Three years ago, Orla Prendergast, who was just 20 at the time, was named as the 12th player on the ICC's team of the tournament at the 2023 T20 World Cup. Prendergast and West Indies' offspinner Karishma Ramharack were the only two players from teams who did not reach the semi-finals on the list and Prendergast the only player whose team did not win a game, which tells you something about how valuable their contributions were.
On the face of it, Prendergasts' numbers were not outstanding. In four innings, she scored 109 runs, seven fewer than Ireland's leading run-scorer Gaby Lewis, and more than half of those came in one match. But it was that knock - a fighting 61 against West Indies which accounted for almost half Ireland's total of 137 - which swung selection in Prendergast's favour. She hit six fours and a six, at a strike rate of 129.78, which, even just a few years ago, was better than what many could do.
Along with three wickets and an economy rate of six, Prendergast was picked on potential as much as performance and in hindsight, the selection panel were onto something.
Fast forward to 2026, and Prendergast has been head and shoulders Ireland's best player at a tournament where they finally got their first win. She starred in both departments as they won a match after 22 attempts and five editions, and perhaps it was no surprise that it was West Indies they beat.
In 2023, Ireland ran West Indies close and almost defended a score of 137 for 9. Prendergast did her bit and gave away only 23 runs in four overs and it took West Indies until the penultimate ball to seal victory in Cape Town. In Bristol, Ireland chased after Prendergast took 1 for 29 in four overs and then she anchored the pursuit with her second half-century of the tournament and third against West Indies.
This time, she didn't have Lewis for support after the Irish captain was dismissed for 9 and had to form a partnership with young wicketkeeper Amy Hunter against a West Indies side desperate for a win. Victory would have guaranteed West Indies a place in the semi-finals (they got there after New Zealand lost to England) and they were searching for wickets.
Prendergast took the fight to them with a display of aggressive hitting, from the time she got her first runs, a hard sweep for four off Ashmini Munisar, to the shot that she was dismissed for, an attempted slog-sweep off Hayley Matthews. In between, Prendergast was exceptional with her back-foot play and was able to cut and hook at will. An indication of how good she was off the short ball was that she scored 42 of her 63 runs behind square and that included the six she struck off Qiana Joseph. Six of her eight fours came in that region.
More than the angles and areas, Prendergast held her nerve in a situation where Ireland had faltered little more than week ago. They needed 141 to beat New Zealand in Southampton and were 116 for 2 in the 18th over when Prendergast's dismissal spooked the middle order. This time, she knew she had to take it as deep as possible. She carried Ireland to within 21 runs of victory, got the required rate down to less than a run a ball, and infused them with a sense of belief that seemed to have abandoned them not too long ago.
Just after Ireland's loss to Sri Lanka, Prendergast said they were "scratching our heads" as to why they had yet to win a World Cup game and put it down to the occasion of a major tournament and a lack of batting resilience. "When the pressure of a World Cup comes, we seem to crumble that little bit," she said earlier this week. "I just don't think we've batted well enough across the games."
She also said that the desperation to win was growing to the point where it was consuming Ireland. "There's definitely pressure and there's just so much want. The New Zealand game slipped through the cracks and we didn't get it there when we definitely felt we should have. Sri Lanka today was another game we thought we could win. We've let ourselves down a little bit."
That changed as Ireland celebrated with a sizable group of traveling supporters and channeled some of the energy of their men's team, who beat India for the first time on Friday. "We said they were very brave in the way they played, can we mimic that?" Lloyd Tennant, Ireland's coach said. "This was our last chance so could we leave as much out on that field as we possibly can and play brave cricket?"
Prendergast answered the question with a defining innings that will always be part of the annals of Irish cricket. She also exemplifies the problem of why they haven't done it sooner, or more regularly. Despite being a Full Member, Ireland have both financial struggles which hamper development and the problem of their players having less exposure to high profile competition than they may want. Unlike Scotland, where every player bar Chloe Abel is active in the England domestic circuit, Ireland's players are committed to their own domestic program and rarely get picked up in leagues abroad.
Prendergast is already an exception. She has some WBBL and WCPL experience and Tennant hopes this innings will get her more. "Orla has been outstanding for some time for the team. You can generally rely on her, and she's a very consistent player, but also she pops up with some brilliant bowling or batting. She has got a touch of brilliance," he said. "I'm hoping people are watching and she could get into competitions around the world."
Selection committees, take note.