It was a dank June evening in Southampton when England last faced Ireland - a rare flash of stormy weather in an otherwise glorious Women's T20 World Cup, and summer for that matter - and it feels like an age ago.
Some things changed that night, some stayed the same and, as the international season draws to a close with three ODIs between them, new-look sides, new-found confidence and a chance to rewrite the story are all on offer.
For a "forward-looking" England squad missing five big names, it is a chance for several players to establish themselves in the reckoning during the early stages of planning for the next ODI World Cup in 2029.
Nat Sciver-Brunt, the England captain, re-injured her calf in that game against Ireland, ruling her out until the tournament's knockout phase, with her side ultimately finishing as runners-up to Australia. As she did then - and through the entire season beforehand, following Sciver-Brunt's initial injury - Charlie Dean will step into the captaincy role.
"We'll be going in with a slightly different bowling attack to free up a few opportunities for some girls to bowl in positions where perhaps they haven't previously," Dean said on the eve of the first ODI in Leicester. "Also a few girls that have played for England for a while to be able to cement their place and keep the squad and our overall competition between ourselves.
"The more we play and put on brilliant performances, the more pressure we can put on selectors. I'm really excited by the squad that we have. There's a few girls that will really want to stamp their mark on international cricket and I'm excited to see how we go."
Chasing 119, England were 35 for 3 at one stage against Ireland after Aimee Maguire - missing from this series because of injury - and star allrounder Orla Prendergast struck early.
"We won that game but equally it felt in the balance for a little bit of time," Dean said. "They had some really good fight with the ball. They've obviously got two key batters in Gaby Lewis and Orla, but two players don't make a team and they also have nine other fierce competitors.
"We're going to try and make sure that we're really hot on it with plans and bits like that because this is no different to us than any other series. It's an exciting challenge with a bit of a change of dynamic in our squad as well, really encouraging the girls to take that opportunity if it gets given to them."
England are without key bowlers Sophie Ecclestone and Lauren Bell, opening the door for the likes of Tilly Corteen-Coleman, Issy Wong and Lauren Filer to add to their international caps, having warmed the bench throughout the T20 World Cup. Ryana MacDonald-Gay returns from injury, having last played for England in the 2025 Ashes and the uncapped Grace Potts impressed during the Hundred.
Danni Wyatt-Hodge, the leading run-scorer at the T20 World Cup, is also resting, presenting an opportunity for Maia Bouchier, who has been in and out of the side over the past couple of years, and Jodi Grewcock, who made her debut against New Zealand earlier this season.
Alice Capsey will take the gloves in the absence of regular wicketkeeper Amy Jones, with Kira Chathli, who is yet to play for England, in the squad as a batter and back-up 'keeper.
Allrounders Mady Villiers, who made her Test debut against India at Lord's in July, and Charis Pavely will be looking to add to their white-ball credentials, having last played the shorter formats for England on the 2024 tour of Ireland.
During that tour, England won the ODI series 2-1 and the sides split the T20Is 1-1. Combined with their performance against England at the T20 World Cup, which was followed by a group-stage victory over semi-finalists West Indies, and Ireland have cause for confidence heading into this series.
Dean's confidence as a captain too has grown in line with her experience, as she recently told Cricinfo. Since then, she has captained London Spirit in her own right through another season of the women's Hundred, having stood in for Heather Knight last year.
"I didn't do too much differently to be honest," Dean said. "What I've learnt from London Spirit is trying to be as available as possible as a captain, whether that's around training or trying to connect with players that I maybe wouldn't normally spend time with.
"That was probably really important for me to make sure that I'm across the whole group as much as possible because that's only going to make things easier on the pitch when I'm working with everyone. That felt like my biggest learning and I'm trying to take that into now when I'm here with England.
"I guess it doesn't change too much. I'd hate to feel like I was stepping on any toes or anything like that but it's nice to feel trusted to be able to fill in when required."
After a blisteringly hot summer, Ireland's warm-up against an ECB Women's Development XI was washed out and a storm disrupted the journey to England for players travelling from Dublin.
But all arrived safely and keen to turn around their most recent result against the hosts, as well as a 3-0 ODI series loss at home to West Indies in July.
"We've had a very successful summer and I guess that does make it easier in the camp," Lewis said. "Confidence is high; obviously we've had our first win against West Indies in the World Cup but I think we were kind of gutted to not get a win against West Indies in that ODI series.
"I feel like they were definitely a team that we were looking to target and I guess it just didn't come off… but, new series, it's a team that we have had success against before in that 2024 summer and so I guess there is high spirits and we're just looking forward to playing some more cricket for Ireland."