News

LAHORE, Pakistan – Ireland Women are preparing for the upcoming ODI World Cup Qualifier event (9-19 April 2025) with their opening match taking place tomorrow against Pakistan Women (9 April 2025).

The qualifier tournament is a six-team event in round-robin format including: West Indies, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Scotland, Thailand and Ireland. The top two teams will then qualify for the 2025 ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup to be played in September 2025. The 2025 Women’s ODI World Cup is an eight-team event.

Ireland Women arrived in Pakistan on 4 April. They then played two warm-up games: first against West Indies Women and then Thailand Women – which saw all-rounder Laura Delany score back-to-back half-centuries.  

Ireland Women’s captain, Gaby Lewis, spoke from the team hotel in Dubai:

“We’re feeling very confident going into this Qualifier. We’ve had some great preparation leading up to it with a good training camp in Dubai, and we’ve been working really hard to acclimatise to the heat. There were some heat chamber sessions back home.”

How they want approach this Qualifer tournament: 

“Overall, we’re trying not to put too much pressure on ourselves. It’s mostly about going out, enjoying ourselves and playing with own aggressive nature – then hopefully the results will look after themselves.”

Big players to watch in the Ireland squad:  

“One definitely to watch would be Orla Prendergast. She’s really been great for us over the last twelve months with both bat and ball – so really looking forward to seeing what she can do in this tournament.

“The next player would be Laura Delany, who’s done brilliantly in the first two warm-up games. She’s also been great for us over the last 12 months – so looking forward to seeing her with bat and ball in this Qualifier tournament.”

The welcome they have had since arriving in Pakistan: 

“Yeah it’s been great in Pakistan. We’ve been here before, so we knew exactly what it’s like – you’re always well looked after. We’re set up nicely at the hotel and you feel very safe. We’re really enjoying the surroundings and everyone’s been extremely welcoming. So really looking forward to getting started in the Qualifier.”

FIXTURES

The fixtures are:

• 9 April 2025: Ireland vs Pakistan – Gaddafi Stadium 9:30AM
• 11 April 2025: Ireland vs West Indies – Gaddafi Stadium 9:30AM
• 13 April 2025: Ireland vs Bangladesh – Gaddafi Stadium 14:00PM 
• 15 April 2025: Ireland vs Thailand – LCCA 9:30AM
• 18 April 2025: Ireland vs Scotland Gaddafi Stadium 14:00PM

[Time local to venue]

Livescoring will be available from: https://cricketireland.ie/matches/

WATCH

• A livestream will be available via ICC.tv

SQUAD

Ireland Women’s ODI squad:

• Gaby Lewis (captain), Ava Canning, Christina Coulter Reilly, Alana Dalzell, Laura Delany, Sarah Forbes, Amy Hunter, Arlene Kelly, Louise Little, Sophie MacMahon, Jane Maguire, Kia McCartney, Cara Murray, Leah Paul, Orla Prendergast (vice-captain)
  • Coaching and support staff: Ed Joyce (Head Coach), Glenn Querl (Assistant Coach), James Cameron-Dow (Spin Bowling Coach), Beth Healy (Team Manager), Calum Burdett (Strength & Conditioning), Jay Shelat (Performance Analyst), Niall Ward (Physiotherapist)

POINTS OF INTEREST

• Ireland Women last qualified for an ODI World Cup in 2005.
• In August 2024, Ireland Women beat Sri Lanka Women 2-1 in an ODI series in Belfast. They have also had recent success against Pakistan and Bangladesh in T20I cricket.
• Orla Prendergast is five matches away from a hundred caps for Ireland, while Leah Paul is three matches away from the milestone. Meanwhile Ava Canning is one match away from 50 caps for her country.
• Ireland Women came second in their most recent qualifier for the 2024 T20 World Cup – losing out in the final to Scotland Women for a spot at that tournament.
• Coleraine off-spinner Kia McCartney has been awarded a debut call-up after promising performances for Ireland Under-19s Women, Emerging Ireland Women and domestically in the Evoke Super Series.
• Amy Hunter and Jane Maguire make a return to the squad after time out through injury.