Women's T20 World Cup qualifier: Lewis hits history-making 105 as Ireland hammer Germany in opener

Lewis top-scored for Ireland with 105 runs

Gaby Lewis hit a history-making 105 as Ireland beat Germany by 164 runs in their T20 World Cup European qualifying tournament opener in Spain.

Lewis became the first Irish woman to score a T20 international century as Ed Joyce's side hit a total of 196-2.

Germany could only manage 32-3 in response and never looked like threatening the Irish score.

Ireland play Scotland on Friday morning in their second match of the five-team round-robin competition in La Manga.

Just one of the five teams will go through to the global qualifiers next year and it is expected that the meeting with the Scots, and their encounter with the Netherlands, will provide Ireland with their most difficult tests.

Joyce's team, who are the top-ranked side in the tournament, were due to play five games in five days but it is now four after Turkey pulled out on Wednesday.

Lewis' impressive 105 against Germany came off 60 balls and included three sixes and 11 fours. Rebecca Stokell hit 44 from 30 balls and captain Laura Delany recorded 22 from 30 deliveries as Ireland made their superiority count.

Eimear Richardson (2-5) and Lara Maritz (1-1) were the wicket-takers, but all seven bowlers used contributed to the win.

Ireland's 196-2 from 20 overs was their second highest-ever total but was the highest T20I margin of victory achieved by an Ireland women's side, beating the previous best of 79 runs over the Netherlands in 2019.