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| Gaby Lewis celebrates her half-century (Ireland Women's Cricket/ Twitter) |
Ireland, Ireland
Together standing tall
Shoulder to shoulder,
We’ll answer Ireland’s call!
As “Ireland’s Call” blared through the speakers of the Pembroke Cricket Club in Dublin ahead of Ireland’s first T20I against South Africa, one could see the pride on stand-in skipper Gaby Lewis’ face. She stood at the front of the team line, arm-in-arm with her companions, proudly belting out the lyrics.
At 21 years and 68 days she was the youngest player to ever captain Ireland and also the first daughter of a former Ireland skipper to claim the armband. (Her father, Alan Lewis led the Ireland men’s team 35 times). This was the moment she was born for!
If there were nerves around her captaincy debut, Lewis never showed them – not at the pre-series press conference and not once during the actual game. She went about her business, smashing the bowlers around the park and directing her troops in the field, with a purpose, presence and poise beyond her years. It was hard to believe this was her first game in charge.
Having lost her first toss as skipper and being sent in to bat, Lewis began her day with a reverse sweep off the bowling of Nonkululeko Mlaba. Although she didn’t get a run, the stroke was an indication of her confidence levels and the mindset she was in: there would be no poking and prodding, she meant to take the game on.
Lewis’ first runs came via a cracking pull shot that was barely hauled in by Anneke Bosch at deep square leg. She collected a boundary playing the same stroke a couple of deliveries later and the signs were ominous.
Nadine de Klerk was the only bowler to really trouble the right-hander – she got her to edge a delivery that flew between ‘keeper and slip, and then had her feeling for the ball outside the off-stump. Yet, Lewis remained unperturbed. As South Africa oohed and aahed, she stood her ground and shadow batted – taking a strong stride forward, closer to the previous ball, and watched as her bat flowed straight through the imaginary line, visualising herself creaming a drive through the off-side. An over later, she unveiled that same shot against Shabnim Ismail – caressing the ball on top of the bounce and watching it fly past cover for a boundary.
Our first boundary 👊
— Ireland Women’s Cricket (@IrishWomensCric) June 3, 2022
Gaby Lewis hits the final ball of the first over for four 👏@hanleyenergy | #IREvSA | #BackingGreen
Stream: https://t.co/uPhHBiabCy
Scorecard: https://t.co/P3PWl7Zpft pic.twitter.com/L5nFPKQNpg
While Lewis’ power came to the fore against the quicks – she dispatched them down the ground when they erred full, and pummelled the square boundaries when they dropped short – she showed her versatility and awareness against the spinners, pulling out the lap sweep against Mlaba and Chloe Tryon to expose the vacant fine-leg region.
When her opening partner Leah Paul scratched around in search of runs, Lewis had a quiet word with her from the non-striker’s end. She walked down the track, patted down the pitch, looked towards Paul, muttered a few words and nodded purposefully. She repeated the drill almost every ball. She was a woman on a mission.
There was a real presence around Lewis at the crease – she was clearly unconcerned by the reputation of her opponents. Between balls, as Sune Luus frantically adjusted the field and passed instructions to her bowlers, the Irish captain stood nonchalantly, her bat clutched in her right hand resting on her shoulder, her left hand placed on her hip, and her eyes, calmly surveying the field. She towered over those around her, literally and figuratively.
Lewis raced to her seventh T20I half-century in just 36 balls with a punch to deep extra cover off the bowling of Luus and, in the process, became the second-youngest woman (after Jemimah Rodrigues) to score 1000 T20I runs. It was an innings of real class: one in which she never really gave the opposition a sniff.
She raised her bat in celebration – once towards the dressing room and once towards the crowd that had gathered – and was warmly embraced by an elated Paul. There was no fist pump. No jump or leap in the air. She was as poised as ever, nodding in the direction of her teammates before handing out more instructions to Paul. She had only laid a platform; there was plenty more to achieve.
Maybe it helped that South Africa took a while to get used to the sluggish conditions. Maybe it helped that they refused to use too many changes of pace and often strayed short. Maybe it helped that they had only just reached the country and looked a tad flat in the field. Either way, throughout her time in the middle, Lewis made their attack look worse than it often was, highlighting her quality as one of the leading young batters in the world – something her former teammate Kim Garth emphatically declared in the commentary box at the start of the day.
Unfortunately, soon after reaching her milestone, the Ireland captain was run out by Tazmin Brits when trying to steal a second run. She walked back to the pavilion having scored 52 off just 38 deliveries, with the hosts sitting pretty on 98 in the 13th over. However, they were unable to build on that rapid start, eventually stuttering their way to 143 for 7.
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| Leah Paul (L) and Gaby Lewis shared a 98-run opening stand. (Ireland Women's Cricket/ Twitter) |
When Ireland took the field, Lewis’ confidence with the bat seemed to flow into her captaincy as well. After a short conference with wicket-keeper Mary Waldron, she handed off-spinner Rachel Delaney the new ball hoping to prize out an early wicket. What resulted was a first ball duck for Lara Goodall. Ireland celebrated wildly. Lewis came charging in from mid-wicket, leaping over the pitch to high-five Delaney, and in the process, knocked her down with the momentum. The pair spent a few seconds on the ground, laughing. It was the only time through the day that one could tell how young Lewis really was.
Through the game, Lewis constantly consulted with Waldron between overs. She’d then adjust her field, before heading off to cover, mid-wicket or the straight boundary. She knew what she was doing, but possibly needed some reassurance.
As Ireland chipped away at the wickets, the belief within the team continued to build. When Arlene Kelly cut short Brits’ onslaught with a sharp caught and bowled, they came bounding in to congratulate the debutante. When Laura Wolvaardt was dismissed by Cara Murray, they screamed and punched the air, sensing an opening. When Celeste Raack saw the back of Bosch just when she appeared to have found her range, they pumped their fists and embraced enthusiastically. And finally, when Tryon and Luus fell in quick succession, it was almost as if they knew they were well in control of proceedings – high-fives will suffice, thank you!
That is not to say that it was all plain sailing for Ireland – there were plenty of moments when they were put under pressure.
When Brits took to Kelly and Tryon pounded Dempsey around the ground, Lewis approached her bowlers calmly and had a quiet word. There was no animated arm flailing, no obvious expression on her face. Her actions simply seemed to slow down proceedings, and give the bowlers time to breathe; time to think; time to re-focus. Those were the moments when Lewis’ leadership abilities shone brightest.
As Jane Maguire closed out a historic 10-run win for Ireland, the group raced in to the middle. In the midst of that sea of shamrock green stood Lewis – arms spread wide and a mighty grin across her face. She was happy, but remained poised. She didn’t run about madly celebrating what was a momentous occasion. Instead, 21-year-old Gaby Lewis soaked in the moment, embraced each one of her teammates, sharing an especially long hug with Paul, before heading off to shake hands with the South Africans…
This was her day to savour. She had answered Ireland’s call.
Ireland, Ireland
Together standing tall
Shoulder to shoulder,
We’ll answer Ireland’s call!
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