England Women vs Ireland Women, Match 8 Match Summary

Full-time at the Rose Bowl - That wraps up the second encounter at the Rose Bowl, where England Women get the better of their neighbours, Ireland Women. But the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026 rolls on, and the action now moves to a busy day of cricket with a triple-header lined up on Wednesday, 18th June. First up, Bangladesh Women take on Australia Women at 9.30 am GMT, before India Women face Netherlands Women at 1.30 pm GMT (7 pm IST). Both games will be played at Headingly, Leeds. In the third game of the day, South Africa Women go up against Pakistan Women at Edgbaston in Birmingham, with that contest set to begin at 5.30 pm GMT. As always, do join us early for all the build-up to all three games. Until then, cheers and goodbye!

The victorious skipper of England Women - Nat Sciver-Brunt says she is really happy to win two differently looking games but is happy to get over the line. On what pleased her the most from this game, she details that the way they bowled as a unit and restricted Ireland to a low total was impressive. She acknowledges Ireland had plans to take the game away at times, but the bowlers stayed in control on a good wicket. On her getting retired out and overall fitness, Sciver-Brunt clarifies it was purely precautionary after feeling some tightness in her calf. About the group standings, she stresses England cannot afford to take any game lightly, pointing to the last T20 World Cup, where it came down to net run rate, and adds that the focus is simply on keeping the momentum going in the same manner.

The captain of Ireland Women - On Ireland's total, Gaby Lewis says they know 118 is probably below par and ideally they want to get closer to 150. She adds that the late partnership, particularly from Louisa, gave them a bit of a boost. At the halfway stage, the score felt under par, but after the way they started with the ball, she admits another 20 runs might have made a big difference. Overall, she says she is proud of the group's effort. On areas to improve, she admits the Powerplay with the bat remains an area they need to address. Losing three wickets early is far from ideal and only makes life tougher for the middle order. On the positive side, she praises the bowling effort and says the energy in the field was outstanding. She believes that if they can carry those aspects forward, they will be in a good place. On the positives from the performance, she says there are plenty of encouraging signs. She points to the way Ireland finish strongly with the bat and highlights several impressive performances with the ball. Aimee Maguire, in particular, earns special praise for bringing great energy and a real willingness to learn. She adds that the more opportunities Maguire gets against top sides like England, the better she will become. On lessons ahead of the next match, she says the team learns more about the conditions, especially under lights, which remains a relatively new experience for some of the players. She adds that every game is an opportunity to learn and improve, and the squad is already looking forward to the next challenge against New Zealand.

Let's hear from the captains now...

The Irish show heart in defeat - Ireland Women can take plenty of positives from this bowling display. Aimee Maguire struck twice early to put England under pressure, while Orla Prendergast was the standout performer, returning excellent figures of 2/17. The support cast chipped in admirably, though some sloppy ground fielding cost them at crucial moments. In the end, they simply did not have enough runs on the board. Despite pushing England far harder than expected, Ireland slipped to their second successive defeat of the World Cup.

Ireland struggle to get going - Earlier in the game, Ireland Women could only manage a well below-par total, with Orla Prendergast's gritty 26 and a late cameo from Louise Little, who struck 26 off just 15 balls, helping them get closer to the 120-run mark. Beyond those two, the innings never really took off, with six single-digit scores underlining their batting struggles. England's bowlers were simply too good, with Sophie Ecclestone leading the charge with a three-wicket haul, Danielle Gibson picking up two, and every other bowler except Freya Kemp getting among the wickets as well.

Experienced pair seals the deal - England Women began the chase steadily, but the game suddenly came alive when both openers fell in identical fashion in the same over, leaving the hosts wobbling at 27/2, soon becoming 35/3. With the innings threatening to unravel, the experienced duo of Heather Knight and skipper Nat Sciver-Brunt took charge. Their composed 64-run partnership all but shut the door on Ireland's hopes. Knight fell before the finish line, while Sciver-Brunt retired out on 48 with some concern, leading to an untidy end to the chase. It was hardly a flawless display, but England had done enough to secure the two points.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH - Sophie Ecclestone wins the award for her amazing bowling spell of 3/22. On being asked about the win, Sophie Ecclestone says it is nice to get a couple of wins under their belt and hopes England can keep the momentum going. On entering the top five wicket-takers list, she admits she was not really aware of the milestone and says it is nice to hear, but quickly shifts focus to what matters most, contributing to the team's success, and sets her sights on making it three wins from three next time out. On her role in the side, Ecclestone says she just wants to keep taking wickets and adds that England are fortunate to have a great attack with both spin and seam options to call upon.

