A total of 18 have been named in the senior ranks, while no fewer than 21 have been named in the A squad.
Speaking at the announcement of both squads, Ireland coach Paul Delany reflected on the season just past, and spoke of exciting plans being put in place for both the winter and the 2010 season.
On the field of play in 2009 the Senior side won the European 50 and 20 over championships, and the local Leinster league in which they participated, while the Under 17's were also victorious in Europe competition. The Development XI also enjoyed a successful debut in the ECB County Championships, winning their division.
"We did enjoy a lot of success on the field, winning the competitions you mention, but we also took part in a tri series with Pakistan and Nottinghamshire, who were late replacements for South Africa. We beat Pakistan convincingly in a T20 but then lost in the One Day International when well positioned. I think we showed a little bit of inexperience that day, but we'll learn from that and become a better team for it."
"Often our top order have been the only ones to feature, and this meant a lack of match practice for the middle and lower order. Hopefully through hard work and playing more games at a higher standard, they'll get some serious match time under their belts."
"We'll be moving up a division domestically this year and that will be quite a test for the squad. They'll be faced with men who have quite a bit of power. They'll be hitting the ball further and harder, and also facing considerably quicker bowling. I'm sure they have the ability to cope with it, and they'll be better prepared than ever to meet these challenges."
"As well as the Leinster Men's league, we're currently in the process of organising a tri-series with Kent and Sussex, which we'd envisage taking place around the end of May."
Delany also revealed details of an exciting new competition taking place in Dubai next year, which would give the side some much needed international fixtures.
"It'll be a six team competition featuring the teams ranked from 5-10. We're currently ranked 9th in the world, so it'll be good to gauge ourselves against our peers. While we haven't been given the exact itinerary yet, we'd expect to be out there for a few weeks, with warm up games, coaching camps, and individual training sessions. It sounds like an ideal opportunity for us."
Among the measures being put in place to cope with this elevation by Delany and Cricket Ireland is a much more rigorous winter training schedule.
He explains what's in store for the squads: "Tony Hiley, the strength and conditioning coach will put the squad through their paces on November 8th, and he'll then draw up an assessment of where we're currently at, and give them individual plans. He'll be back about 5-6 months later and do a re-assessment to see how much progress has been made and adapt the plans accordingly. I'm impressed by the attitude and commitment shown in my time in charge, and everyone is keen to learn and improve, and that's always a good starting point."
Delany also revealed that the squads will benefit from the experience and input of some high profile coaches who will be helping out during the winter: "We've both Trent Johnston and Adrian Birrell adding their wealth of experience to the squads in a series of specialised workshops. Trent will be concentrating first with the seam bowlers, and then moving onto the batters and talk and show about different aspects of the run chase, and setting of targets. He's been such an inspirational figure over the years, and it'll be great for the women to learn from him. Adrian will be focusing on the fielding side of things, especially diving, which is one area where we compete quite well, but can also improve. There are also various clinics planned, which will see areas such as wicket-keeping and spin bowling targetted. All in all it's a pretty comprehensive programme and I'm sure we'll reap the benefits of this."
A major criticism of the Women's game in the past few years has been the lack of representation from the North of Ireland, and this is another area Delany is keen to remedy. "As you can see from the A squad, there are now players from six Northern clubs, which is to be welcomed. There was a northern team in the Under 17 series last year which was run by Nigel Rountree, and I'm pleased to say that we got to identify quite a few talented players from that who got their chance. This is obviously going to be a very productive area for Irish cricket."
"We've got a quite considerable pool of young talent and I'd like to think they be challenging for inclusion in the Senior set up in the not too distant future. We're incredibly strong at Under 17 level and if they progress the way I think they will, women's cricket will get even stronger in the next few years."
"We're fortunate to have as many talented players as we have currently in the senior side, and with these new mechanisms in place and greater investment in terms of resources in the squads, I'd be confident of going from strength to strength in 2010 and beyond."
The squads in full are as follows:
Senior Women
Heather Whelan (Captain) Merrion, Emma Beamish (Merrion), Jean Carroll (Clontarf), Nicki Coffey (Pembroke), Laura Cullen (Clontarf), Laura Delany (Leinster), Valmai Gee (Leinster), Cecelia Joyce (Merrion), Isobel Joyce (Merrion), Amy Kenealy (Leinster), Suzanne Kenealy (Leinster), Sinead Lyons (Leinster), Carole Maguire (Rush), Ciara Metcalfe (Pembroke), Eimear Richardson (Leinster), Melissa Scott-Hayward (Leinster), Clare Shillington (Malahide), Jill Whelan (Merrion).
A Squad
Laura Boylan (The Hills), Clare Carthy (Rush), Kelly-Ann Carlin (Drummond), Amy Caufield (Coleraine), Hannah De Burg Whyte (Merrion), Emma Flanagan (Pembroke), Anna Ferguson (Downpatrick), Tracey Fleming (The Hills), Kim Garth (Pembroke), Eimear Gill (Malahide), Jennifer Grey (North Kildare), Shauna Kavanagh (Pembroke), Louise McCarthy (Pembroke), Joanne McKinley (Larne/Leinster), Gwen Morgan (Malahide), Jemma Rankin (Bready), Rebecca Rolfe (Leinster), Sarah Rountree (CSNI), Emma Ryan (Rush), Lucy Small (Malahide), Amanda Walker (Leinster).
