England Women vs Ireland ODI Series 2026: Schedule

The england women vs ireland odi series 2026 is three Metro Bank ODIs played across six days in the first week of September, at three county grounds in the Midlands and the West Midlands. It is the last international cricket England's women play at home this year, and it is the only fixture list Ireland have in England in 2026 outside the World Cup. Here is the schedule first, and the context afterwards.

Match	Date	Ground	Start
1st Metro Bank ODI	Tuesday 1 September 2026	Grace Road, Leicester	1pm BST (day/night)
2nd Metro Bank ODI	Thursday 3 September 2026	County Ground, Derby	1pm BST (day/night)
3rd Metro Bank ODI	Sunday 6 September 2026	New Road, Worcester	11am BST

Fifty overs a side, three grounds, no T20s attached. The two midweek games are afternoon-into-evening fixtures finishing under floodlights; the Sunday at Worcester is a conventional daytime start, which makes it the easiest of the three for families and for anyone travelling any distance.

What the series counts towards

These are not friendlies. All three matches carry points in the 2025-2029 ICC Women's Championship, the fourth edition of the competition and the mechanism by which teams qualify for the 2029 Women's Cricket World Cup. The current cycle expanded to eleven nations with the addition of Zimbabwe: each side plays eight three-match series, four at home and four away, producing 132 ODIs across 44 series over four years.

That structure changes what an England-Ireland series means. Under the old arrangement, a bilateral between an established side and an emerging one had no standing beyond the trophy cabinet. Now every fifty-over match Ireland play against a Championship opponent is worth the same two points as anybody else's, and points banked in September 2026 sit on the table until the cycle closes. For a side that has spent most of its history trying to force its way into qualifying tournaments, having a guaranteed run of fixtures against the leading nations is the single biggest structural change in the women's game outside the professional contracts.

England's own position in the table matters less in the short term — they will expect to qualify — but a 3-0 return and a healthy net run rate is worth having, and this is the only home Championship series they play this year.

The three grounds

Grace Road, Leicester. Leicestershire's headquarters, about two miles south of the city centre, is the least-used of the three by England's women and gets the series opener. It is a compact ground with a big square and a reputation for producing surfaces that reward patient bowling. Our Leicester ODI match guide covers travel and the day in detail.

County Ground, Derby. Derbyshire's ground on Nottingham Road has already staged an England Women's international this summer — the Vitality IT20 against New Zealand on 20 May, won by seven wickets — so this is its second England appearance in a season. It sits on the site of the old Derby Racecourse, which is why the outfield is so flat and so exposed. The Derby ODI guide has the practical detail.

New Road, Worcester. The most photographed county ground in England, on the banks of the Severn with the cathedral behind the pavilion, and the one that floods most reliably in winter. A Sunday morning start here is as pleasant a day as the domestic calendar offers. See the Worcester ODI guide.

The choice of venues is policy rather than accident. The ECB has deliberately moved England Women's bilateral cricket away from the 25,000-seat Test grounds and into county headquarters where four or five thousand people make a proper noise. A full New Road looks and sounds like an event; the same crowd at Edgbaston looks like an empty stadium. The trade-off is capacity, which is why these fixtures sell out more often than people expect. The full spread of grounds used this year is set out in our survey of England Women's home venues in 2026.

How England arrive

Nat Sciver-Brunt's side comes into September with a summer that reads better in the bilateral columns than in the ones people remember.

Series	Result
Metro Bank ODIs v New Zealand (May)	Drawn 1-1, one match abandoned
Vitality IT20s v New Zealand (May)	England won 2-1
Vitality IT20s v India (May-June)	England won 2-1
ICC Women's T20 World Cup (June-July)	Runners-up; lost the final to Australia at Lord's
Rothesay Test v India (July)	India won by 270 runs at Lord's

The two Lord's occasions are what will be remembered. On 5 July, Australia chased England's 150 for 4 in 17.1 overs to win a seventh Women's T20 World Cup, Beth Mooney making 64 from 49 balls in the highest successful chase in a final of that tournament. Five days later England were beaten by 270 runs in the first women's Test ever staged at the ground, India declaring on 341 for 7 after England had been dismissed for 170 in reply to 285.

Set against that, the ODI form is thin. England have played three fifty-over internationals in 2026 — the New Zealand series, of which one was washed out — and lost the last one, at Sophia Gardens, by 17 runs on DLS. A three-match series in September is the first proper block of one-day cricket the side has had all year, and with a 50-over World Cup cycle now running, that matters more than a September series normally would.

How Ireland arrive

Ireland's women have been on a steeper curve than the results table suggests, and Gaby Lewis, confirmed as permanent captain after leading the side in the 2024 series against England, has been at the centre of it.

The two teams have met in this format recently enough for the comparison to be useful. England toured Ireland in September 2024 for three ODIs and won the series 2-1, but the shape of it was strange. England took the first, then won the second by 275 runs — their largest ODI victory by a runs margin — with Tammy Beaumont making 150 not out and Ireland dismissed for 45, their lowest total in the format. Ireland then won the third by three wickets off the final ball of the match, Aimee Maguire taking a maiden five-wicket haul. Beaumont was player of the series; Ireland went home with a win over England.

The two sides also met at this summer's World Cup, in the group stage on 16 June, where England won by four wickets with fifteen balls in hand after Ireland posted 118 for 9. Comfortable on paper, laboured in practice.

