Leah Paul (born 10 September 1999) is an Irish

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

er. She plays

international cricket International cricket matches are played between the teams representing their nations, administrated by the International Cricket Council. The main forms are Test matches, ODI matches and T20I matches. Most games are played as part of "tou ...

for

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

and domestic cricket in the

Women's Super Series The Women's Super Series, previously known as the Women's Super 3s, is a women's domestic cricket tournament organised by Cricket Ireland. The tournament began in 2015 as a combined 50-over and Twenty20 tournament, with three teams taking part: ...

for the Scorchers.

International Career

Paul made her

Women's One Day International Women's One Day International (ODI) is the limited overs form of women's cricket. Matches are scheduled for 50 overs, equivalent to the men's game. The first women's ODIs were played in 1973, as part of the first Women's World Cup which was ...

(WODI) debut for

against

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

in the 2017 South Africa Quadrangular Series. In November 2018, she was named the Female Youth International Player of the Year at the annual Cricket Ireland Awards. In May 2019, she was named in Ireland's

Women's Twenty20 International Women's Twenty20 international (WT20I) is the shortest form of women's international cricket. A women's Twenty20 international is a 20 overs-per-side cricket match between two of the International Cricket Council (ICC) members. The very firs ...

(WT20I) squad for their series against the West Indies, but she did not play. In August 2019, she was again named in the Irish WT20I squad for the 2019 Netherlands Women's Quadrangular Series. She made her WT20I debut for Ireland, against

the Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, on 8 August 2019. In August 2019, she was named in Ireland's squad for the

2019 ICC Women's World Twenty20 Qualifier The 2019 ICC Women's T20 World Cup Qualifier was an international women's cricket tournament that was held in August and September 2019 in Scotland. It was the fourth edition of the Women's T20 World Cup Qualifier and was the qualification tour ...

tournament in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. She would have a good tournament with the ball, finishing as Ireland's second highest wicket taker with 6, however Ireland failed to qualify for the

2020 Women's T20 World Cup The 2020 Women's T20 World Cup was the seventh Women's T20 World Cup tournament. It was held in Australia between 21 February and 8 March 2020. The final took place at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on International Women's Day. Hosts Australia ...

after losing to Bangladesh in the semi-final. In July 2020, she was awarded a non-retainer contract by

Cricket Ireland Cricket Ireland (formerly the Irish Cricket Union) is the national Sport governing body, governing body for cricket on the island of Ireland (both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland), and oversees the national Ireland cricket team, men' ...

(CI) for the following year. In November 2021, she was named in Ireland's team for the

2021 Women's Cricket World Cup Qualifier The 2021 Women's Cricket World Cup Qualifier was an international women's cricket tournament that was held in Zimbabwe in November and December 2021. The tournament was the final part of the qualification process for the 2022 Women's Cricket Worl ...

tournament in

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

. She played both of Ireland's games before the tournament was abandoned due to an outbreak of

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

, Ireland did not qualify for the

2022 Women's Cricket World Cup The 2022 ICC Women's Cricket World Cup was the twelfth edition of the Women's Cricket World Cup, which was held in New Zealand in March and April 2022. It was originally scheduled for 6 February to 7 March 2021 but was postponed by one year due ...

with places being decided by ICC Rankings. Paul was offered a Part Time Education by CI in March 2022 to allow her continue her studies in

Trinity College, Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Univ ...

. Later that year she would be named Sport Person of the Year at the Trinity Sports Awards. In June she was named Player of the Match for her 47 and 1/21 in Ireland's victory over

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

at Pembroke, it was the first time she opened the batting in WT20Is. She would make her highest international score in August of that year during Ireland Women's tour to the Netherlands. In the 2nd WODI she made 137 opening the batting, putting on a record Irish WODI partnership of 236 with

Laura Delany Laura Katherine Delany (born 23 December 1992) is an Irish cricketer who currently Captain (cricket), captains Typhoons (women's cricket), Typhoons. She is a right-handed Batting (cricket), batter and right-arm Fast bowling, medium pace Bowling ( ...

who made 109. It remains the 2nd highest 3rd wicket partnership in WODIs. Ireland scored their highest WODI score with 337/8 with the margin of victory of 210 runs also being an Irish record. In 2024 she was elevated to a full-time professional contract by CI. In the 2nd WODI of Sri Lanka's tour of Ireland in August 2024 Paul made 81(101) to top score for Ireland as they beat the visitors by 15 runs at Stormont to achieve their first WODI series victory over Sri Lanka. She was named in the Ireland squad for their T20I and ODI tour to Bangladesh in November 2024. Paul scored 79 not out off 45 balls including two 6s and 10 4s in a player of the match winning performance as Ireland won the first T20I. Paul was part of the Ireland squad for the

2025 Women's Cricket World Cup Qualifier The 2025 ICC Women's Cricket World Cup Qualifier was an international women's cricket tournament that was held in Pakistan in April 2025. The tournament served as the final stage of the qualification process for the 2025 Women's Cricket World ...

in Pakistan in April 2025.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Paul, Leah 1999 births Living people Cricketers from Dublin (city) Irish women cricketers Ireland women One Day International cricketers Ireland women Twenty20 International cricketers Scorchers (women's cricket) cricketers Typhoons (women's cricket) cricketers Dragons (women's cricket) cricketers