AUS vs IRE LIVE SCORE, T20 World Cup 2026: Head dismissed; Australia 7/1 v Ireland; updates

Hello and welcome to Sportstar’s live coverage of the T20 World Cup 2026 match between Australia and Ireland, taking place at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

PLAYING XIs

Australia: Travis Head (C), Josh Inglis (WK), Cameron Green, Matt Renshaw, Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, Cooper Connolly, Xavier Bartlett, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, Matthew Kuhnemann

Ireland: Paul Stirling (C), Ross Adair, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker (WK), Curtis Campher, Ben Calitz, George Dockrell, Gareth Delany, Mark Adair, Barry McCarthy, Matthew Humphreys

TOSS

Australia won the toss and chose to bat first.

PREVIEW

Australia will finally dip its toes into the T20 World Cup 2026 mix on Wednesday when it faces Ireland in a Group ‘B’ fixture at the R. Premadasa Stadium (RPS), Colombo. The 2021 champion, the last of the 20 teams to begin its campaign, has had more time than most to watch how this tournament has unravelled.

Australia and Ireland have met twice in T20Is, with the former winning on both occasions. Their first meeting also came at this venue in 2012, though much has changed since. What hasn’t is the challenge the venue poses, especially for teams that struggle to manage spin through the middle overs.

The lead-up, though, hasn’t been ideal for the 2021 champion. Australia arrives in Sri Lanka following a 0-3 away defeat to Pakistan last month, having also lost a home series to India in November.

Its only warm-up fixture, against the Netherlands, was washed out. Injuries have compounded the problem, with both Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood missing, forcing Australia to rely on a younger pace group comprising Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, and Xavier Bartlett.

Read the full preview – HERE

SQUADS

Australia: Xavier Bartlett, Cooper Connolly, Tim David, Ben Dwarshuis, Cameron Green, Nathan Ellis, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head (c), Josh Inglis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Renshaw, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa

Ireland: Paul Stirling (c), Mark Adair, Ross Adair, Ben Calitz, Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Matthew Humphreys, Josh Little, Barry McCarthy, Harry Tector, Tim Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Ben White, Craig Young

Published on Feb 11, 2026