The Ireland Women’s cricket team begin a new and important chapter in Leicester today as they face England in the opening game of a three-match One Day International series that marks the start of their ICC Women’s Championship campaign.

The first ball at the Uptonsteel County Ground is scheduled for 1 pm, with the game live on Sky Sports Cricket.

The series continues in Derby on Thursday before concluding at New Road in Worcester on Sunday morning.

There is significantly more riding on the three games than the immediate challenge of taking on one of the leading teams in world cricket.

The ICC Women’s Championship provides the principal qualification pathway towards the 2029 Women’s Cricket World Cup, meaning every result across Ireland’s next three years of One Day International cricket will carry additional importance.

The Championship has expanded to 11 countries for the new cycle following the addition of Zimbabwe. Each country plays eight three-match series, four at home and four away, giving Ireland 24 Championship ODIs through to 2029.

Ireland will host India, New Zealand, Pakistan and West Indies, while travelling to England, Australia, Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka.

The top eight at the end of the qualification process – the top seven in the Championship alongside the World Cup host or hosts – will secure automatic qualification, with the remaining three Championship sides progressing to the World Cup Qualifier.

That gives context to what is an imposing opening assignment.

England currently sit second in the ICC ODI rankings, with Ireland tenth.

There is, though, recent history to provide encouragement.

When England travelled to Ireland in 2024, they won the ODI series 2-1, but Ireland claimed a dramatic last-ball victory in the final match.

Captain Gaby Lewis believes performances through the summer have also given Ireland grounds for confidence.

“We’ve had a successful summer, and that does make it easier in the camp,” she said ahead of today’s game.

“Confidence is high after the last few months. We got our first win against West Indies in the T20 World Cup, but we were gutted not to get a win against them in that ODI series.

“This is a new series; it’s a team that we have had some success against before in that 2024 summer. We’re all just looking forward to playing some more cricket for Ireland.”

England remain strong favourites but have taken the opportunity to introduce a number of less experienced players.

Charlie Dean will captain a 15-player squad, with wicketkeeper Kira Chathli and bowler Grace Potts both uncapped at international level and Charis Pavely seeking a first ODI appearance.

It is still a squad containing plenty of established international quality, including Alice Capsey, Sophia Dunkley, Lauren Filer, Freya Kemp and Issy Wong.

Lewis and Orla Prendergast’s experience of playing domestic cricket in England could also prove valuable.

“They’re obviously resting a number of players, but they do have some high-quality players coming in as well,” said Lewis.

“It’s been a real benefit that Orla and I have been playing over in England. We play against these girls for our counties, which can help our preparations for the series.”

Ireland’s preparations have been complicated by the weather. A planned warm-up against an England Development XI on Saturday was cancelled, while some of the squad travelling from Dublin were caught up in flight disruption.

Lewis was relaxed about that ahead of the opening game.

“You can only control what you can control – and the weather is something that we unfortunately can’t control,” she said.

“We put in some great training back home, so it’s not too alien conditions to Ireland and something that we’re definitely used to.”

Ireland Women’s progress towards becoming increasingly competitive against leading Full Member nations has been accompanied by greater broadcast visibility, a stronger domestic programme and increased commercial investment around the team.

Evara came on board earlier this year as lead sponsor of the Ireland Women’s Senior and Under-19 teams, while all three matches against England will be available live to Irish viewers on Sky Sports Cricket.

The ECB will also provide live scoring and rolling video highlights, while BBC Test Match Special is carrying ball-by-ball radio coverage of the series.

For Ireland, though, the priority from 1 pm today is points.

An away series against the world’s second-ranked ODI side represents one of the toughest assignments of the entire Championship cycle.

But Ireland have beaten England before, including that memorable victory two years ago. Doing so again over the coming week would give their journey towards the 2029 World Cup the strongest possible start.

IRELAND SQUAD: Gaby Lewis (captain), Christina Coulter Reilly, Georgina Dempsey, Amy Hunter, Arlene Kelly, Louise Little, Jane Maguire, Lara McBride, Kia McCartney, Cara Murray, Leah Paul, Orla Prendergast, Rebecca Stokell, Alice Tector.

THE SERIES

Tuesday, September 1: England v Ireland, 1st ODI, Leicester – 1 pm
Thursday, September 3: England v Ireland, 2nd ODI, Derby – 1 pm
Sunday, September 6: England v Ireland, 3rd ODI, Worcester – 10.30 am

All three matches are live on Sky Sports Cricket.  Remember, you can keep on top of all the Irish interest sports on TV and streaming with the Sport for Business Rolling Guide to TV and Streaming

 

 

 

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Image Credit: Cricket Ireland

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