On the eve of departure for a quadrangular series in Sri-Lanka the Irish women's team were excited at the prospect of facing their three closest rivals in ODI and T20 cricket.

Over the next two weeks Ireland women's cricket team will play a series of ODIs and T20I's against Sri Lanka, Pakistan and The Netherlands.

Before that they will start the tour with some practice days organised by ICC Europe where they will have access to world class coaches, helping them to further develop their skills.

Coach Stephen Moreton, looking forward to seeing the results, said 'I am excited for the squad, who though less experienced than previous Ireland women's squads in terms of caps, have a lot of ability and have worked hard to prepare for this tour'.

Sandra Dawson, Manager to the Irish team, commented 'Returning to the sub-continent fills me with nerves and excitement as we bring a young squad who will benefit from all the tournament has to offer. I am looking forward to seeing how the hard work invested in preparation will pay off'.

Captain Ciara Metcalfe too was excited at the prospect of the tour and noted her disappointment that Mary Waldron could not join the squad due to a late injury. At the same time this has offered a terrific early opportunity to Julie Van Der Flier who joins the squad for the tour.

'Since the ICC challenge tournament in South Africa we have continued to put more structure around our preparation and we will use the experience both the local conditions and the competition to gauge what further work we will need to put in to qualify for the 2013 World Cup' she said.

The Ireland Womens Cricket team fly out on Sunday 17th April to Sri-Lanka for the two week tour.