Ireland are no longer the sneaky underdogs. On these shores, anticipation ahead of the women’s T20 World Cup in South Africa was high for the current group, thanks largely to beating Pakistan in November.
After Wednesday’s warm-up win over world champions Australia, global interest suddenly peaked.
[ Ireland upset Australia in cricket World Cup warm-upOpens in new window ]
As far as the general sporting public is concerned, cricket in Ireland is defined by World Cup wins. Interest can stagnate between major tournaments, spiking dramatically once England or such like are felled on the world stage.
The Ireland women’s team started this trend, competing in the 1988 World Cup and winning two matches against the Netherlands. Their male counterparts did not feature or win at a World Cup until 2007 where they famously beat Pakistan and Bangladesh.
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Since then, in contrast to the men, Ireland women have not won a World Cup match since 2000, a 50-over tournament. Ireland have competed in three T20 World Cups (2014, 2016 and 2018) with a record of 13 matches played, 13 defeats.
Countless reasons explain that trend, lack of professionalism and funding chief among them, but the smart bet is that losing run will be broken over the next fortnight in South Africa.
Since full-time professional contracts were introduced for players last March – seven players are on full-time deals, others on a combination of educational and retainer arrangements – Ireland have taken off.
In the space of 12 months, talent and investment have finally combined to create a side that has rapidly turned into a competitive outfit top teams are wary of.
At the forefront of this transition has been the 20-year-old Orla Prendergast. The Pembroke all-rounder’s skill with both bat and ball renders her arguably Ireland’s most important player heading into this tournament.
Her journey since professionalism is a microcosm of the side’s transition as a whole, and she’s not even on a full-time deal. Instead, her commitment is part-time alongside a sport and exercise management degree.
Prendergast now bats at three for Ireland, up from the middle order when captain Laura Delany and head coach Ed Joyce decided that having one of their best batters face as many balls as possible was the optimal move.
[ Aggressive Ireland beat Pakistan to secure first ever series win away from home ]
“I think Ed came to me earlier on in the summer and said to go with a more attacking mindset coming into T20 cricket,” explains Prendergast. “Especially in that powerplay ... I was really clear with being as positive as I can and clearing the inner ring as much as possible.”
Prendergast’s new role marked a change in approach from Ireland’s batting line-up, particularly the top three. Professionalism has led to more time in the gym and a commitment to developing the power hitting game required in T20 cricket.
Alongside Prendergast, Gaby Lewis and Amy Hunter – especially in the win over Australia – have led the way as Ireland score more boundaries, leading to the faster accumulation of runs.
Such an aggressive approach could well have been shelved once Rebecca Stokell, Ireland’s best finisher and lower order insurance batter, was ruled out of the tournament with a foot injury. Her absence might have drained confidence up the order in those below them. Ireland’s strike rates against Australia emphatically proved that was not the case.
“Ed was very clear on what he wanted, how we go about our innings,” explains Prendergast. “He’s been very clear with myself, Gaby and Amy, how we’re going to take the game on and be positive in our options. He always said, ‘if it doesn’t come off, it doesn’t come off’.
“We have that backing, keep sticking to your guns.”
On the bowling side, Prendergast is Ireland’s fastest option, her inswing to right handers with the new ball a genuine threat. Recognising that, Ireland use her almost exclusively at the start of the innings.
Against Pakistan in November, she often bowled her allocation of overs in one go at the start. The opposition batters played conservatively as a result, protecting their wicket but consequently put themselves under pressure to attack Ireland’s spin attack later on. The process both increased Ireland’s wicket-taking threat with the new ball while protecting their vulnerability in the middle overs.
“There wasn’t a specific plan behind it,” explains Prendergast. “In that first T20 I was economical enough and Dels [Laura Delany] said ‘keep going, get through as much of the game as possible’.
With Prendergast part of a young core leading the way, pre-tournament expectations of this Ireland side are as high as they ever have been. Stokell’s injury plus a spin department that doesn’t take as many wickets as desired are causes for concern, but in a group with Pakistan and a West Indies outfit in turmoil, wins will nevertheless be achievable.
If those results go their way, all that stands between Ireland and a World Cup semi-final berth is a good day out against England or India.
“We’ve had recent success against Pakistan and we feel like we can target West Indies,” agrees Prendergast. “England and India, we can compete with them on our best days. We’re not shying away from those teams.
“Our mindset has shifted, qualifying was the main goal. It’s nice to be here but it’s not where we want to stop. We have two games in the middle there we are targeting and believe we can win. It’s not a case of being happy to be here, we want to take it on.”
Women’s T20 World Cup, Ireland fixtures
Monday, February 13th: Ireland vs England, Boland Park, Paarl, 1pm (all times Irish)
Wednesday, February 15th: Pakistan vs Ireland, Newlands, Cape Town, 5pm
Friday, February 17th: West Indies vs Ireland, Newlands, Cape Town, 5pm
Monday, February 20th: India vs Ireland, St George’s Park, Gqeberha, 1pm
All games live on Sky Sports
