ED JOYCE is worried that a combination of fierce heat and a gruelling schedule of five matches in 10 days will count against his Ireland team in Lahore, as they try to qualify for the women’s 50-overs World Cup.

The Girls in Green start their campaign against hosts Pakistan today followed by another crucial clash with the West Indies on Friday, before taking on Bangladesh, Thailand and Scotland in the six-team round robin.

“Everyone in the squad is fit and firing but it’s 40 degrees and the conditions are very, very tough, especially for us coming out of our Irish winter,” coach Joyce said.

“It’s been oppressive and super hard for the team. The West Indies didn’t seem too bothered by it, and Thailand weren’t bothered at all but the other teams have been talking about it — even Pakistan and Bangladesh.”

The top two teams will qualify for the World Cup later in the year, and Joyce will have a good idea of where Ireland stand after the first two matches.

“If you win four, you have a very strong chance of qualifying,” he said.

“We could go through with three wins but that would depend on other results. Pakistan, the West Indies and Bangladesh are ranked above us and we probably need to beat two of them.”

To make the task tougher, Ireland are without their two best spinners — Aimee Maguire is undergoing remedial work to correct a kink in her bowling action while Freya Sargent has been ruled out with a shoulder injury.

“It’s not ideal,” Joyce said. “If you’ve got a good spin bowling attack, and they can bowl the majority of the overs, while expending as little energy as possible, that’s going to help in these conditions.

“Aimee and Freya would have played a big part out here but we have Cara and Kia to do the spin bowling duties for us and both did well in the two practice matches.

“But most of the other sides will be using three or four spinners, so that puts us at a disadvantage.”

While leg-spinner Murray will relish the chance to re-establish herself in the side after a difficult year, McCartney is new to international cricket and will make her debut in the Gaddafi Stadium.

“You don’t want to be using new players in a qualifier, but Kia’s done really well and is a great addition to the squad,” Joyce said.

“She plays for Coleraine in the north-west, so we don’t see too much of her in Dublin, and she bowls quite quickly for a spinner and that’s a bit different from what else we have.

“So far Kia has equipped herself well, and her last spell against Thailand was probably her best — she said she felt comfortable and in control.”

Batting is the one area where Ireland are a match for any team in the tournament, and is the key to Joyce delivering what would be the biggest achievement of his six years in charge before he leaves the role at the end of the month.

“We’re one of the stronger batting sides but we need to play with the necessary freedom to chase down targets or make scores we can defend,” he said.

“We’re capable of doing that but we’re going to need a lot of contributions from different players.”