Photo Credit: Cricket Ireland
Ireland Women are set to take on some of the world’s best over the next two weeks in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in South Africa. After coming through a qualifying tournament in Abu Dhabi last September, as well as two excellent performances in recent warm-up games, confidence is high in the Irish camp.
The victory over the world champions Australia on Wednesday has given the squad a huge boost heading into the competition, which for Ireland begins on Monday with a clash against near neighbours England.
Gaby Lewis was speaking at training earlier today:
It’s 35 degrees today. How’s the squad coping with the conditions?
“It’s actually nice to get a run-around. We played a bit of football early on, which got us going and then we’ve had a really good net session, so yeah it’s really nice to get outside. We had a day off yesterday, so it’s great to get back to training today.”
England first up on Monday. A tough opponent, but the last two games must have given you some confidence?
“Yeah, we’ve got great confidence from the last two games. We obviously had the win against Australia, which was massive for us. But look, it’s only the start for us in this tournament, so we’re ready to go for England on Monday and we’re really excited to get going in in the first group game.”
How are you finding batting conditions out here?
“It’s really nice. We’ve been at a few venues. We were at Stellenbosch Oval for the first two warm-up games, and it’s been really good. We’ve really enjoyed it. Nice flat pitches, and a nice flat outfield as well, so it’s been really good. We’re really enjoying it. So we’re all set and ready to go on Monday.”
It’s been five years. What’s it mean to be back on the World Cup stage?
“Ah, it’s brilliant. We obviously missed out on the last one, so I think we’re really cherishing this opportunity to be back. And yeah, we won’t let the opportunity pass us by. We’re ready to take it on and we can’t wait to get going and hopefully get a few wins under our belt.”
BROADCAST
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has also announced the details of its broadcast and digital arrangements for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2023, which is set to create a new benchmark for consumption of women’s cricket.
- Sky Sports will broadcast all 23 matches in Ireland and the UK
- The ICC Women’s T20 World Cup fixtures schedule is available here
Global broadcast licensees include Sky Sports (UK and Ireland), Fox Sports (Australia), USA (Willow TV and ESPN+), Star Sports (Sri Lanka, Maldives, Nepal and Bhutan), Pakistan (PTV Sports and A-Sports), Sky Sport (New Zealand), ESPN (Caribbean Islands), GaziTV and TSports (Bangladesh), Willow TV and Hotstar (Canada), ESPN+ (Central & South America and Mexico), Astro Cricket (Hong Kong and Malaysia), TVWAN and Digicel (Pacific Islands), Starhub (Singapore) and YuppTV (Afghanistan, Continental Europe and South East Asia).
The event, which is being hosted in South Africa begins today, Friday 10 February with the hosts taking on Sri Lanka. The final will be played on Sunday 26 February in Newlands, Cape Town, where the winners will be crowned 2023 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup champions.
Ireland Women have been drawn in Group 2 alongside England, West Indies, Pakistan, and India. Ireland will open their campaign with a game against England on Day Three of the competition, Monday 13 February at 3.00pm local time (1pm Ireland time).
In addition to the ICC’s live coverage of the matches will be a 30-minute pre-game build-up, an innings interval show and a post-game wrap-up.
ICC TV will also produce a host of additional content off the field of play like daily player profiles, team features, match previews, venue features and other behind-the-scenes content, getting fans closer to the action.
Fans will be able to access highlights, live scores & schedules as well as the standings, while at-match digital content teams will ensure those following @ICC and @T20worldcup Facebook and Instagram channels will enjoy behind-the-scenes content and player exclusives from the event.
The official hashtag for the event is #t20worldcup for those wanting to join the fan community.
