Two days after the disappointment of losing a vital match to India, England has to attempt to get back on the winning trail in the CricInfo Women's World Cup tomorrow.

That shouldn't be a problem against an Ireland team which is staring the wooden spoon in the face.

But England, technically, still has a chance of making the semi-finals of the tournament, albeit on the end of beating either New Zealand or Australia and on other significant boilovers occurring.

It is scheduled to play Australia on Sunday, and while on the face of it the thought of an under-achieving England team pulling off the sensation of the event might seem unlikely, it has to play with that hope in mind.

And if it can't make the semi-finals it has to be looking to at least secure fifth place to avoid any other embarrassments occurring.

Ireland, by its failure to successfully chase against Sri Lanka yesterday, can only be regarded as a chance for England to try and prepare a worthy tactical plan to upset Australia.

It will take far more determination, application and skill than has been so far witnessed, especially with the bat, at any stage of its stay in New Zealand.

The capacity for playing completely unnecessary shots, and getting out to them, has been the root cause of England's ills and it will be interesting to see how the Irish try to capitalise on this on BIL Oval tomorrow.

The game is the only one scheduled tomorrow, with Friday and Saturday also featuring only one game each as sides get the chance for a mid-tournament break.

Some key games still remain to be played.

New Zealand v India on Saturday will decide which team qualifies second for the semi-finals, both teams having suffered their only losses to Australia.

New Zealand will also have to back-up with a strong showing against South Africa on Monday while Australia-England on Sunday will be England's last chance.

New Zealand plays England next Thursday. Australia will play South Africa next Wednesday by which time South Africa may well know whether it has qualified for the semi-finals.

The battle to secure sixth place will depend on two games. The first on Sunday is between Sri Lanka and The Netherlands. Should Sri Lanka win that game it will have secured the spot.

But if the Netherlands can win their first match that will leave the game between Ireland and the Netherlands on Thursday next week as the crunch game.

© CricInfo