Kate Cross committed to leading England on her own terms

Kate Cross has vowed to follow her instincts and lead England her own way when she takes on the role of captain for the first time at Stormont on Saturday.

England have rested the majority of their T20 World Cup squad for their tour of Ireland - Bess Heath and Freya Kemp are the only exceptions - with players due to fly to Abu Dhabi next Friday for a warm-weather training camp. In their absence, Cross will captain her country throughout the tour which comprises three ODIs at Stormont and three T20Is at Castle Avenue in Dublin.

"It's probably just starting to sink in a little bit now," Cross said of the captaincy, on arrival at Stormont on Friday. "Getting to go out and captain your country is pretty much what stuff that dreams are made of. I'm really looking forward to it… I'm genuinely just really excited to have the opportunity and hopefully we can go out and put on a bit of a show."

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Cross has captained Lancashire Thunder and Manchester Originals at domestic level, but admitted that she has not actively aspired to captain at international level. "It's a unique tour in terms of the World Cup squad overlapping," she said. "When these opportunities come up, you just want to take them with both hands.

"I was handed my cap by Charlotte Edwards, and then that was obviously taken over by Heather Knight, so I've had some wonderful role models through the years to lean on. Heather's left me to it: she's just sent me a message saying, 'Good luck for tomorrow.' She's looking forward to watching, but I'm just going to try and do it Kate Cross's way."

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While England's primary focus is on winning - especially so in case of the ODIs, which are part of the ICC Women's Championship - the tour will also provide fringe players with the opportunity to make a case for more regular international involvement. "It drives a lot of people on, to make sure they're in a squad for the next series," Cross said.

"There's always some big cricket on the horizon, whether that's ICC events, or the Ashes, or Test matches in South Africa - whatever it might be. There's always a chance to put your hat in the ring. And what we need - or what we're trying to achieve - as an England women's cricket group is a depth of players who can step into those roles.

"There's people that are going to be stepping out there in England shirts for the first time. My main message is to enjoy it. I've been really lucky to have a long international career, and for some girls, this could be the start of that; for some players, it might be their chance to put their hand up again, and showcase what they can do. It feels like there's a lot at stake for a lot of people."

Ireland head into the series after beating Sri Lanka 2-1 in an ODI series last month, having drawn 1-1 in the T20Is. Gaby Lewis, who is deputising for the injured Laura Delany as captain, said that her side were not reading too much into England's absentees, and expects their second-string squad to provide a challenge.

"All we can do is prepare to our best, no matter what team they put out," Lewis said. "That's on them, that's not on us: if we beat England tomorrow, we beat England tomorrow, no matter what team we play against… We still prepare the same way, and we're still playing against England at the end of the day.

"Obviously it's not their World Cup squad, but there's also a lot of caps and very experienced players in there as well. We've done our analysis, we know the girls, and a lot of the girls have watched the Hundred and know what we're coming up against. Jay Shelat, our analyst, does endless work on that side of things… we feel very prepared going into tomorrow."

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England last toured Ireland in 1995, and both captains believe the six matches over the next two weeks will help to grow the sport's profile.

"I've got a feeling most of our squad weren't born then, which is a bit scary," Cross said. "They were disappointed to miss out on the World Cup themselves, missing out to Scotland, but they've got points to prove and there'll be a lot of girls that will be relishing the opportunity to play against England.

"Hopefully, a series like this will help encourage the people of Ireland to get into women's cricket. The T20s are on terrestrial TV over here, so that obviously gives an opportunity for the Irish girls to showcase what they can do… we're trying to make sure that everyone gets their equal opportunity, around the world, to play what is a wonderful sport."

Lewis said Ireland's players will continue to interact with their fans as much as possible. "We do want to be role models for them, and the more we do that, the more that cricket will increase in Ireland," Lewis said. "They'll want to pick up a bat and a ball. It was brilliant in Pembroke and up in Stormont [during the Sri Lanka series] and we're hugely thankful to all the support that we got… hopefully, it's the same for this series."

Squads:

Ireland ODI squad: Gaby Lewis (capt), Alana Dalzell, Sarah Forbes, Amy Hunter, Arlene Kelly, Joanna Loughran, Aimee Maguire, Jane Maguire, Leah Paul, Orla Prendergast, Una Raymond-Hoey, Freya Sargent, Rebecca Stokell, Alice Tector.

Ireland T20I squad: Gaby Lewis (capt), Ava Canning, Christina Coulter Reilly, Sarah Forbes, Amy Hunter, Arlene Kelly, Aimee Maguire, Jane Maguire, Leah Paul, Orla Prendergast, Una Raymond-Hoey, Freya Sargent, Rebecca Stokell, Alice Tector.

England ODI squad: Kate Cross (capt), Hollie Armitage, Hannah Baker, Tammy Beaumont, Georgia Davis, Lauren Filer, Bess Heath, Freya Kemp, Emma Lamb, Ryana MacDonald-Gay, Paige Scholfield, Bryony Smith, Mady Villiers, Issy Wong.

England T20I squad: Kate Cross (capt), Georgia Adams, Hollie Armitage, Hannah Baker, Tammy Beaumont, Mahika Gaur, Ryana MacDonald-Gay, Charis Pavely, Paige Scholfield, Seren Smale, Bryony Smith, Mady Villiers, Issy Wong.

Fixtures: ODIs - September 7, 9, 11 (all Stormont, Belfast); T20Is - September 14, 16, 17 (Castle Avenue, Dublin).