The recalled David Willey took his first ODI five-for and Sam Billings hit a career-best 67 not out as England cruised to victory at the Ageas Bowl
Related: 'I'm in love with the game again': Willey shines to bury England World Cup snub
That’s it for today’s blog - I’ll leave you with Victor’s report from the Ageas Bowl. Thanks for your company, emails and recipes. Bye!
Related: Sam Billings eases England to quickfire victory over Ireland in first ODI
Wanting, needing, waiting for more live sport? Then Scott Murray is your man.
Related: Fulham v Cardiff: Championship play-off semi-final second leg – live!
That was a cracking partnership between Billings and Morgan: 96 in 14.1 overs on a pitch where most batsmen struggled to score fluently.
27.5 overs: England 174-4 (Billings 67, Morgan 36) Eoin Morgan swipes Simi Singh for a majestic straight six to complete a comfortable victory for England. He finishes on 36 not out from 40 balls, Billings on 67 not out from 54.
27th over: England 165-4 (Billings 64, Morgan 30) Billings drives Delany down the ground for a couple, with the sprawling Tector doing extremely well to save the boundary, and then pulls a long hop for four to bring up his highest ODI score. It’s been a very watchable innings.
26th over: England 157-4 (Billings 57, Morgan 29) Four more to Billings, clipped confidently through midwicket off Young. Then Morgan, who always seems to bat well against Ireland, dumps Young into the stand at fine leg. I don’t think he’s a sentimental man.
25th over: England 145-4 (Billings 52, Morgan 22) Gareth Delany comes on to bowl a bit of legspin. He lands them well enough in his first over, and Morgan and Billings settle for four singles.
“Scream, partially hidden bodies Prodigy lyrics ... ?” begins Ian Copestake. “For the love of Blue Peter, can we please leave 1994 to 1996 alone.”
“Rob,” says John Starbuck. “In response to demand, the OBO cheesecake recipe has been developed by Mrs Starbuck from a lime or lemon cheesecake recipe for 16. We aim for serving 8 so amounts are approximate and can be varied to taste.
Ingredients
24th over: England 141-4 (Billings 50, Morgan 20) Billings pulls Young emphatically for four to reach a stylish half-century from only 41 balls. It’s his third fifty in his 16th ODI, and his first since 2017.
23rd over: England 137-4 (Billings 46, Morgan 20) Billings isn’t the only batsman in a hurry. Morgan smears McBrine to cow corner for a one-bounce four and then sweeps the next delivery to the boundary. These two tend to bat well together, though it doesn’t happen as often as Billings would like.
22nd over: England 128-4 (Billings 45, Morgan 12) Billings clearly wants to be back in his hotel room in time to watch Escape to the Chateau: Make Do and Mend. He takes consecutive boundaries off Campher with a flick behind square and a muscular cut stroke, and then keeps the strike with a single off the penultimate delivery. England need 45 to win from 28 overs.
21st over: England 119-4 (Billings 36, Morgan 12) McBrine returns in place of Singh, whose three overs went for 14. Morgan comes to the reverse sweep party with a wristy clout that just clears backward point and runs away for four. It’s been a good effort from Ireland but England are cruising now. They need 54 to win.
“Bob,” says Mac Millings. “Regarding your 12th-over entry, do you like it when I call you Bob, Bob?”
20th over: England 109-4 (Billings 32, Morgan 7) Billings carries on breezily, pulling and driving Campher for two boundaries in three balls. He looks in triffic touch and should be eyeing his highest ODI score, that series-winning 62 in Bangladesh all those years ago.
19th over: England 100-4 (Billings 23, Morgan 7) Billings pings a lovely reverse sweep for four off Singh, a shot of such ease and class that he does it again two balls later. What we’re dealing with here is a total lack of respect for the MCC Coaching Manual.
“Sure, mango is ‘ok’ I guess,” writes
Livia Soprano Matt Dony, “and it means a decent-sized slice counts as one of your five a day, but I’m just going to put ‘Baked Baileys Cheesecake’ out there. Plain digestive base; it doesn’t need any extra flavouring or texture. And a heavy hand when you pour in the Baileys. Excuse me, I’m just going to go and spend some time in the kitchen...”
18th over: England 90-4 (Billings 14, Morgan 7) Morgan heaves a short ball from Campher into the leg side for a single. Ireland have done really well to make a game of this; when they slipped to 28 for five I thought we’d be finished in time for Pointless.
17th over: England 88-4 (Billings 14, Morgan 6) “Scenes, Mr Smyth, pure scenes!” says Abhijato Sensarma. “I reckon Morgan will put an end to this nonsense by playing with the cool head he is famed for. But you never know when you’re playing your first match in ages, that too in the middle of a pandemic. Strange things tend to happen!”
Yes, one of the interesting foibles of this all-conquering England side is their proud record of absurd and/or unlikely defeats.
