Ireland Women skipper Isobel Joyce decides to step down as captain

Ireland Women skipper Isabel Joyce decides to step down as captain

Following Ireland Women’s exit from the ICC T20 World Cup, skipper Isobel Joyce has decided to step down from the post of captaincy. Joyce finished as the top scorer for her side in this tournament, with 82 runs. Ireland finished their T20 World Cup campaign in a disappointing fashion, losing all their 4 matches. They lost their first game to New Zealand by a mammoth 93 runs, which was followed by a 14 run loss to Sri Lanka. Their exit from the tournament was confirmed in their third game, with another big 67 run loss to South Africa. Ireland finished of their campaign bowing down to Australia. FULL SCORECARD: Australia Women vs Ireland Women, 16th T20 Match, Group A

Joyce, a veteran of 132 caps and captain of 62 matches said, “It’s been an honour and a privilege to captain my country for the last six years. I’ve played cricket for Ireland for over half of my life and while I have not decided when I will call time on my playing career, I feel it’s time to step aside and help a younger leader to learn the role before I do eventually retire,” reports Sky Sports.

“I’m looking forward to focusing on my own cricket for the twilight of my playing career and hopefully helping the team qualify for another 50 over World Cup, 16 years after I played in my first one.”

Ireland Women entered the ICC T20 World Cup 2016 having played qualifying games. They started of their qualifiers with a convincing win over Netherlands by 8 wickets and 49 balls to spare. This was followed by a 28 run win over China. Their third qualifying match saw them beat Zimbabwe convincingly by 7 wickets. In the semi-finals, they thrashed Scotland by 9 wickets to enter the final. In the final, they were made to work hard, which they subsequently won in the last ball by 2 wickets.