Louise Little’s Personal Details:
Name: Louise Little
Date of Birth: 16th May 2003
Batting Style: Right-Hand Bat
Bowling Style: Right-arm Medium
Role: All-rounder
Louise Little arrives at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 as one of Ireland’s versatile young all-rounders, a right-arm pace option and right-handed batter who blends a storied family pedigree with a steady upward trajectory in domestic and international cricket.
At 23, Little brings experience beyond her years, debuting as a prodigy in 2017 and now part of an Ireland squad determined to make a statement in a tougher, expanded 12‑team tournament hosted by England and Wales. Ireland begin their campaign on 13 June at Old Trafford against Scotland, and Little’s dual skillset gives the side balance in a Group 2 that also includes hosts England, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and the West Indies.
Louise Little’s International Career
Louise Little’s international numbers in T20Is remain modest but telling of her role: 142 runs at a strike rate of 100.70 and an average of 10.14 from 20 innings across 38 matches, alongside a couple of wickets at an economy of 8.60 from 15 bowling innings. Those raw figures understate her value. A former opening quick who shifted emphasis toward batting after injury, Little now often slots into the lower middle order while providing useful seam options, the kind of flexible player teams prize in tournament cricket. Her experience includes an ODI debut on 11 May 2017 at Potchefstroom and a T20I debut on 26 May 2019 against the West Indies in Dublin.
Form coming into the World Cup is encouraging. Little played a meaningful part in Ireland’s qualification with a comprehensive 62‑run win over Thailand on 1 February 2026, and across the Global Qualifiers in Nepal, she contributed 35 runs in four innings. Domestically, she led Typhoons in the Ireland Women’s Super T20 Series, opening the batting and finishing as her side’s third‑highest run-scorer with 85 runs at a strike rate of 121.42 and an average of 17 from five innings (six matches). She also picked up a wicket in three bowling appearances in that series.
In the current Tri‑series with West Indies and Pakistan (28 May–4 June 2026), Little has scored 15 runs in a couple of innings so far as Ireland, under stand‑in skipper Orla Prendergast, while Gaby Lewis is absent, have shown resilience by bouncing back after an opening loss to West Indies.
Little’s cricketing background is in many ways inseparable from her family. She comes from the widely recognised Little cricketing household in Dublin: elder brother Joshua Little is a leading pace bowler for Ireland and has broken new ground as the first Irish player in the IPL, while sister Hannah represented Ireland at underage levels. Their upbringing at Pembroke Cricket Club and a childhood split between hockey and cricket produced a multi‑international sporting family whose parents managed intensive travel and commitments to develop their children’s talent.
Tactically, Little offers Ireland a seam bowling option who can close overs and contribute brisk runs when required. In conditions where the ball seams and matches are tight, her experience as both an opener in domestic T20s and a later‑innings hitter gives team management tactical flexibility, whether to promote her for a power‑play burst or use her to steady after a collapse. She remains a work in progress statistically but possesses the temperament and background that suggest her best returns may arrive in pressure moments at this World Cup.
As Ireland aim to improve on their last World Cup outing (no points from four games in 2023), Louise Little represents the blend of youth, family pedigree and multi‑role adaptability that could prove decisive in close contests. Watch for her to be used as a seam reserve and finish‑piece with the bat, small contributions in several matches that, together, could swing Ireland’s campaign in Group 2.
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