England beat Ireland despite Sciver-Brunt injury scare

By Cricketing Country | Posted Posted Jun 17, 2026

England registered their second victory of the Women's T20 World Cup with a four-wicket win over Ireland in Southampton, although concerns emerged over captain Nat Sciver-Brunt after she retired hurt late in the chase.

Sciver-Brunt struck 48 from 37 balls and had guided England to within nine runs of victory when she walked off with tightness in the same calf she injured before the tournament. Match officials recorded the dismissal as a "retired out", marking the first such instance in Women's T20 World Cup history. The England captain later described the move as precautionary.

An hour-long rain delay pushed back the start of the match, but no overs were lost and England completed the chase with 15 balls remaining after restricting Ireland to 118 for 9.

England's bowlers dominated throughout. Linsey Smith and Lauren Bell provided early breakthroughs before Sophie Ecclestone claimed 3 for 22 and Charlie Dean returned miserly figures of 2 for 11. Dani Gibson also picked up two wickets as Ireland struggled to build momentum.

Orla Prendergast and Louise Little top-scored with 26 runs each. Little, playing in place of the injured Ava Canning, provided a late flourish with four boundaries off Bell in the final over to lift Ireland to a competitive total.

Smith made the first breakthrough when Amy Hunter's attempted sweep crashed into the stumps, while Bell removed captain Gaby Lewis for a first-ball duck courtesy of a fine catch from Heather Knight. Dean then struck with a wicket-maiden as Ireland slipped to 25 for 3.

Ecclestone continued her excellent tournament, dismissing Rebecca Stokell before cleaning up Arlene Kelly and Cara Murray to move level with India's Deepti Sharma as the leading wicket-taker of the competition.

England's chase began shakily. Amy Jones and Danni Wyatt-Hodge fell within three balls of each other, both caught by Lewis at wide mid-off, while Prendergast produced a superb yorker to bowl Alice Capsey and reduce the hosts to 35 for 3.

However, the experience of former captain Heather Knight and current skipper Sciver-Brunt steadied the innings. The pair added 64 runs for the fourth wicket, effectively taking the game away from Ireland. Knight's innings ended after Prendergast successfully reviewed an lbw decision, but England remained in control.

After Sciver-Brunt retired, Freya Kemp was run out to briefly raise Ireland's hopes, but Gibson and Dean calmly finished the chase.

The victory maintained England's unbeaten start to the tournament, while Ireland suffered a second defeat despite a spirited bowling display and Little's late cameo with the bat.