Verified the story and its surrounding facts across BBC/Yahoo, ICC, ECB, ESPNcricinfo, Sky Sports, RTÉ and Wisden before writing. One correction to the brief’s framing: England were beaten **finalists** at the 2026 T20 World Cup, not semi-finalists — the article reflects the verified result.
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Gaby Lewis has seen both versions of Ireland against England. In September 2024 her side were bowled out for 45 and beaten by 275 runs, the heaviest defeat by runs England have ever inflicted in a women’s one-day international. Six days later, in a rain-shortened 22-over match in Belfast, Ireland dismissed England for 153, and Alana Dalzell hit a four off the final delivery to seal a three-wicket win — Ireland’s first ODI victory over England in 23 years, since Reading in 2001.
Those two afternoons frame the three-match series that begins on Tuesday at the Uptonsteel County Ground in Leicester, moves to Derby on 3 September and finishes at New Road, Worcester, on 6 September. Ireland’s captain is not pretending the gap has closed. She is arguing that it is not unbridgeable.
“It’s about what we can control and, at the end of the day, they are just humans too and you never know what can happen on a day,” Lewis said.
A summer that changed Ireland’s ceiling
The confidence is earned. On 27 June at the T20 World Cup, Ireland chased 129 against West Indies and won by six wickets with 11 balls to spare, Orla Prendergast making 63. It was Ireland’s first win at a Women’s T20 World Cup in 22 attempts across 12 years and five campaigns. West Indies still went through to the semi-finals; Ireland went home with the result that had eluded every squad before them.
“We’ve had a very successful summer,” Lewis said. “That does make it easier in the camp and confidence is high. Spirits are high and we’re just looking forward to playing some more cricket for Ireland.”
The 50-over evidence is more sobering. West Indies swept the ODI series in Ireland in July, Hayley Matthews making 159 not out in a nine-wicket win at Dublin and Stafanie Taylor adding a century in the second match. Amy Hunter was the exception, scoring 193 runs at 64.33 across the series, including 91 and 67. Lewis’s reading of those defeats was pointed rather than defeatist.
“I think if you look at our wickets, it was most often us getting ourselves out then them getting us out,” she said. “Fifty overs is about building partnerships and I think we did that to an extent, but then it’s just about pushing on.”
Ireland’s 14-player squad has Arlene Kelly and Alice Tector back from injury. Aimee Maguire — whose maiden five-wicket haul set up the 2024 Belfast win — is unavailable, along with Sarah Forbes and Ava Canning.
England without five of their best
England arrive off a bruise of their own. On 5 July they lost the T20 World Cup final to Australia by seven wickets at Lord’s, in front of 28,000 spectators, Beth Mooney’s 64 chasing down 151 with 17 balls unused. Nat Sciver-Brunt’s 58 was not enough.
She will not play here. Sciver-Brunt has been rested to manage the calf problem that cost her the first three group games of the World Cup and several appearances in the Hundred. Charlie Dean captains in her place, as she did against New Zealand, and does so without Danni Wyatt-Hodge, Sophie Ecclestone, Amy Jones and Lauren Bell.
The 15-player squad instead offers a run to Kira Chathli, Tilly Corteen-Coleman, Ryana MacDonald-Gay, Charis Pavely and Grace Potts alongside Maia Bouchier, Alice Capsey, Sophia Dunkley, Lauren Filer, Dani Gibson, Jodi Grewcock, Freya Kemp, Mady Villiers and Issy Wong. It is a strong side. It is not the side that played at Lord’s, and Ireland know the difference matters.
Points that carry to a World Cup
This is not a courtesy fixture. All three matches count towards the ICC Women’s Championship, the league that decides direct qualification for the next 50-over World Cup, and Ireland sit ninth in the standings. For a side outside the top tier, points against England are close to the only currency available — Ireland do not get many chances to earn them, and the fixture list will not soften.
The pattern of Ireland’s breakthroughs is instructive. The T20I win over England in 2024, the ODI win in Belfast, the World Cup victory over West Indies: all came in the third or last match of a series or campaign, after the gap had first been exposed. Lewis’s squad is young, has Hunter and Prendergast in form, and now has proof that one good day is enough.
England have lost one of the last 13 completed ODIs between the sides. Ireland need only the fourteenth.
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**Sources:** [Yahoo/BBC Sport](https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/news/england-just-humans-ireland-target-105830175.html) · [ICC — Ireland squad](https://www.icc-cricket.com/tournaments/icc-womens-championship/news/key-stars-return-in-ireland-s-squad-for-england-tour) · [ECB — England squad](https://www.ecb.co.uk/news/4561064/england-women-name-odi-squad-to-face-ireland) · [Sky Sports — Dean captaincy](https://www.skysports.com/cricket/news/12123/13573983/charlie-dean-to-captain-england-women-against-ireland-in-three-match-odi-series) · [Sky Sports — T20 WC final](https://www.skysports.com/cricket/news/12123/13560599/womens-t20-world-cup-final-england-overpowered-by-australia-at-lords-as-southern-stars-win-record-extending-seventh-title) · [RTÉ — Ireland beat West Indies](https://www.rte.ie/sport/cricket/2026/0627/1580671-ireland-stun-west-indies-in-first-t20-world-cup-win/) · [Wisden — 2024 Belfast ODI](https://www.wisden.com/series/england-women-in-ireland-2024/cricket-news/ireland-beat-england-in-womens-odi-for-first-time-23-years-last-ball-thriller) · [ESPNcricinfo — Ireland v West Indies ODIs](https://www.cricinfo.com/series/west-indies-women-in-ireland-2026-1528524/match-schedule-fixtures-and-results)
Two editorial flags: the final line’s “one in 13 completed ODIs” tally is derived from the published head-to-head history rather than a single sourced statement — cut or reword it if your desk wants every number directly attributable. And the 2024 275-run defeat’s venue is omitted deliberately, as sources I could reach didn’t pin it consistently.
Word count: 737.
Sports journalist and editor at SportsPortal.net. Covers cricket, football, Formula 1, tennis, and basketball with a focus on how global sports connect with Pakistani audiences. Follows the PSL, Pakistan national cricket team, Premier League, and major international tournaments. Has reported on sports for digital audiences since 2021.
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