A World Cup within the CricInfo Women's World Cup begins tomorrow when two of the tournament minnows, Ireland and Sri Lanka, meet at Lincoln Green.

For these two countries, and the Netherlands, the goal in New Zealand has been to finish as high as possible in the tournament.

The team that can take sixth place of the eight teams taking part gains automatic entry into the next World Cup, to be held in South Africa, in four years time.

For the other two there is the qualifying programme to go through.

None of the teams has been able to show out as more likely to win than any other.

What has been interesting has been the distinctive approach of each side.

Sri Lanka showed a remarkable capacity to learn from its showing against Australia by tying New Zealand's batsmen down with some good bowling and fielding in their match yesterday.

The Netherlands on the other hand have been defensively minded in their approach to the game, generally succumbing to stronger teams when needing to up the tempo to push for quicker runs.

Ireland has struggled to make an impact against much tougher sides in Australia and New Zealand and no real pointer has been taken on how it might fare against sides of similar strength.

That lends greater interest to its match with Sri Lanka tomorrow.

It might be time for the big guns to rest, lick their wounds or get in more practice, but there is still interest in how the lesser nations perform against their equals.

© CricInfo