Pakistan beat Bangladesh in the final at the 2010 Games in Guangzhou and repeated the success four years later at Incheon.

"This was the point that the Pakistani nation realised that they had a women’s team playing for them," said Mir, a veteran of two previous World Cups.

"It was huge news. 

"We had a gap of eight years since Pakistan had won a gold medal in the Asian Games and it was women’s cricket which won that gold medal."

"Getting that recognition for Pakistan made us stronger and we wanted to play harder, we wanted to put in more effort.

"At that point there were not many financial incentives, but a lot of financial recognition, a lot of contracts came in which definitely impacted on us."

When women started playing the game in Pakistan, many hardliners opposed it.

They were forced to play behind closed doors and some players even received death threats.

It is now 20 years since Pakistan first played at a Women’s World Cup.

Although many do still object to women playing, others now accept the team as a positive force, thanks to their international success.

"Today when parents come to me they want their daughters to play cricket and that's something that did not happen 15 or 20 years ago," Mir said.

"Pakistan is a sport loving nation and they want representation in sport. 

"The culture still needs to be developed but they want that representation."

The security situation in the country still means that Pakistan teams are unable to play international cricket on home soil and are forced to decamp to the United Arab Emirates.

"We have suffered more because the men's structure is very developed, for us it is more damaging because we as the Pakistan women's team get very little international exposure," Mir said. 

"When we try to develop the youngsters, we do not get any opportunity.

"The process of getting young blood and replacements in the team doesn’t scroll down.

"Getting international fixtures has proved a huge challenge for our team. 

"We have only played 100 games in 12 years. 

"That is a huge amount of time to play 100 games.

"I am very proud of how the girls have lifted their game especially after not having international cricket, in the circumstances we have we have pulled off some amazing victories at times but we would definitely like to do it more consistently."

The team does at least have recent experience on English soil but in 2016 their first two matches were washed out.

They lost all three one day internationals and were also comprehensively beaten by England in the Twenty20 series.

"It was an eye opener as to where we stood last year, something of a big wake up call for us," Mir said. 

"We had a better series against New Zealand, they were also foreign conditions and a strong team but we played better cricket there.

"This was something that made the team stronger and will reflect in the matches to come."

The Pakistan men came home to a fantastic welcome after their shock victory over India in the Champions Trophy final this week. 

Their achievements did not go unnoticed as the women went through their practice in the English East Midlands.

"It has been a great inspiration for every Pakistan cricketer especially when turning the tables as the boys did after the first game when they were down and out," Mir added.

"Coming back from there with such strong performances has been inspirational for every cricketer.

"We are inspired too and we are very proud of our team and the way they played cricket in the Champions Trophy."

The Pakistani women will also have the chance to show what they can do against India in Derby on July 2. 

Before that they open their campaign against the fancied South Africans in Leicester on June 25, and face host nation England two days later.

"We can put any team under pressure if we deliver on the day," Mir said.

"We have worked hard together to bring the team to where they are today. 

"Hopefully the next five games can be very memorable for us."