Ireland open T20 World Cup campaign against England

Ireland head into their fourth T20 World Cup campaign fresh off the back of a three-wicket victory over tournament favourites Australia in Wednesday's warm-up game in Stellenbosch.

Captained by Laura Delany in her fourth T20 World Cup, Ireland reached the tournament by coming through a tough qualifying campaign in Dubai last September, after they narrowly missed out on the last World Cup in Australia.

Ireland claimed their first overseas T20 series victory with a 2-1 win over Pakistan in November, who look to be constantly improving with a squad average age of just 24.

And the Irish kick off their World Cup campaign against England, who are looking to make it two wins from two at the Boland Park in Paarl.

The two sides meet for the first time in T20 World Cup action and have only met each other once in the format – back in 2012 – with England coming out on top.

England are heavy favourites for the match but will be looking to maximise the amount of points they get after they were knocked out in the semi-final last year without a ball being bowled by virtue of finishing second in the group-stage phase.

England got their 2023 tournament off in style as they muscled their way to an emphatic seven-wicket win over the West Indies, charging to their target of 136 in 14.3 overs but will not underestimate Ireland in their second clash.

Sophie Ecclestone starred with the ball and their aggressive style of batting showed, with all five batters hitting above a strike rate of 100, including Sophia Dunkley’s 34 of 18 balls at the top of the order, and may take up a similar approach against the Irish.