(Photo ICC)
Ireland head to Bristol with a major objective in mind, a first-ever ICC Women’s T20 World Cup victory.
And in Sri Lanka, they are up against an opponent they know well, even if the world’s seventh-ranked side go into the game as favourites.
Ireland, ranked two places further back in ninth, opened their campaign with a frustrating defeat to Scotland, but have looked much improved in their last two outings.
They pushed England hard in Southampton and then lost by just four runs to reigning champions New Zealand in a heart-breaking defeat.
And as they prepare to take on a Sri Lanka team who they have faced regularly down the years, including in a tour of Ireland in 2024 when the teams split the T20I series with Ireland taking the ODI series, Leah Paul is hoping that experience can help her side.
She said: “Sri Lanka is a team that we have had success against in the last few years and it’s a team we know relatively well. If we can keep progressing in the areas we want to improve on from the last couple of game we believe we can put in a good performance and get our first-ever World Cup win.
“We pride ourselves on our resilience so hopefully we can stick together and have each other’s backs for the last two games.
“We’ve definitely picked up a good few learnings, especially after the games against England and New Zealand. In the batting department, we want to build those partnerships in the middle period and then trying to contain with the ball in the middle overs.”
They face a Sri Lankan team who saw their semi-final hopes severely dented by defeat to the West Indies in their last game.
A brilliant chase against New Zealand had put them in a reasonable position to crack the top two in the group and make the last four.
But a five-wicket loss in Bristol, in which Sri Lanka were bowled out for just 98, means that they are now underdogs to make it through.
For coach Jamie Siddon, even if qualification now looks a long shot, it is important to finish the group stages on a winning note, with this game against Ireland, followed by a final game against Scotland to come.
He said: “We’ll get over the disappointment of the West Indies quickly and turn our attention to Ireland. It’s a massive game for us.
“We cannot roll over in that game. We need to put our best team on the park. We need to play really well and get a win in that game and then prepare really well for Scotland because they’re a great team.”
Muneeba Ali hopes Pakistan learn from mistakes
Pakistan may only be playing for pride in their final two ICC Women’s World Cup 2026 fixtures but Muneeba Ali remains confident they can compete against unbeaten Australia.
Muneeba’s dismissal for 25 against Bangladesh came during a collapse which saw Pakistan (ICC T20I ranking: 8) fall from 58 for one to 84 for eight in a match they ultimately lost by 23 runs.
That ended any chances of progression to the knockout phase but Muneeba and her teammates are looking to show they have learned from previous mistakes.
“In the last game when I was settled in, I should probably have finished that match,” she reflected.
“But unfortunately, when wickets start to fall, we have lost a cluster of wickets in the last three games, so that is the main thing we need to rectify.
“We must identify what we were doing in those situations. Are we not taking good decisions mentally in those pressure times? That is what we have talked about and we will try to rectify those things.
“Every match is a new opportunity for every batter to come again, start from zero and make a good impact for your team and make a match winning contribution.
“That is also my main focus, because I have contributed but not contributed in a way that ensures the team wins, so that will be my goal.”
Pakistan gave Australia a scare at the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025, reducing a star-studded batting line-up to 75 for seven before Beth Mooney’s century lifted her side to 221 for nine and a 107-run victory.
The shorter format this time around, however, means a similar performance with the ball could result in a different outcome.
“T20 is such a format that any team can do anything on any day,” Muneeba added.
“You need one good spell and a good partnership and you can take the match to any side.
“Australia are a good side so we expect they will come at us hard, but I think we should plan differently for every team we play. We will approach our batting and bowling with different planning.
“In the last World Cup, we managed to take early wickets of Australian side, but those were different conditions, different surfaces.
“We’re here with different surfaces, different demands and a different format, so we will try, but we have confidence from that match that we can do good things against them.
“We will try to make positive decisions in our batting and bowling so that we can close the match on a winning side.”
