Out-of-sorts England’s World T20 hopes suffered a brutal blow as they lost to bogey-side Ireland by five runs in a nightmare rain-affected encounter at the MCG.
Captain Andy Balbirnie’s fine half century, chiefly supported by Lorcan Tucker’s 34, got Ireland to a respectable 157.
Woeful England did well to peg the excellent minnows back and bowl them out thanks to three wickets apiece for Mark Wood and Liam Livingstone.
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But Ireland’s disciplined bowlers took the game by the scruff of the neck by knocking over the powerful top three of Jos Buttler, Alex Hales and Ben Stokes early to cause a monumental upset against the tournament favourites.
England duly found themselves behind the rate and never recovered. When rain eventually prevailed they were painfully five runs short of the DLS target as they slumped to a shock defeat, which leaves them in a precarious position where they can ill-afford any further slip ups in their bid for World Cup glory.
Disappointed captain Jos Buttler said: “We were a long way short of where we needed to be and let Ireland get away from us. We won the toss and had everything in our favour but we didn’t take advantage of that.
“Friday is massive. This result has put a lot of pressure on us now, but it’s as big as it can get for us now."
It’s not the first time England have been stunned by this plucky Irish side on the world stage. Kevin O’Brien famously led Ireland to their biggest ever scalp in 2011 as he plundered the quickest ever World Cup hundred (50 balls) to stun the English.
Ireland also won the last game contested between the two sides in 2020, again over 50 overs. But England’s purpose-built T20 side were expected to blow them away.
Ireland had the luxury of no added pressure after achieving their sole goal of reaching the Super 12s stage but they have well and truly shook the apple cart at this World Cup by sending two-time champions West Indies crashing out in the prelim stage, which saw Phil Simmons step down as coach, and now put a huge dent in England’s title hopes.
It now means Friday’s game against Australia has added importance with two of the pre-tournament favourites needing a perfect run to reach the knockout stages.
Winning captain Balbirnie beamed: “It’s an amazing win for us, kind of emotional. To come here and win against the tournament favourites is amazing.”
With weather around, and seeing South Africa’s mind-boggling wash out against Zimbabwe earlier this week, England decided to field first in a bid to control the game.
47 balls
5 fours
2 sixes
Andrew Balbirnie is Player of the Match in a famous win. Batted skipper 👏
#IREvENG #BackingGreen #T20WorldCup ☘️🏏
Speed king Mark Wood removed dangerous opener Paul Stirling inside the powerplay, but the Irish made a fast start as they raced to 103/1 thanks to an impressive 82-run stand between captain Andy Balbirnie and wicket-keeper Lorcan Tucker.
England got the much-needed breakthrough in fortunate fashion as Adil Rashid tipped a straight drive onto the stumps at the non-striker’s end to remove Tucker for 34.
And within the blink of an eye Buttler’s side had forced their way back into the contest as Wood quickly returned to get rid of Harry Tector for a duck two balls later.
Part-timer Liam Livingstone struck twice in two balls to get rid of skipper Balbirnie, who held the key for a late Irish surge, for a well-constructed 47-ball 62 and George Dockrell.
But after wrestling the momentum back in their favour Matt Mott’s England got off to the worst possible start in the run chase.
The Irish seamers showed England how they should have bowled in these conditions by getting it full and swinging. Left-armer Josh Little removed openers Buttler and Hales cheaply and when Stokes soon followed they were tottering at 29/3.
And the big-hitting English batting line-up just couldn’t quite release the shackles as hungry Ireland stuck to their task.
Dawid Malan’s painstaking 37-ball 35 steadied the ship, but England needed him to accelerate with weather beckoning.
Moeen Ali’s late flurry, an unbeaten 24 off just 12 balls, was just what the doctor ordered, but rain came too prematurely for England’s liking as they finished just shy of the DLS target when play was agonisingly abandoned.
Disgruntled Wood, when asked if England underestimated Ireland, said: “No, we spoke about it at length yesterday and this morning. It’s tricky with the rain.
“To win competitions and be the best in the world, you’ve got to maintain those standards and we weren’t at that level.”
Match Scorecard: (Ireland win by five runs - DLS Method)
Ireland: 157 (19.2): Balbirnie 62 (47), Tucker 34 (27); Livingstone 3/17, Wood 3/34.
England: 105/5 (14.3): Malan 35 (37); Little 16/2.
*18+ | BeGambleAware
