As both myself and the hubby, “celebrate” our 65th birthdays, our diaries are pretty full for 2026. So, unusually, we had no intention of watching any cricket (apart from on the telly). However when the Womens T20 World Cup is being played in England and one of your favourite grounds announces it’s not only hosting a double header, one of the matches includes the England team, how can you not book tickets 🎫 .

A few clicks on the interweb, two tickets dropped into the basket and were purchased, a few more clicks and a hotel room across the road from the ground was also booked. Just three weeks to wait 👏👏👏

Match 1 – New Zealand vs Sri Lanka

New Zealand, the defending Women’s T20 World Cup Title Holders came into this match having already lost their opening match to the West Indies with one ball to spare. Today’s opponents Sri Lanka, had also lost their opening match to England. So both teams really needed a win to keep their hopes alive.

 

After winning the toss, New Zealand elected to bat. There were some moments of brilliance, but the wickets of their early batters tumbled quickly. As the captain’s wicket fell for 45, they had scored a mere 96 runs. The previous captain came to the crease scoring a further 45 before being caught and the team were floundering at 139 for the loss of 5 wickets. The arrival of a pigeon strutting across the pitch brought a little light relief, especially as it took up residence for the rest of the game, unfazed by balls whizzing passed its head 😂

 

With just under 3 overs left, the remaining batters stumbled the score to 150 for 6, within the allotted 20 overs. Not a bad final score, but also not unachievable by the Sri Lankan team.

 

Sri Lanka’s batters set off with a flurry, but after losing their first wicket at 45 runs, they stuttered losing a further 3 wickets in just 3 overs adding just 10 runs. With their higher order batters having fallen, we thought it was all over.

However the New Zealand team became complacent and there were numerous mistakes in the field, allowing Sri Lanka to accumulate a further 50 runs before they lost another wicket. Requiring 9 runs an over in the final 5 overs and with lower order batters at the crease it looked like a mountain to climb.

The two ladies held their nerve and reeled in the score, hitting a few boundaries and running hard between the stumps. Three balls remaining and just 1 run separated the scores. Sri Lanka needed 2 runs to claim victory. But the sound as the next ball hit the bat, we knew it was going to fly. As it sailed across the boundary for 4, Sri Lanka had scored a fabulous win against the current holders.

The twists and turns as each team picked up their game then dropped their guard, made for a very entertaining match and we still had the England match to come.

Match 2 – England vs Ireland

As is our luck, as the 1st match drew to a close, the rain started to tumble. Fortunately our seats were under cover, but we got a bit wet walking around the concourse looking for a bite to eat. ☔️ But the clouds quickly blew across and as the pitch covers were removed the teams arrived to warm up.

I’m not known for being very emotional, but I am a proud Brit, and as the St George’s Flag unfurled on the pitch and the National Anthem resounded around the ground I have to admit it brought a lump to my throat and a tear to my eye. C’mon England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Our girls took to the field as the first two Irish girls arrived at the wicket. We had an amazing start, sending 5 batters back to the pavilion, by half way with only 57 runs on the board. It was a slow innings and wickets kept falling. As the final ball was bowled they had one wicket remaining and just 118 runs in hand.

Based on Englands first match, when they scored 220 we were confident the win was in the bag!

It wasn’t an easy watch. Wickets tumbled and before the end of the 6th over we were 3 down for a measly 35 runs. Had the team been as complacent as us?

The captain and previous captain came to the rescue and the runs started flowing. The target was within their sights. However there was a bizzare couple of overs, when one of the wickets fell, the captain then suddenly left the field (we assumed injured) and the replacement batter was run out for just 2 😱. Still 8 runs to get, but the next two ladies stood firm and got us over the line with 15 balls to spare 😮‍💨

The second game wasn’t as entertaining as the first, but it was a good day, and with the England team still unbeaten, we were hoping to see them continue winning, get through to the final and hold the trophy aloft 🏆

They reached the semis and beat South Africa by 40 runs.

Just the final, against the formidable Aussie team to overcome 🤞Sadly it was not to be and the Ladies were runners up, but what an achievement 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