T20 World Cup: ‘We’re not out of this yet’ – Ireland’s Tucker remains optimistic

Wicketkeeper Lorcan Tucker said Ireland have not given up hope of reaching the Super 8s in the 2026 T20 World Cup despite losing their first two group matches.

A 20-run loss to Sri Lanka on Wednesday was followed by a 67-run defeat at the hands of Australia in Colombo to leave Ireland in a precarious position.

The Australians scored 182-6, and after losing their captain Paul Sterling to injury, Ireland slumped to 115 runs in reply.

Heinrich Malan’s side need to win their final two matches in Group B – against Zimbabwe and Oman on Saturday and Tuesday respectively – and for results elsewhere to go their way to a top-two finish in the qualifiers.

“There’s still a lot that can happen, we just have to stay competitive and stay motivated and we’re not out of this yet,” said Tucker, who turned 24 and took over as captain after Sterling’s retirement.

“We just have to make sure we get ready for the next game and put in a really positive performance. I think we didn’t start the game the way we wanted to – Australia got away from us on the power play.

“Our bowlers put in a lot of effort to pull it back, but in the end they finished well before we lost a wicket on our own power play. We got off to a very poor start.”

Sterling produced a brilliant shot to dismiss Josh Inglis, but it proved costly for Ireland as the opener stumbled after delivering the Irish’s first reply.

“I think he took a hit on his knee during the catch – he tried to get out and get off to a good start to our innings but couldn’t do it unfortunately,” Tucker added.

“It was very disappointing and I think after that the train started moving. Hopefully he will be back for the next game.”