Jos Buttler:
I thought we were poor in the first 10 overs and let them get away. We were not consistent enough, to let them score on both sides of the wicket. The second ten overs were much better. We let them have 20-30 more in the first ten but pulled it back. Myself getting out first over didn’t help, we never managed to get initiative. The rain’s gotten heavier and heavier, so no problem of coming out when we did. Ireland were excellent, they outplayed us. We made a mistake here and has made it difficult in a tough group.
Andy Balbirnie, Ireland Captain and POTM:
We were disappointed with losing seven wickets in a heap late in our innings. It was tough, their bowlers had good variations. Our message was to create chances to be in with a shot. But we were off the blocks with Lorcan Tucker, he took a few blows but continued. (On the win) It’s amazing, kind of emotional. To come here against tournament favorites here at the MCG, where we have never played a game before, is amazing. A few of the fans in the crowd have extended their stay. Their support has been wonderful and will do a lot to grow the game back home. We have Afghanistan here on Friday, quick turnaround. Look forward to it. We were fortunate drops did not cost us but we need to improve.
Pitch and weather: Ireland lost five wickets to spin against Sri Lanka in Hobart, but with some vicious pace and bounce on offer from the MCG pitch during that epic India vs Pakistan fixture, Wood’s express speed is a big plus for England. With rain forecast for the afternoon and evening in Melbourne, the swing could play a part too, making England the happier side.
England vs Ireland Highlights today. 20th Match, Group 1 (D/N), Melbourne Cricket Ground, Wednesday 26-10-2022, ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022.
Toss: England win the toss and bowl first.
Jos Buttler: Weather plays into the decision quite a bit. Since Perth, we’ve been focused on Ireland. A lot of these grounds in Australia are big, and we’ve set good fielding standards. We could have changed the team but (haven’t,) we will put the best team on the field regardless of whether there are two games in three days.
Andy Balbirnie: With the rain around, chasing would be easier but we want to put runs on the board. The message has been to be clear with our plans. We played a warm-up game and want to adopt it today. (On whether he’d aimed so high while watching the 2011 WC win) You always hope, I’d played in the under-19 world cup. Fionn Hand comes in Simi Singh.
England team: 1 Jos Buttler (capt & wk), 2 Alex Hales, 3 Dawid Malan, 4 Ben Stokes, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Liam Livingstone, 7 Moeen Ali, 8 Sam Curran, 9 Chris Woakes, 10 Adil Rashid, 11 Mark Wood
Ireland team: 1 Paul Stirling, 2 Andy Balbirnie, 3 Lorcan Tucker, 4 Harry Tector, 5 Curtis Campher, 6 George Dockrell, 7 Gareth Delany, 8 Mark Adair, 9 Fionn Hand, 10 Barry McCarthy, 11 Josh Little.
Head to Head In T20I’s: 1
England Won: 0
Ireland Won: 0
England T20I Rankings: 2nd
Ireland T20I Rankings: 12th
ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 Points Table
Form guide
(last five completed Tests, most recent first)
England WWWWW
Ireland LWWLW
Match Timings: 04:00 AM GMT | 03:00 PM Local
Umpires – Adrian Holdstock, Paul Reiffel
TV Umpire – Kumar Dharmasena
Match Referee – Ranjan Madugalle
Reserve Umpire – Paul Wilson
Match number – T20I no. 1846
