-up to Virgin Media broadcasting the England T20s.
Sackings - if you want to call it such - are not easy. They tried to do this in the best way possible. Even still, welcoming someone back from a holiday with the boot, no matter how well thought out, seems a needlessly poor piece of ‘man’ management.
As for Lewis, the hope is that the slightly uncomfortable nature of replacing a figure she has looked up to doesn’t tarnish what was a momentous day. After her father, Alan, she becomes the second member of the family to be the full-time captain of the country. This would have been a proud day in the Lewis household.
Despite being only 23, she is an experienced operator having debuted at 13. By all accounts, she has an astute cricket brain and is a strong leader. She has already captained Ireland 12 times. Somewhat inevitably, she has room to grow. England stand-in captain Kate Cross said that a field Lewis set allowed her to get off strike and alleviate some pressure in that England series. Kinks in her captaincy can be ironed out over the course of the winter.
Once the shock passes, the logic behind this move emerges. Perhaps Ireland could have continued with Delany until the qualifiers next year. If they navigate those successfully, they couldn’t then replace her with the World Cup still to come. Would a move late next year have left Lewis enough time to settle ahead of a 2026 T20 World Cup qualification process? It’s better to make this decision too early rather than too late. There is never a good time to demote a key figure.
We now know who will captain Ireland in the medium to long term. The next question is who will coach them? When speaking for a recent Cricinfo interview, Joyce said that his contract is up in February. Next year’s qualifiers are likely to be after that. It seems inconceivable that Ireland will go into those games with a new boss. Even more so that they would change their coach so soon after he had a major influence in appointing a new captain.
Time will tell. Evolution is necessary. This Ireland coaching staff has shown they are not afraid of big decisions. More may well be on the way.