Laura Delany and her young Ireland team flew to Spain yesterday looking to round off a promising year by beating Scotland in two white-ball series over the next eight days, at the Desert Springs complex.

The three 50-overs games will be the first time the old rivals have played official one-day internationals following Scotland’s elevation to ODI status, and the tour ends with two T20s.

Ireland have held the upper hand in recent series, and Delany is planning to keep it that way.

“It’ll be a tough couple of series,” she said. ‘But we're aiming to win every game.”

The 30-year-old Ireland captain is by some way the most experienced member of the 15-strong squad, after the retirements of Mary Waldron and Shauna Kavanagh, but she is feeding off the enthusiasm of the youngsters coming through.

“I've grown up playing alongside Shauna and made my debut on the same day as Mary,” Delany said. “It will definitely be strange taking to the pitch without them but it’s an opportunity for other players to take on more responsibility.

“Surrounding yourself with younger players makes you feel a little bit younger yourself and I'm absolutely loving it at the moment. I feel like I've got a new wave of energy.”

It’s been a mixed year in terms of results but Delany believes the team is moving in the right direction under the stewardship of coach Ed Joyce and his team.

“We beat the Netherlands and had a good series against Australia - maybe not in terms of results - but things that we've been working on as a squad,” she said.

“It was brilliant to see some of our younger players go out and take on real ownership with the bat and ball.

“We were disappointed to have come so close against the West Indies over in the Caribbean and to not pull off a win or two. With games going down to the last over there it showed just how much growth and progress that we've made as a team.

“Overall we are definitely heading in the right direction.”

IRELAND SQUAD: Laura Delany (captain), Ava Canning, Alana Dalzell, Georgina Dempsey, Amy Hunter, Arlene Kelly, Gaby Lewis, Louise Little, Joanna Loughran, Sophie MacMahon, Cara Murray, Leah Paul, Orla Prendergast, Freya Sargent, Rebecca Stokell.