There�s another team representing Ireland at the World Twenty20 in India this week, not that you�ll be hearing Nasser Hussein and Pommie Mbangwa eulogising them on Sky. While William Porterfield�s men scraped through in qualifying and lost twice here in India, Isobel Joyce�s women won all five games in their qualifying tournament, beating Bangladesh in a thrilling final.

Although they refuse to compare themselves to the male cricketers, there is no doubt that the team are crying out for that �Pakistan 2007� moment that will make people sit up and notice at home. They have actually beaten Pakistan already, in a minor tournament in Qatar, but to take down one of the world powers at a global event would be a huge boost.

�If we do well it could have a huge impact�, says batter Cecelia Joyce. �But people were watching that in every pub in Ireland, they won�t be watching us. We don�t really feel that weight on us � winning a global tournament was huge for our team.�

�Beating Bangladesh off the last ball was a massive confidence boost to the group�, agrees all-rounder Kim Garth. �We�ve come here really believing we can beat the so-called bigger teams.� That confidence would have taken a blow in Friday�s trouncing by New Zealand, but a win over one of the big four was never likely and sights are now trained on out-of-sorts Sri Lanka today.

The side have been well prepared by coach Aaron Hamilton and his assistant Alex Cusack. The former Ireland star suffered a bereavement three weeks ago and had to return to Brisbane. �Alex is softly spoken but he says what he thinks and is consistent, which is perfect for our team,� says Joyce, �we are disappointed he couldn�t make it, but Hobart Hurricanes coach Julia Price has come in and its great because she knows most of our girls already and she knows women�s T20.�

Joyce was first capped 15 years ago and has played under 11 coaches in that time. �Having a first full-time coach has made a big difference�, she insists. �Not just his coaching, but Aaron�s work behind the scenes, advocating for us in Cricket Ireland where it can be easy for them to forget about us. He�s doing huge work developing the game at home, especially in the north.�

Since Christmas the women have been in the gym six times a week, plus two skills sessions, a huge commitment for an amateur squad that ranges from Junior Cert students to an associate in a top Dublin law firm. �We trained at 6.30am or 9pm�, says Garth, who also spent six weeks this winter with the Hobart Hurricanes in Australia�s Big Bash. �That was an incredible experience as part of the ICC Rookie programme� she says. �I trained with the Hurricanes and did a lot of work with Julia.�

Most of the side are students while others work in sport and fitness or have put their lives on hold for cricket. Joyce�s employers, Arthur Cox Solicitors, are very encouraging, allowing her time off to represent her country.

She remembers the days when separate unions ran the sport, and �although there are pluses and minuses about the amalgamation, there�s no way we could be playing here with a full-time coach. That said, Cricket Ireland wouldn�t get the funding they do if women weren�t an equal part.�

Joyce, who has a master�s degree in sports law, points to a failing of the governing body. �Cricket Ireland�s governance is not compliant with best practice internationally. If you were in the UK you couldn�t get away with a board of ten men and get the funding you want. They need more women on the board, and they need a coaching pathway for women. But they�re looking at it � I�m not really criticising them as they are trying to do the best they can and we are seeing great improvement in our supports.�

The advances by the rugby and hockey teams have also spurred on the cricketers. �It�s a really exciting time for women�s sport in general, which has been coming for a while�, says Joyce. �It�s a time to really develop our skills as well as ourselves as ambassadors for the game. We�re also really conscious that every time we do anything we�re representing all women. It�s like being an associate nation � when we hear the guys complaining about being hard done-by by ICC, we think �try being a woman for a day, in any part of life.�

Male players� attitudes to their fellow international are slow to change. �So if one woman can�t hit the ball over the ropes, no woman can�, sighs Joyce. �If a woman�s game is boring, all women�s cricket is boring. India�s men got bowled out for 70-odd this week and no-one said �Indians can�t play cricket�. The way women are treated is the same as how ICC treats the associates.

�People should be watching women�s sport for itself and not comparing it to men�s sport. We�re not the same. It�s like an orange and an apple, I could have one, and the next day the other, and enjoy both. But I wouldn�t expect them to be the same.

�We play for the love of the game, so there�s a freedom in that. At the end of the day I might fail on the pitch but I get to go back to my job where I have other fulfilment. So I can�t imagine what the boys are feeling because that�s their life and they�ve been working so hard, but they didn�t play as well as they can.�

While John Bracewell�s charges messed up, Joyce sees this event as chance to make more progress. �We have a chance to change perceptions and that�s what we want to do. We want to be valued.