Ireland Women’s cricket team returns to the world stage when they begin their ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 campaign against Scotland on Saturday at Old Trafford, Manchester.
The tournament will run from 12 June to 5 July 2026 across England and Wales, with the Final being played at Lord’s Cricket Ground.
This is the 10th edition of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, with Ireland Women having previously qualified for four tournaments (2014, 2016, 2018, 2023) – this year becomes the fifth appearance by a highly competitive, but young side. The average age of the squad is 23 years, making it one of the youngest in the tournament.
Ireland Women have travelled to England after a very successful tri-series against Pakistan and West Indies in Dublin. Both opponents are higher ranked than Ireland, but Ireland won a match against both sides in that tri-series giving the players and coaching staff a confidence boost heading into the main tournament.
Since arriving in England, Ireland Women have been based in Leicester and have played two warm-up games against South Africa (see scorecard) and Bangladesh (see scorecard). Ireland was narrowly beaten by South Africa but bounced back to defeat Bangladesh.
Head Coach, Lloyd Tennant, was speaking after training about the squad’s build up:
“We’ve had two great warm-up matches. The win over Bangladesh was a particularly good performance. I don’t think there’s a lot between the teams really. Both sides played some good cricket, but we’ve probably shut the game down a bit quicker with our seam bowlers – particularly Ava [Canning].
“As for the South Africa game the other day. they’ve obviously got a lot of quality players but we felt – and this might be a big statement -, that the last time we played them in South Africa there was a gulf between us, but now – whether it’s confidence or whether it’s skill level, we seem to be getting closer to them. We’ve not closed that gap yet, but we felt we owned the ground a bit better, we weren’t as nervous and we were a bit more positive playing against their bowlers and bowling at their batters.
“Pleasingly, what these two games showed were that we can cope with pressure when we’re put under it and we can push that pressure back onto the opposition. And if you throw in the performances in the recent tri-series, we showed that we can bounce back from defeat and showed resilience. That was really pleasing and has built confidence within the group.”
KEY PEOPLE
Head coach: Lloyd Tennant
- Lloyd Tennant took over from Ed Joyce in the Head Coach role in June 2025 and has steered the side through qualification to the world cup and a win rate of 69% overall.
- He is an ECB Level 4 qualified cricket coach with over 30 years’ experience in coaching and developing international, regional and first-class cricketers and teams. He is also the former Head Coach of Central Sparks, for which he led for four years.
- Lloyd has significant experience in women’s cricket as Assistant Coach for the ECB Female Academy and ‘A’ Team, Assistant Coach for Manchester Originals Female Team, and as ECB Women and Girls’ Talent Manager for two years.
Leadership: Gaby Lewis and Orla Prendergast
Captain: Gaby Lewis
- Lewis was named the permanent captain of Ireland Women in October 2024, replacing Laura Delany. The daughter of a former Ireland Men’s captain, Lewis may only be 25 years old, but she has over a decade’s experience after debuting at 13. She is Ireland Women’s highest-ever run-scorer.
Vice-captain: Orla Prendergast
- Prendergast has been vice-captain since October 2024 but has also captained the side on six occasions in Lewis’ absence. The 24 year-old all-rounder is ranked as the world’s 7th best all-rounder and has gained many plaudits for her ball-striking and intelligent game management. She is also one of, if not the fastest bowler in the Irish ranks
THE TOURNAMENT
There are 12 teams participating in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup. The teams are split into two groups of six teams listed below. Ireland is in Group 2. The top two teams in each group after the completion of the group matches proceed to the semi-final stage.
| Group 1 | Group 2 |
| Australia | West Indies |
| South Africa | England |
| India | New Zealand |
| Pakistan | Sri Lanka |
| Bangladesh | Ireland |
| Netherlands | Scotland |
SQUAD
The squad is:
- Gaby Lewis (c)
- Orla Prendergast (vc)
- Ava Canning
- Christina Coulter Reilly
- Alana Dalzell
- Georgina Dempsey
- Amy Hunter
- Arlene Kelly
- Louise Little
- Aimee Maguire
- Lara McBride
- Cara Murray
- Leah Paul
- Rebecca Stokell
- Alice Tector
Further information on the players is available here.
FIXTURES
Women’s T20 World Cup 2026:
- 13 June 2026: Ireland Women v Scotland Women – T20I (Old Trafford; starts 10.30am)
- 16 June 2026: Ireland Women v England Women – T20I (Hampshire; starts 6.30pm)
- 19 June 2026: Ireland Women v New Zealand Women – T20I (Hampshire; starts 6.30pm)
- 23 June 2026: Ireland Women v Sri Lanka Women – T20I (Bristol; starts 2.30pm)
- 27 June 2026: Ireland Women v West Indies Women – T20I (Bristol; starts 2.30pm)
HOW TO WATCH, FOLLOW OR ATTEND
Watch:
- In Ireland / UK, Sky Sports will show every match
- For other parts of the world, see here
Follow:
- You can see all the match scores throughout the tournament here: https://www.icc-cricket.com/tournaments/womens-t20-worldcup-2026/matches
- You can also see updates and plenty of content on Cricket Ireland’s social media channels: https://cricketireland.ie/get-involved/social-media/
Attend:
- For tickets to the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, buy your tickets here.
JOURNALIST RESOURCES
- Media Guide to the tournament – download here
- ICC Online Media Zone – access here or register for access
SPONSOR
Cricket Ireland and Evara, Ireland’s largest privately-owned homebuilder, recently announced a new multi-year sponsorship deal that will support women’s cricket and the all-Ireland Irish club cup competitions. Read more.
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