Laura Delany injury blow for Ireland ahead of Sri Lanka

Ireland will be without captain Laura Delany for the three-match one-day international series against Sri Lanka in Belfast as one of two injury blows for the side.

The historic first-ever win against Sri Lanka on Tuesday in Dublin was tempered slightly by the knowledge that an injury to Delany meant the home side would be without its long-time leader and most-experienced player for the all-important ICC Women's Championship matches.

Delany rolled her ankle in the field on Tuesday sustaining suspected ligament damage. She underwent scans today and has been ruled out of the three ODIs.

Coming into the squad as replacement is Jane Maguire, while Gaby Lewis will step into the captaincy with Orla Prendergast interim vice-captain.

The second withdrawal is confirmation that an injury sustained by Una Raymond-Hoey in the first match of the T20I series, a low-grade muscle tear, will also keep her out of the ODI series with Sarah Forbes remaining with the squad as cover.

Ireland head coach Ed Joyce said: "It’s a blow whenever you lose a member of your squad to injury, but to lose the captain – our most experienced player – has required a fundamental rethink of our tactics. Gaby has led before in Laura’s absence. She is an excellent leader so I’m very comfortable with her stepping in to lead for the ODI series.

"Jane Maguire comes into the ODI squad after performing well with the ball during the T20Is. She was unlucky not to make the original squad, but that is possibly a good sign for Ireland as it demonstrates the depth of talent that we are developing here and that competition for places is pushing up our standards."

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