Arlene Kelly

Arlene Kelly is an exceptional, highly intelligent right-arm medium bowler and reliable right-handed lower-order batter who serves as a vital bowling spearhead for the Ireland women’s national cricket team. Born on January 8, 1994, in Auckland, New Zealand, she holds Irish citizenship through her family lineage. Before moving her cricketing career to Ireland, Kelly built a stellar reputation across the New Zealand domestic structure, representing the Auckland Hearts for a decade and famously striking a match-winning 110 in the 2019–20 Hallyburton Johnstone Shield final. Her clinical line and length, natural ability to swing the ball, and immense tactical maturity made an immediate impression upon her move to the Dragons in the Irish Super Series, paving the way for her senior international debut against South Africa in June 2022.

Since transitioning to the international stage, Kelly has established herself as one of Ireland's most dependable and lethal wicket-taking options. Her relentless precision and ability to break crucial partnerships earned her global acclaim, highlighted by an extraordinary 5 for 12 against the Netherlands that saw her named the ICC Women’s Player of the Month in August 2023. She has consistently turned up for the big occasion, most recently serving as a primary hero in Ireland’s qualifying campaign for the ICC Women's T20 World Cup, where she ripped through Thailand with brilliant figures of 4 for 7 to officially secure the team's World Cup ticket. Equipped with deep domestic and international pedigree, Kelly remains an indispensable frontline asset driving Ireland’s modern, aggressive white-ball blueprint forward on the world map.