Ed Joyce appointed Ireland women's coach on permanent deal

The 40-year-old had been in charge on an interim basis since June but has been handed a two-year deal after taking over from Aaron Hamilton

Ireland have installed Ed Joyce as the permanent coach of their women's side, despite failing to qualify for next year's World T20.

The 40-year-old replaced Aaron Hamilton in June and has been shepherding the team amid the search for a long-term successor.

After finishing third in the Quadrangular Series, Ireland reached the semi-finals at the World T20 qualifier in Scotland but were denied a place after losing to Bangladesh.

They finished third in the competition but they will have a watching brief for the tournament in Australia next February and March.

Nevertheless, Joyce has impressed working with a variety of Irish sides since announcing his retirement from cricket in May 2018.

Though Joyce, who had a brief international career with England, only played one Test for Ireland, he scored 2,151 runs in 61 one-day internationals and 404 in 16 T20s.

"It’s a great time to have been offered this opportunity, and I had no hesitation in accepting the role full-time," he said.

"While we were all obviously disappointed to have missed out on qualification for the T20 World Cup, what impressed me about the squad was the players’ commitment to learn and the talent that began to emerge as the games came along. 

"It wasn’t just the senior players that stood up, but a number of the newer players to the senior team showed what they can offer. 

"I was particularly happy with the fight the team showed in difficult positions against both Thailand and Bangladesh. Our fielding and bowling in both was outstanding and that character, being shown by a very young team, is going to be very important going forward."