Good morning and welcome to a rather different World Cup. One where expanding the tournament means going from ten nations to 12. One where we never hear a word from a tinpot dictator. One where every match official makes it through the airport.
Historic First Meeting
Today begins with a small piece of cricket history: the first meeting between Scotland and Ireland in a women's World Cup. As Raf Nicholson, our resident expert, said in her tournament preview, it should be a cracker.
By mid-afternoon, we'll almost certainly have another piece of history: the first win for either of these sides in a T20 World Cup. Ireland have made it to the finals four times before, playing 17 games and losing the lot. Scotland appeared for the first time in 2024, playing four games and also losing the lot. In sport, as Emma John observed in a wise column about the Ben Stokes shemozzle, everyone's a loser.
Rivalry and Form
Gaby Lewis, Ireland's captain, says there is a "massive rivalry" between the two nations. History is on Ireland's side: in 15 T20 meetings with Scotland, all in the past eight years, they have won nine and lost six. But form is with Kathryn Bryce and Scotland, who won the last three of those games, including the latest, a World Cup qualifier in Nepal.
Both may be eyeing more than just a first victory. They're in the gentler of the two groups with only one big gun – their mutual foes, England. Second place is expected to go to New Zealand (who are 4th in the world rankings), Sri Lanka (6th) or West Indies (7th), but Ireland (9th) and Scotland (11th) are entitled to dream of an upset. And both of them, when they face that lot, should have the edge in one crucial aspect of the game: reading the weather.
Weather Concerns
The Manchester climate may have something to say today with showers forecast around the start, though they're unlikely to prevent a result. All being well, I'll be back soon with news of the toss and the teams.