Australia, the top-ranked women’s T20I side in the world, are bidding for a fourth consecutive victory but are set to be without Phoebe Litchfield, who coach Shelley Nitschke hopes will return for their final group match against India.
Nitschke also heaped praise on Pakistan captain Fatima Sana, who impressed with an unbeaten 55 against South Africa earlier in the competition.
“She’s been outstanding,” Nitschke said. “Since she’s stepped into the captaincy role, she’s sort of really grown as an all-rounder and one of the world’s best at T20 cricket among all-rounders.
“We certainly know that she’s the sort of player we need to be well planned for and be able to execute against her because she’s showing that she can take a game away from a team.”
Georgia Wareham is playing a similarly influential role for the six-time champions with bat and ball so far. Only two batters have a superior strike rate to her 182.50 while her leg-breaks have brought her four wickets at 7.75, all while going at under five runs an over.
“I don’t think it’s probably surprising to any of us that see Wolfie go about her work day in, day out,” Nitschke said.
“She’s probably been threatening with the bat for a long time. We all know what she’s capable of. She’s had a really good sort of 12 months and she’s playing a really critical role there for us through the middle.”
Sharp backs White Ferns to show their talent while Scotland seek fielding improvements
Izzy Sharp is the youngest member of the New Zealand squad at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup and wants the White Ferns to show that they are better than what they have achieved so far.
Coming into the competition as defending champions, the Kiwis suffered narrow defeats to the West Indies and Sri Lanka in their opening two fixtures before edging out Ireland by four runs to open their account in the tournament.
Next up in Bristol are Scotland, ranked 11th in the world, but in the same position as New Zealand with one win and two defeats, having also lost narrowly to the Windies before pushing England hard in Leeds last time out.
Other results have left New Zealand needing to win and hope for help from elsewhere, but for Sharp, the key is to focus on improving their own performances.
She said: “We have to acknowledge that it was a bit of a disappointing start, not what we wanted. We know we’re better than that, but I think it’s just keeping the vibes high.
“Scotland are definitely a great side. They put up a great fight against England, and they’re much like Ireland, a team that we definitely can’t take lightly.
“We’ve done our scouting, and again, it’s just pressure, T20 World Cup, just absorbing it, putting pressure back on them and doing what we know we can do and just playing our best game.”
At 21, Sharp is competing on this stage for the first time, and found herself at the crease with the vastly experience Suzie Bates in the win over Ireland.
As the newcomer to the side, she has been welcomed with open arms by the more experienced members of the White Ferns squad, with Bates, Sophie Devine and Lea Tahuhu all signing off from international cricket after this tournament.
Sharp added: “It’s been awesome, a huge step up, but this team has been awesome to be a part of. They’re so welcoming, it’s so enjoyable.
“There hasn’t been a moment that I haven’t enjoyed, so just still taking it all in. It’s been an emotional start, disappointing start, but it’s still been fun. I’ve loved it.”
Scotland scored 162 for seven in their chase against England, in a game that largely swung on a few chances going down in the field as the hosts batted first.
However, that performance, off the back of a thriller against the West Indies, has shown that they are not far off the best teams in the world.
Now, as they prepare to take on the fourth-ranked Kiwis, Megan McColl knows that they need to tighten up their fielding if they are to claim a big scalp.
She said: “Playing against England isn’t something that we get to do very often, but I personally think on Saturday we went out there and showed how competitive we can be against one of the best teams in the world. Yes, we weren’t perfect, but we definitely put England under pressure in big moments of that game.
“This World Cup, we are just showing that we can compete. At the last World Cup (Scotland’s first ICC Women’s T20 World Cup) we maybe didn’t show that to our full extent.
“Over the two games that we lost, the West Indies and England, the big thing for us is, our fielding as a group has been really good this tournament, but also we’ve definitely made easy mistakes that we can clean up.
“The best in the world show that if you can just be clinical in the field, you’re probably going to win more games of cricket.”