Fifty overs is a harder examination for Ireland than twenty. A T20 innings can hide a thin middle order; an ODI cannot. But English pitches in September, with seam movement and low evening light, narrow gaps rather than widen them, and Ireland's bowling has been the more developed half of their game for several years.

Neither squad should be assumed. England and Ireland both name white-ball squads a fortnight or so before a series, and with the domestic season and The Hundred running into late August, availability moves late.

Tickets

Tickets are sold by the host county, not centrally: Leicestershire for the opener, Derbyshire for the second match, Worcestershire for the third. Each runs its own box office, its own concessions and its own member arrangements — Derbyshire, for instance, has confirmed complimentary entry for 2026 members at its fixture, which is a common arrangement for women's internationals at county headquarters but not a universal one.

The pattern to expect:

• Advance is cheaper than the gate. Most counties price in an on-the-day increase for adults.
• Juniors are cheap or free. Under-16 pricing at women's internationals is consistently low, and family bundles are standard.
• Accessible seating goes through the box office directly. Wheelchair and companion places at county grounds are rarely sold through general online sale; phone or email the club.
• Group discounts exist. Five or more adults usually attracts a tier.

Actual prices change by county and by how close to the day you buy, so this page does not quote them. The mechanics — ballots, priority windows, resale — are covered in the England Women's 2026 ticket guide.

Watching and following the series

Sky Sports Cricket holds the live UK and Ireland television rights to England's home men's and women's internationals under the ECB agreement that runs to the end of 2028, and has been the home of England Women's fixtures throughout that period. The BBC's arrangement covers highlights of England internationals plus live free-to-air coverage of The Hundred, and BBC audio rights extend across home Tests, ODIs and T20Is, which puts ball-by-ball commentary on Test Match Special and 5 Sports Extra.

That is the established pattern rather than a confirmed listing for these three specific matches — the definitive broadcast schedule appears closer to the date, and radio allocation for a September ODI can depend on what else is running. Confirm in match week. Our guide to watching England Women in the UK sets out the current options in full.

Travel notes for the three days

Ground	Nearest station	Walk	Notes
Grace Road	Leicester	~30 min	Midland Main Line; buses along Aylestone Road
County Ground, Derby	Derby	~30-40 min	Nottingham Road; limited on-site car park on international days
New Road	Worcester Foregate Street / Shrub Hill	~10-15 min from Foregate Street	Riverside walk across the bridge from the city centre

All three are Midland Main Line or West Midlands rail destinations, and all three are realistically doable as day trips from London, Birmingham, Nottingham, Leeds or Manchester. Worcester is the shortest walk from a station of the three and the only one where you can reasonably describe the approach as scenic. Evening services out of Derby and Leicester thin after a day/night finish, so check the last train before you settle in for the closing overs rather than after.

Why September, and why only ODIs

The English season is built around a protected August window for the domestic competitions, so international cricket resumes at the end of the month and runs to late September. England's men have three Tests against Pakistan and a white-ball tour by Sri Lanka in that space; the women have this series. Slotting it after the domestic block means county grounds are available and players are match-fit from The Hundred and the women's professional competitions.

The absence of T20s is a Championship consequence. A three-match ODI series is the fixed unit of the ICC Women's Championship, and with a home World Cup already played this summer, there was no case for adding short-format matches to a calendar that has been unusually full. For the background to how England's women's programme got from county festival cricket to a fully professional structure, see the England women's cricket history guide, the account of the women's domestic structure, and the story of the Women's Ashes in England.

FAQ

When is the England Women v Ireland ODI series in 2026?

Tuesday 1 September at Leicester, Thursday 3 September at Derby and Sunday 6 September at Worcester. The two midweek matches start at 1pm BST as day/night fixtures; the Worcester match starts at 11am.

How many matches are in the England Women v Ireland series?

Three Metro Bank ODIs. There are no T20 internationals attached to the tour.

Is the England v Ireland women's ODI series part of the World Cup qualification?

Yes. All three matches count in the 2025-2029 ICC Women's Championship, which decides qualification for the 2029 Women's Cricket World Cup. Eleven teams play eight three-match series each across the cycle.

Have Ireland ever beaten England in a women's ODI?

Yes. Ireland won the third ODI of the 2024 series in Ireland by three wickets off the last ball, with Aimee Maguire taking her first five-wicket haul. England won that series 2-1.

Where can I watch England Women v Ireland on TV?

Sky Sports Cricket holds live UK rights to England's home internationals to the end of 2028 and has carried England Women's home fixtures throughout. BBC radio covers home internationals through Test Match Special. Check listings in match week for the specific matches.

How do I buy tickets for the England Women v Ireland ODIs?

Through the host county for each match — Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Worcestershire respectively — rather than through the ECB. Buying in advance is normally cheaper than paying at the gate, and accessible seating is booked directly with the club.

Closing out the summer

The england women vs ireland odi series 2026 is the last week of England's home international season and the first extended run of fifty-over cricket the side has had this year, played at three county grounds that suit the fixture better than any Test venue would. Points count towards the next World Cup cycle, tickets come from the host county, and the Sunday at New Road is the one to pick if you can only make one. For everything else in the England section, start at the England cricket hub or the wider guide to cricket in England, and the season's women's fixtures in full are on the England Women's 2026 fixture list.