Clare Shillington, Andrew Poynter and Rob O'Connor have been confirmed as the Head Coaches for the 2017 Toyota Super 3 Series.
The innovative competition - seen as the ideal bridge between club and international cricket - will see 49 of the country's brightest talents facing each other in a total of 18 games, played over both T20 and 50 over formats.
Irish captain Laura Delany is the one high profile move from last season's squads, switching to the Typhoons, which means her international colleague Shauna Kavanagh will take the reins at The Dragons.
The competition kicks off at Oak Hill on Sunday May 28th and Irish Head Coach Aaron Hamilton is anticpating a high standard of competitive cricket.
“I’m really looking forward to seeing some high level of cricket in this season’s Super 3’s competition," said Hamilton. "The selectors have made some adjustments to the squads due to players continuing to develop in our system.
“Laura Delany has been moved to give the Typhoons some on field leadership which opens the door for Pembroke skipper Shauna to show her leadership abilities at the next level by captaining the Dragons."
The growth of the game in the North is evidenced by no fewer than five players included from Bready, Burndennett, Saintfield and North Down.
Typhoons Head Coach Clare Shillington is relishing the opportunity to pit her wits against her fellow coaches and international colleagues.
"I'm very excited to again be leading up the Typhoons for this years Toyota Super 3's tournament," said the experienced Shillington who will be operating in a player/coach role. "It's great to see the tournament grow and I see it as a vital part in the growth of Irish cricket."Shillington's Typhoons struggled in the 50-over format, but performed admirably in the T20 matches and she's looking to build on that.
"The Typhoons struggled in the 50 over games last year but really came to the forefront in the T20 comp. We'll be looking to improve on this and I've no doubt that we can push for that top spot."
Shillington feels the addition of the talented Delany will be pivitotal in their quest for honours.
"We have some great additions to the squad this year and in particular the transfer of Laura Delany from the Dragons. Laura offers some real firepower in our batting lineup and will no doubt lead from the front as she does at international level."
Ian Corbett, Marketing Manager of Toyota Ireland said: "We are delighted to be involved as title sponsors with the Toyota Super 3s for the second year running.
"At Toyota we are passionate about supporting Irish women's sport and the Super 3s is a really positive and progressive partnership for us. We look forward to an exciting cricket season ahead."
The squads in full are as follows:
Toyota Super 3 Squads
Dragons
Shauna Kavanagh (capt) (Pembroke), Katie Boylan (The Hills), Alana Dalzell (Bready), Rachel Delaney (Merrion), Amy Hunter (Instonians), Cecelia Joyce, (Merrion), Gaby Lewis (YMCA), Shana Lipson Ngai (North Kildare), Hannah Little (Pembroke), Lara Maritz (Malahide), Tess Maritz (Malahide), Caoimhe McCann (Malahide), Louise McCarthy (Pembroke), Ciara Metcalfe (The Hills), Ruby Neville (Merrion), Mary Waldron (Malahide)
Coach: Rob O’Connor
Scorchers
Kim Garth (capt) (Pembroke), Aoife Beggs (YMCA), Aisling Byrne (The Hills), Hannah de Burgh Whyte (Merrion), Isobel Joyce (Merrion), Anna Kerrison, (Leinster), Anna Kirk (Clontarf), Julie Logue (Burndennett), Orla Martin, (Phoenix), Cathy Murphy (Pembroke), Cara Murray (Saintfield), Lucy O’Reilly, (YMCA), Orla Prendergast (Pembroke), Jemma Rankin (Bready), Una Raymond Hoey (Leinster), Rebecca Stokell (Leinster), Cliona Tucker (Pembroke).
Coach: Andrew Poynter
Typhoons
Laura Delany (capt) (Leinster), Laura Boylan (The Hills), Sadhbh Breslin, (Merrion), Jennifer Gray (YMCA), Vanessa Kelada (Leinster), Amy Kenealy, (Leinster), Robyn Lewis (YMCA), Louise Little (Pembroke), Sophie MacMahon (Leinster), Kate McKenna (Merrion), Natasha Morton (North Down), Leah Paul (Merrion), Ellen Ridgeway (Leinster), Rebecca Rolfe (Leinster), Clare Shillington (YMCA), Amy Benson (North Down).
Coach: Clare Shillington