Ireland captain Gaby Lewis has had a golden summer, with everything she touches seemingly turning to gold. Her outstanding performance in the inaugural Women's One Day Cup final, where she scored 141, led Lancashire to a six-wicket victory over league stage toppers Hampshire.
Hampshire were put to bat first, contributions from captain Georgia Adams (77) and opener Maia Bouchier who scored a rapid 66 from 59 balls saw Hampshire have 300 on the cards until Grace Potts (3-47) took two wickets at the death to restrict Hampshire to the competitive total of 288-6.
In form Lewis, opened the innings and carried the bat scoring 141* (143) in the process taking her team across the finishing line. A chanceless innings from Lewis was a batting clinic that included 16 boundaries. Chasing a big total, she never let the required rate climb beyond control, maintaining her strike rate of 98.60 in the highest-stakes game.
Seren Smale (72) supported Lewis as the pair put up a 144-run partnership for the second-wicket putting Lancashire in a strong position. Scotland batter Ailsa Lister chipped in with 17* off 14 balls as Lancashire chased the total with nine balls to spare.
Coming in clutch for Lancashire, Lewis has scored 225 runs at an average of 112.5 at a strike rate of 107.14 in the last three innings. The star came in for the last five games of the season with her impact changing the course of Lancashire's season.
With Lancashire lifting the One Day Cup title, Lewis capped off a stellar summer, which began with captaining Ireland to a historic home series wins against Zimbabwe 5-0 (2 ODI and 3 T20I) where she was Player of the Series, followed by beating Pakistan 2-1 in T20I series. Ireland then went on to win all six games in the ICC Women’s World Cup European Qualifier and secured their spot in the Global Qualifier.
This victory sees Lancashire Women win the double as the side won the T20 Women’s County Cup earlier this year too.
