Ireland Women's cricket: Captain Laura Delany positive ahead of T20 series

Ireland played New Zealand in thee ODIs earlier in June

Ireland Women's cricket captain Laura Delany says that her side learned valuable lessons during their recent white ball series with New Zealand.

The White Ferns inflicted three heavy ODI defeats on a young Ireland side earlier this month.

New Zealand posted 490 in the first game to set a new record for the highest one-day international score.

Ireland get their three-game T20 series against Bangladesh underway at the YMCA Grounds in Dublin on Thursday.

Four of Ireland's five bowlers in the first game against New Zealand, who are ranked third in the world, were aged 17 or under.

"As a squad we sat down and agreed that the New Zealand series was part of a much bigger plan for us," said Delany.

"Over the last 12 months we have adopted a more attacking style of batting and I'm incredibly excited for where this team can go over the next eight months."

Head coach Aaron Hamilton agreed that the series was still highly beneficial.

"As a squad we have really had to put the recent series against New Zealand in context. The matches were a valuable learning exercise for our young squad," he said.

"While we have some players with a great depth of experience, there are a large proportion of players still finding their feet in the international game."

Ireland men and women will both play international T20s at Malahide on Friday in a double-header.