"It is another chapter in the amazing legacy that the Harrison family have provided to Irish cricket spread over three generations.”

A young Co Down woman has become the seventh member of her family to earn a full cap for Ireland at cricket.

Abbi Harrison (20) from Waringstown made her full Irish debut on Thursday as Ireland women took on Sri Lanka in the United Arab Emirates

Abbi received her first Irish call-up late last week for the ICC Emerging Nations Trophy which is being held in the Middle East.

On her debut, Abbi contributed a composed unbeaten 13 with the bat from number seven as Ireland made 105 for seven in their 20 overs batting first against a fancied Sri Lankan side.

Abbi continues a proud family cricketing tradition, following in the footsteps of her great-uncles Garfield, Jim, Roy and Deryck Harrison, along with Eddie Bushe and his son Jonathan, who all represented Ireland men.

Her father Simon is a former Ireland under-19 international who played in the 1998 under-19 World Cup in South Africa. Simon was watching on as Abbi made her debut in the UAE sunshine.

Waringstown Cricket Club chairman Alan Waite said: “We’re delighted that Waringstown has a new international. Abbi made her debut this morning and did very well scoring 13 not out against Sri Lanka.

Alan said: "Everyone at Waringstown is delighted with Abbi’s selection and we wish her well on the trip.

"It is another chapter in the amazing legacy that the Harrison family have provided to Irish cricket spread over three generations.”

Speaking to the Waringstown Cricket Club website before she left, Abbi said she couldn’t wait to make her international bow.

“It’ll be a different level of intensity, I can’t wait to get stuck in. One of the great things about the Cricket Ireland setup is that we do get to spend a lot of time together. So while I’m new to the full squad, I’ve been in and around all the girls for a few years and at least feel comfortable being part of the group. It won’t feel like walking into a totally strange environment,” she said.

“Obviously I know Sri Lanka will be very strong and Scotland are a really tough, experienced side. I’ll be honest, PNG and UAE will be something of an unknown quantity, for me anyway.

"But definitely we won’t be taking anything lightly. Especially in the conditions. Our summer seems like so long ago, the sun and the heat in Dubai will potentially present its own challenge so it’ll be important to have high intensity in every game!”