Ireland claimed another momentous victory over rivals England in the T20 World Cup, having been given a helping hand by the rain at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
England captain Andy Balbirnie’s 62 off 47 balls underpinned Ireland’s 157 all out in 19.2 overs although his dismissal was the start of a collapse that saw his side lose their last seven wickets in 24 deliveries.
But England lurched to 86 for five under heavy cloud cover and, despite a late burst of boundaries from Moeen Ali, they were still short of the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern par when the heavens opened.
The delay proved terminal as England, on 105 for five when the downpour started, slipped to a five-run defeat under the DLS method, delivering a hammer blow to their hopes of reaching the semi-finals.
Eleven years on from their 50-over World Cup upset win over the same opponents at Bangalore, Ireland have blown this Super 12s group wide open with England needing to win their three remaining fixtures to finish in the top two, starting against arch rivals Australia at the same venue on Friday evening.
The only previous T20 between these teams in 2010 was also impacted by rain, which forced a no-result with the game tantalisingly poised, and England benefited on that occasion as they progressed at Ireland’s expense by virtue of a superior net run-rate before going on to win the entire World Cup.
VICTORY!
What. A. Performance 👏
SCORE: https://t.co/LUtLhuvQAq#IREvENG #BackingGreen #T20WorldCup ☘️🏏 pic.twitter.com/EXRTaIRlS9— Cricket Ireland (@cricketireland) October 26, 2022
Ireland got off to a flyer on Wednesday with Chris Woakes leaking 41 from his three overs as they reached 103 for one after 11.5 overs although several of their batters were unsettled by Mark Wood, who took three for 34, while Liam Livingstone also claimed his first three-wicket haul in an England shirt.
There was an early shockwave for England in the chase as and talisman Jos Buttler looked to carve through the offside second ball but only feathered through to the wicketkeeper off Josh Little.
Amid some movement for Ireland’s seamers, Alex Hales was out for his fifth single-figure score in 11 innings since his recall, top-edging a swivel pull off Little to short fine-leg.
Ireland were cock-a-hoop as Fionn Hand, in his third T20 and first match of the tournament, castled Ben Stokes through the gate with one that zipped back in as England lurched to 37 for three after the powerplay.
62 runs
47 balls
5 fours
2 sixes
Andrew Balbirnie is Player of the Match in a famous win. Batted skipper 👏#IREvENG #BackingGreen #T20WorldCup ☘️🏏 pic.twitter.com/SHlz8Yfnf6Advertisement— Cricket Ireland (@cricketireland) October 26, 2022
Dawid Malan and Harry Brook attempted to rebuild but struggled for timing, relying on running hard as boundaries were proving hard to come by. Both of Malan’s fours came via edges although Brook found some succour by lofting seamer Hand straight for four.
Brook then Malan were dropped off successive balls although the former was on his way later in the George Dockrell over after finding deep midwicket for 18. With conditions under lights growing darker, Malan was out for 35 off 37 balls, also caught in the deep, bumping up England’s DLS asking rate.
Moeen (24 not out off 12 balls) counter-attacked amid a drizzle, which included launching left-arm spinner Dockrell for a straight six with a heave across the line, but the shower grew heavier and after a 10-minute wait, Ireland were declared winners.
Rain had led to two brief delays at the outset of the contest after Ireland had been asked to bat first, with England going in with the same team that beat Afghanistan at Perth on Saturday.
For a loud group of people in Melbourne, the night is young.#IREvENG #T20WorldCup #BackingGreen ☘️🏏 pic.twitter.com/k6ACupegfg
— Cricket Ireland (@cricketireland) October 26, 2022
Woakes could not find his rhythm early and Paul Stirling and Balbirnie used their feet well to open up the off-side. But Stirling wafted at Wood and sliced to Sam Curran to depart for 14.
Balbirnie was on 25 off 24 balls but took advantage as Woakes strayed too far leg-side in his third and final over which yielded 18 runs, with the Irish skipper thrashing two fours and a six over long leg.
With Ireland on 103 for one after 11.5 overs, England got a gift as Adil Rashid deflected Balbirnie’s drive on to the non-striker’s stumps, meaning Lorcan Tucker, out of his crease, was on his way for 34.
England immediately turned back to Wood, who tickled the edge of Harry Tector. While Balbirnie swung hard off Curran for his second six, his sweep found deep backward square-leg off Livingstone, whose quicker delivery next up yorked Dockrell.
Wood sconed Curtis Campher then had him caught behind down the leg-side before finishing his spell by clattering Gareth Delany in the helmet. Livingstone had his third when Mark Adair picked out Curran, whose yorkers at the death took out Barry McCarthy and Hand as Ireland failed to bat out their overs.
