Carrie Archer appointed in Ireland's women's selection panel

Cricket Ireland has appointed former Irish player Carrie Archer as the new chair of the women's national selection panel.

Reflecting on her elevation, Archer said that she was honoured to be considered for the position while adding that her immediate goal would be to take the national team up in the world rankings.

"I was extremely honoured to be asked to take on the position of Chair. I have learned a lot through the position of selector about the players and about international cricket and I am keen and willing to continue to learn within the role," Archer said.

"Our immediate goal is to begin the work in moving up the world rankings. To move from 10th to 8th position in the ICC rankings, for instance, would allow us to attract more regular international fixtures and that would be most welcome. As a selection panel, we are committed to improving communication at all levels within the Irish Women's set," she added.

Apart from Archer, four other major appointments have been made by the Irish board into the women's national selection panel.

While Miriam Grealey and Cathy Murphy have also been given places in the panel, Aaron Hamilton and Richard Holdsworth are named head coach and ex-officio member, respectively.

Commenting on their appointments, Performance director at Cricket Ireland Richard Holdsworth praised Archer for her strategic nature before dubbing Cathy Murphy as a 'passionate cricketer'.

"Carrie has been a national selector since 2016 and has proven herself in being an insightful and strategically-minded voice in selection discussions. She has a wealth of knowledge from watching a lot of women's cricket - particularly within the Leinster Women's League, Super 3's and in the international arena. Her ideas have shaped improvements in selection processes, and I'm certain she will do an excellent job chairing the committee and leading the selectors over the coming years," Holdsworth said.

"We have also been fortunate to appoint Cathy Murphy as a new selector to the selector's panel. Cathy is not only a former Ireland Under-21s and senior player, she is currently playing in the Super 3's competition for the Scorchers, giving her a first-hand insight into many current and up-and-coming players. Cathy is passionate about cricket and women's sport in general. She also coaches women's rugby and has a good understanding of high performance within a sporting context. We welcome her on board at an exciting time for women's cricket in Ireland," he concluded.