16th over: England 85-4 (Billings 13, Morgan 5) Morgan fails to score off five consecutive deliveries from Campher. Sometimes I wonder whether Morgan uses dot balls to play mind games: hit the first ball for four, score two singles from the next 20 and then hit seven sixes in 12 balls.
15th over: England 83-4 (Billings 11, Morgan 4) Simi Singh replaces McBrine (6-0-28-1) at the Offspinners End. His first over is a quiet one, with just a single to Billings.
14th over: England 82-4 (Billings 10, Morgan 4) Eoin Morgan walks to the crease and guides his first ball past backward point for four.
“KP is irritating me by saying everything twice,” says Gary Naylor. “It’s so annoying to hear him repeat what he’s just said.”
The debutantCurtis Campher, who top scored with 59 not out, comes on to bowl some medium pace. He dismissed Banton in an under-19s match for South Africa a couple of years ago - and he’s done it again in big school! Banton top-edges a pull high in the air, and Lorcan Tucker takes a comfortable catch. Campher has a wicket with his fourth ball in international cricket.
13th over: England 77-3 (Banton 11, Billings 9) Banton gets his first boundary with a wristy sweep off McBrine. KP, on commentary, is good on why Banton needs to improve his rotation of the strike against spin, and how he can construct a typical over against a bowler like McBrine.
12th over: England 71-3 (Banton 6, Billings 8) Billings pulls consecutive deliveries from Young for four to move to eight from three balls. He has so much class that, even allowing for the stop-start nature of his England career, his modest record is pretty hard to fathom.
“Evening Rob,” says Alex Bramble. “Hope you’re enjoying the return of Morgan and the troops as much as I am. Huge fan of KP the player and there’s a lot to like about him on the mic. Just one (slightly pedantic point): his pronunciation of inningses is a bit sneaky little hobbitses, which is possibly where the similarities with Smeagollum end...”
11th over: England 62-3 (Banton 5, Billings 0) Banton has started watchfully, especially against the spin of McBrine. That’s fair enough as the run-rate isn’t an issue. McBrine has half an appeal for LBW when Banton drags a sweep onto his pad and away for a couple of runs.
10th over: England 59-3 (Banton 2, Billings 0) Sam Billings is the new batsman. Eoin Morgan, the selfless git, has demoted himself from No4 to give the fringe batsmen a chance to play a longer innings.
Deja Vince. After playing some delightful strokes, James Vince falls in frustrating circumstances. He had a big drive at a tempting delivery from Young and edged it straight to the keeper. Vince goes for an ephemeral 25.
9th over: England 54-2 (Vince 21, Banton 1) Vince makes it four fours in five balls with a firm sweep off McBrine. He is such a beautiful batsman; he could make a flat-footed reverse hoick look elegant.
8th over: England 49-2 (Vince 17, Banton 0) High-class batting from James Vince, who hits Young for three boundaries in four balls: a drive through mid-off, a clip through midwicket an finally an effortless pull stroke.
7th over: England 37-2 (Vince 5, Banton 0) Banton gets two thirds of the way down the track before realising Vince has sent him back. He gets home comfortably but that’s another reflection of England’s scruffy start.
“We need more fracking information from John Starbuck,” says David Wall. “Does he use mango puree (like in the cans you can buy)? Cheesecake is the only cake worth spending time eating and my regular recipe is pretty good (as well as adaptable and forgiving). But my niece wants a mango cheesecake for her birthday so I’ve been thinking how best to do that. Personally I’m not so keen on fruit cheesecakes (too reminiscent of the Sara Lee freezer imposters) but even bad cheesecake is good.”
6th over: England 36-2 (Vince 4, Banton 0) The precocious Tom Banton is the new batsman.
Jason Roy can fuggoff himself! He has been trapped LBW after hitting Young’s two previous balls for four. It was a fine delivery that nipped back to hit the flap of the back pad, with Roy surprisingly slow to get his bat down. He knew it was out and walked straight off without discussing a review.
5th over: England 26-1 (Roy 16, Vince 3) After a slow start, Roy gets down on one knee to clout McBrine over midwicket for six. The last time I watched him bat, I hadn’t seen Succession. Now every time I think of his name I picture a man in a shawl cardigan telling me to fuggoff. On the plus side, at least there isn’t an England batsman named Walnuts.
“Mango and ginger biscuit cheesecake,” says Damian Clarke. “Could you let Mr Starbuck know that I just might be a little in love with him?”
4th over: England 14-1 (Roy 6, Vince 1) Vince scrambles to make his ground after being sent back by Roy. I think he would have been just home had Young’s throw hit the stumps, which it didn’t. It’s been a rusty start from the England batsmen, which I suppose is understandable in the circumstances.
3rd over: England 12-1 (Roy 5, Vince 0) “Hi Rob,” says Peter Rowntree. “Dave Willey showing he is still a force to be reckoned with in white ball cricket. Recalling his early career, he suffered horrendous injuries to his back and neck, making it almost inevitable that his body would never really stand up to the longer formats of the game. For all that, he is a very fine cricketer, and a very likeable young man.”
