England’s air of invincibility was washed away on a wet and dramatic afternoon in Melbourne. A combination of Ireland’s excellence and an untimely downpour made it one of the tournament favourites, going from Twenty20 benchmarks to non-markers.
Ireland won by five runs using the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method after rain fell 14.3 overs into England’s innings. Moeen Ali had scored 12 runs from the previous three balls and if the weather had held for even two more minutes, this could have been his game. “I’ve seen a lot of rain in my time playing cricket and I’ve never been happier to see it rain,” said Ireland captain Andrew Balbirnie.
The forecast was as clear as the darkening clouds were impenetrable and at no point in England’s innings had they been ahead.
Jos Buttler won the toss and chose to play precisely so that, given the possibility of rain, his team would know the state of the game when they came to bat. The problem was that they were not using this knowledge. “We had everything in our favor in terms of winning the toss, so we knew exactly what was required of us,” he said. “Not taking advantage of it certainly hurts.”
It’s been 11 years since Ireland beat England in Bangalore in the 50s World Cup, and their folklore has a glorious new chapter. England will cling to the fact that the defeat did not prevent them from qualifying from their group, despite it being a tournament with a much more forgiving format than this one.
There will also be memories of another 50-over World Cup, in 2019, when three defeats left England playing what amounted to knock-out cricket while still halfway through the group stage.
Quick Guide
The New Zealand-Afghanistan match was deleted
show
New Zealand’s Super 12 match against Afghanistan in the T20 World Cup was called off without a ball being bowled due to rain on Wednesday.
The rain that brought an early end to England-Ireland in Melbourne gave way, and both sides had to settle for a point as play was not possible. New Zealand top Group 1 with three points, with Afghanistan below on one point. Ireland’s surprise win over England leaves both sides with two points, along with Sri Lanka and Australia.
Rain could further influence qualifying on Friday with a poor forecast for Melbourne, where Australia will play England after Ireland take on Afghanistan. Black Caps manager Gary Stead said weather concerns have made their first win over the hosts all the more vital.
“I definitely think it helps,” he said. “Ireland’s win also shows that there are no easy games throughout the tournament either. So it’s good for cricket. It makes our pool a bit unpredictable.”
Thanks for your comments.
On that occasion they held their nerve and rolled to the title and there are many veterans of that campaign in this dressing room. But if they are to have any chance of repeating that success, they will need to bring an intensity and quality to each future game that was not there here.
England were poor in the field, key bowlers were leaking runs and their batting was pedestrian. The powerplay is often key in this format and there is rarely a more forceful side than Ireland – they were 65 for one after six overs, where England were 37 for three. The story of the match was essentially England trying to regain the ground they conceded in that opening phase.
Subscribe to our cricket newsletter for our writers’ views on the biggest stories and a review of the week’s action
Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertisements and content funded by third parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
This was the same team that played so impressively against Afghanistan in their first match, but somehow it’s not the same either. What we saw there was the highlight reel; here were the bloopers and the outtakes.
With the exception of Ben Stokes, England’s seamers often made life too easy for Ireland. Chris Woakes was punished without remorse, taking three balls for 41 runs before being holed up in the field as England scuppered their plans. As they did so, Ireland were halfway through their innings, 92 for one, and heading for a terrifying total.
The momentum shifted once England turned and with a moment of outrageous fortune. He made 34 off 27 but Lorcan Tucker’s luck was definitely out, stranded after a direct drive from the excellent Balbirnie deflected onto the stumps at the non-striking end of the underhand Adil Rashid. Ireland had been 103 for one and needed to be bowled out for 157, losing their last seven wickets for 25 runs in 23 balls.
Liam Livingstone was an unexpectedly central figure in this collapse, taking three wickets, including Balbirnie. The problem was that it was also unexpectedly peripheral as England tried to capitalize on it.
Rain stops play at the MCG. Photograph: Scott Barbour/PA Images
England might not have expected to be much upset by a target of 158, but then Josh Little started to bowl, Buttler was caught behind off his second ball and the tone was set.
Neither Alex Hales nor Stokes, superbly played by Fionn Hand, lasted long enough to make an impact, which contrasted with Dawid Malan and Harry Brook, who lasted too long and had too little impact. In the 11th over, they haplessly tried to accelerate, resulting in Brook being dropped at long-on, Malan at point and then Brook being caught in the deep.
Livingstone and Moeen, more explosive and in better form, faced 14 balls between them. Buttler wondered if “there was a way we could have got them more involved in the game” and the inability to do so was perhaps crucial.
If England can’t handle their so-called finishers any better than this, they may be the ones who are finished.