England get the job done - England Women make it two wins from two, but this was far from the commanding performance they would have hoped for. Chasing a modest target, many expected the hosts to cruise to victory, yet Ireland Women made them scrap for every single run. Credit to the Irish for their relentless fight and disciplined bowling, while England's innings was also littered with some puzzling shot selection. They got the job done in the end, but performances like this could prove costly later on in the tournament..

WIDE! England Women win by 4 wickets and 15 balls to spare. A bit of an anti-climax to wrap it up. Alice sprays it miles down leg, on a fuller length. Charlie Dean leaves it alone. The keeper, Hunter, dives to her left, but the ball evades her and seeps through to the deep. This makes two wins in two games for England Women and they have put themselves in a very good position moving ahead.

Short of a good length, on top of middle. Danielle Gibson pulls it on the bounce to deep mid-wicket for a single. SCORES ARE LEVEL!

Beaten! At 108.7 kph, this is dug in short, just outside off. Danielle Gibson looks to cut it square on the off side but misses as the ball whistles past the outside edge.

Back of a length and outside off. Danielle Gibson rides the bounce and smashes it over backward point for a couple of runs.

England Women are just one hit away now from the win.

FOUR! Squeezed away! Cara dishes out a low full toss, on off. Charlie Dean shimmies down the track, takes it on the full and carves it perfectly between cover and cover-point for a boundary. Just a matter of a hit then. England need 4 runs to win.

Full and on middle, Charlie Dean advances down the track and chips it on the bounce to catching mid on.

On a length, punched towards cover by Dean.

The next batter in is Charlie Dean.

OUT! FREYA KEMP IS RUN OUT! This is a bit untidy by England towards the end. Fuller in the length, outside off. Gibson punches it towards cover and sets off for the run. The throw from Aimee Maguire back to the keeper is not quite on target, but Amy Hunter does brilliantly to collect it to her left, fling herself towards the stumps and break them in one motion. Kemp cannot make her ground in time. The celebrations are very lowkey from Ireland, though, as England need just 8 runs to win from 21 balls.

An appeal for stumping, but not given. Nicely looped up, full and outside off. Danielle Gibson is sucked on the front foot to loft it over the leg side, but the ball dips and spins away to beat the outside edge. Amy Hunter, the keeper, collects the ball and whips the bails off. The background replay confirms that Gibson has dragged her back leg into the crease just in the nick of time.

Slower through the air, on off. Danielle Gibson cuts the length ball to cover.

Fractionally fuller, on off. Danielle Gibson backs away and steers it to deep cover for an easy single.

What's happening? Well, it looks like Nat Sciver-Brunt is retiring out here. Hopefully, it is nothing serious as she walks straight to the dressing room. Danielle Gibson replaces her in the middle.

Nat Sciver-Brunt has not recovered from the injury suffered and won't be able to participate any more with the bat. As it stands, Nat Sciver-Brunt is retired out.

FOUR! Into single digits now! Full and pitched outside leg, following the batter as Nat shuffles. Sciver-Brunt gets her bat under the ball and whips it to the gap between deep mid-wicket and deep square leg. Rebecca Stokell runs and slides to her left to cut it off, but cannot do so cleanly and lets the ball through to the ropes. England Women need 9 runs from 25 balls.

Length ball, outside off. Nat Sciver-Brunt advances down the track but mistimes her drive to mid off.

Slightly fuller on off, Freya Kemp tries to force the drive to the off side, but inside edges as the ball slightly nips back in. It deflects off the front pad and rolls in front of point for a single.

Around middle and leg, on a good length. Nat Sciver-Brunt whips it to deep square leg for a single.

Length ball, on off, Nat stands tall and bunts it back to the bowler.

England Women need just 15 runs from 30 balls. Alice Tector is back into the attack.