Gaby Lewis saw her hopes of ending the South Africa tour on a high all but disappear in the space of seven balls in Johannesburg on Friday night as Ireland threw away a promising start to lose the final one-day international by six wickets. The Ireland captain did her best, winning the toss and following through with a 55-ball half-century, but from a promising 116-1 at the halfway stage of their innings, the Girls in Green subsided to a disappointing 205 all out. Aimee Maguire and Arlene Kelly shared the four wickets to fall while Christina Coulter Reilly proved her worth as deputy wicketkeeper with two catches and a stumping. To make matters worse, former skipper Laura Delany fell for nought in the same over, and after Orla Prendergast and Leah Paul had repaired some of the damage the last five Ireland wickets fell for the addition of only 13 runs. While the Girls in Green lost all five tour matches, the trip will be seen as beneficial with invaluable experience gained ahead of the T20 World Cup qualifiers that get underway in Nepal next month.

Source: Irish Independent December 19, 2025 20:19 UTC