'It means so much' - Ireland Women end wait for World Cup win

Ireland celebrated their first Women's T20 World Cup victory at the 22nd attempt on a sunny Saturday afternoon in Bristol.

Having lost all their 21 previous games over five tournaments, they broke their duck with a wonderful six-wicket win over the West Indies.

Orla Prendergast starred for the victors, smashing a superb 63 from 44 balls to steer Ireland to World Cup history as they reached a target of 129 with 11 balls to spare.

"It just means so much - we've had the belief throughout this tournament and it just hadn't come together," player-of-the-match Prendergast told Sky Sports.

"But the belief we all had was there constantly. There's so much relief to finally have that win and so much happiness."

Ireland came close to victory earlier in the tournament as they lost out by just four runs to New Zealand.

They also had good memories of playing West Indies, earning a first T20 win over Saturday's opponents in the last meeting between the sides in Dublin earlier this month.

It was Ireland's final game of the tournament and it came against a Windies side with plenty to play for as a victory would have secured a top-two spot in the group and place in the semi-finals.

The 2016 champions could now miss out if New Zealand defeat already qualified England later on Saturday.

Ireland went out at the County Ground inspired by the men's team, which stunned India on Friday to earn a first victory over the T20 world champions.

Impressive bowling and fielding from Ireland frustrated West Indies, who were disappointing with the bat as they posted 128-7 from their 20 overs.

Cara Murray and Aimee Maguire both picked up two wickets, while every catch was taken by the clinical Irish.

Ireland skipper Gaby Lewis fell early, before Prendergast and Amy Hunter (28) made a crucial second-wicket stand of 62 to put them in a strong position.

It was left to Louise Little to hit the winning runs and spark celebrations to mark a famous success.

Ireland's story is one of resilience, persistence and keeping spirits high despite a long litany of disappointments.

Lewis, who made back-to-back half-centuries in the tournament, was at last able to talk about leading the team to a World Cup victory.

"I'm absolutely delighted and just so proud of the girls," said the opener.

"We knew it [the target] was reachable. The batting order we have is so deep and we've got some world-class players, so we were definitely confident. We also bowled really well towards the death.

"We really restricted them and limited the boundaries, which is massive. It was then just getting ourselves in and playing positive cricket. We are such a close group and we're just so happy."

Lewis returned from a leg injury she sustained with Lancashire in time for the tournament and added there had been "really positive periods" during the challenging World Cup.

"It's been a tough tournament - some close losses and some heavy losses but in a tournament like this you just have to dust them off and move on," she added.

"I think the girls have done that brilliantly. We had some really positive periods and spells."