Published on 26 Oct 2022 5:37 pm (UK Time)
The MCG was set for a spectacular contest, as Andrew Balbirnie’s Ireland took down Jos Buttler’s England by five runs, via the Duckworth Lewis system, in a rain-effected game.
It was the 2010 Champions, who won the toss and elected to field first.
A glorious 62 from 47 from Balbirinie propelled Ireland to a competitive score of 157.
Lorcan Tucker also looked good for his 34 off 27.
But Liam Livingstone’s 3-17, manage to restrict the Irish to 157, from 132-3.
Josh Little set up Ireland’s reply with the ball, by removing Buttler for a Duck at 0-1.
Fellow opener Alex Hales departed soon after for seven at 14-2.
Ben Stokes was out to an absolute beauty from Fionn Hand, at 29-3.
Dawid Malan and Harry Brook tried to get England back on track, with a stand of 38 off 34.
But Brook’s attempted to pull off George Dockrell and found the hands of Gareth Delaney, who held on this time, at 67-4, after dropping Malan on 23 at 67-4.
Malan and Moeen Ali did their best to keep England on track..
But as the required run rate started to climb, Malan started to panic and skied a pull shot straight into the hands of Hand at the third-man boundary.
Moeen continued on his quest to propel England to the target.
After the game, the England Captain was quick to acknowledge Ireland’s performance but is hopeful that his side can turn it around in Friday’s game
“Ireland outplayed us. The better team won today. “In the first 10 overs with the ball we were poor, a long way short of where we needed to be and we let Ireland get away,” “Certainly the expectation was on us to win the game. We should be expecting to beat an Ireland team, we expected a challenge but we should be expected to win that game, so that adds extra disappointment.” We made a mistake here which has put even more pressure on us in a tough group, but if you needed a game to get up for – a must-win game – England and Australia at the MCG is certainly one of those.”
Jos Buttler: Sky Sports
“It’s amazing and it’s kind of emotional because we’ve never played a game of cricket here [at the MCG],” “To come and play the tournament favourites with so many big names and put on a show in front of friends, family and a number of people around the world is very satisfying. “To do this at one of the most amazing cricket grounds in the world was pretty special. We are trying to make this game a bigger sport in our country and days like this will help. Hopefully we have a few more in the future.’
Andrew Balbirnie: Sky Sports
This is also the third time that Ireland has beaten England in an international match, and the second in a World Cup Game.
Their first triumph was the Group Stage 2011 50-Over World Cup, at the M’ Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore, India, by three wickets.
Blip Or Stumbling Block
The defeat to Ireland signifies England’s first defeat of the tournament. they started off their campaign, with a win over Afghanistan, by five wickets. But rain and a brave performance by Ireland stood in the way of kicking off their campaign, with back-to-back victories.
With the hosts coming on Friday, Buttler and his men will need to regroup and come up with a better performance against their Ashes rivals. As for Ireland, they will be hoping to back up their performance against a tricky Afghanistan side.
What more can we expect from Andrew Balbirnie’s side in this year’s tournament?
Find out on World In Sport.
