Who's playing whom?
New Zealand will face Ireland in Southampton on Friday at 5.30pm GMT. Both teams are yet to register a win at this T20 World Cup, and a third successive defeat would make the road to semi-finals tougher.
New Zealand and Ireland have faced each other only four times in this format, with the defending champions winning all four. Their last T20I meeting, however, was eight years ago, at the 2018 Women's T20 World Cup, when Sophie Devine pummelled Ireland with a 21-ball fifty. While New Zealand will start as favourites on paper, Ireland - who are yet to win a Women's T20 World Cup match in 19 attempts - will be keen to put up a stiff fight. New Zealand's issues have largely been on the field, having dropped seven catches against West Indies and three against Sri Lanka.
Team news and likely XIs
New Zealand have remained unchanged for both the matches, with Suzie Bates yet to feature. Will they be tempted to bring in an experienced player for a crucial contest?
New Zealand XI (probable): 1 Georgia Plimmer, 2 Izzy Gaze (wk), 3 Melie Kerr (capt), 4 Sophie Devine, 5 Brooke Halliday, 6 Maddy Green, 7 Izzy Sharp, 8 Jess Kerr, 9 Nensi Patel, 10 Rosemary Mair, 11 Bree Illing
Ireland were forced into a change against England, with Louise Little replacing Ava Canning. Canning was subsequently ruled out of the remainder of the tournament with a stress fracture in her back. Ireland are likely to field the same side.
Ireland (probable): 1 Amy Hunter (wk), 2 Alana Dalzell, 3 Gaby Lewis (capt), 4 Orla Prendergast, 5 Rebecca Stokell, 6 Leah Paul, 7 Alice Tector, 8 Arlene Kelly, 9 Louise Little, 10 Cara Murray 11 Aimee Maguire
Players to watch
Sophie Devine smashed a brisk 22 and followed it up with a quickfire 45 from No. 4 in this World Cup. Since the start of this year, she has scored 355 runs at 154.34 strike rate - the second-most by a New Zealand player in 2026 - including three fifties in ten innings. With her experience and game awareness, Devine will be expected to play a key role with both bat and ball.
Aimee Maguire, the 19-year-old left-arm spinner, will be vital to Ireland's hopes of containing New Zealand. Nine of her 21 T20I wickets have come this year, after making her debut in 2023. That she has opened the bowling in both of Ireland's matches at this World Cup underlines the trust the team has in her. Against England, she removed both openers inside powerplay to put the hosts on the back foot. Ireland will be hoping for a similar performance in Southampton.
Weather and conditions
The start of the England-Ireland game in Southampton was delayed by over an hour because of rain on Tuesday. Friday, however, is expected to be dry, with temperatures reaching 24 degrees celsius. The three matches played there so far have been on the same hybrid surface, which has retained some live grass on it. On each occasion, the chasing side has emerged victorious.
Quotes
"We came, we came here trying to get off the mark to win the game in the World Cup. If we could win one early enough, we would have changed our goals to see how far we could get and how much pressure we could put on teams. I think we set new standards for ourselves tonight, and so if we can keep that momentum and play like that again, then we've got a chance of getting that first win on the board." Ireland coach Lloyd Tennant