He sure is, and he accepted his omission from the World Cup squad with admirable dignity. He still played his part, I truly believe that, especially in the 2018 series against India. Had England lost that series, I don’t think they’d have won the World Cup.
Bairstow has gone! It hit him in line and was going on to hit leg stump.
2.5 overs: England 12-0 (Roy 5, Bairstow 2) The offspinner Andy McBrine comes on second change... in the third over. Bairstow survives a very good shout for LBW after pushing down the wrong line ... but Ireland are going to review. He might be outside the line of off stump; if not, it’s plumb.
2nd over: England 11-0 (Roy 4, Bairstow 2) The sight of Roy and Bairstow means another airing for the stat that keeps on giving: of the 125 openers to score 1000 runs or more in ODIs, Roy and Bairstow have the highest strike-rates. Bairstow’s record as an opener is astonishing: average 51, strike-rate 110.
Craig Young shares the new ball with McCarthy (and Stirling). A loose delivery deflects for four leg-byes, and an LBW shout against Bairstow is caught in the throat because of an inside edge.
1st over: England 4-0 (Roy 3, Bairstow 0) Roy bagged a first-baller for the Lions against Ireland the other day. He almost makes it back-to-back golden ducks when he misses a big drive at McCarthy’s first ball, and then gets off the mark with a sliced drive past backward point for two. It was a no-ball as well, called by the third umpire under the new system. It also means a free hit, but Roy can only mow it to midwicket.
No-balls are the least of Ireland’s worries. McCarthy has injured himself and is leaving the field after only five deliveries. Paul Stirling bowls the last ball of the over.
The players are back out on the field. Barry McCarthy will open the bowling to Jason Roy.
Thanks Simon, evening everyone. So far the match has been predictably one-sided, but there have been some nice individual stories: Gareth Delany’s eyecatching cameo, Curtis Campher’s unbeaten 59 on debut and David Willey’s maiden five-for in his first ODI since May 2019. It will take another - a Barry McCarthy five-for, perhaps - if Ireland are to turn this into a contest.
Right then, I’m off. Rob Smyth will take you through England’s response. Please send your thoughts to him here. Bye!
44.4 overs: Ireland 172 all out (Campher 59*) Campher comes down the track and miscues his shot, which drops just beyond the reach of Morgan at cover! Then Young hoists one way into the late afternoon sky, but just beyond Roy as he runs back from mid-off! And then he miscues again, and this one forces Roy to dive forwards but he completes the catch and ends the innings! It’s also Willey’s first ODI five-fer!
44th over: Ireland 168-9 (Campher 58, Young 9) Young gets a leading edge that goes just beyond the grasping left arm of the bowler and away for four. A little later Campher has a royal heave and the ball skims straight past him and just wide of off stump!
43rd over: Ireland 160-9 (Campher 57, Young 3) “Watching the MLB these last few days demonstrates how hard baseballers throw the ball deploying (it seems) two techniques - one for the infield and another for the outfield,” writes Gary Naylor. “All these coaches, but players still throw like they did in schoolboy cricket.” This is interesting, and would probably be even more interesting if I ever watched baseball. I remember reading about Fred Spofforth being able to throw a fresh egg 50 yards in such a fashion that it wouldn’t break upon landing, and thinking that some nuances of throwing have been lost somewhere, beyond mere pace and distance.
42nd over: Ireland 157-9 (Campher 56, Young 1) A single off the last keeps Young on strike and denies Mahmood a wicket maiden.
Barry McCarthy sends the ball soaring in a delicious arc straight into the pouch of Vince at deep square leg!
41st over: Ireland 155-8 (Campher 56, McCarthy 3) Willey, having laid waste to the top order, comes back to wrap things up. Nothing is wrapped, nor is any waste laid.
40th over: Ireland 152-8 (Campher 55, McCarthy 2) Into the final 10 overs we rip. For a long time it didn’t look like Ireland would make it this far, but Campher’s 111-ball (and counting) 55 has ensured they will have at least something to celebrate.
39th over: Ireland 145-8 (Campher 52, McCarthy 1) Moeen completes his allocation, for no wickets and 37 runs, mainly thanks to the 10 scored in over 35.
38th over: Ireland 145-8 (Campher 50, McCarthy 0) McBrine rips into Curran, hitting consecutive and extremely handsome fours before hoisting down the ground for what was clearly intended to be a six but never quite made it. He didn’t stop there, though, and the last ball of the over goes straight to the hands of Billings.
McBrine shifts gear, starts really motoring, and then ruins it by picking out Billings at deep square leg!
37th over: Ireland 131-7 (Campher 50, McBrine 28) Moeen gets one to rip off the pitch, from wide of off stump to being on its way well wide of leg when it hit Campher. Bairstow has an optimistic appeal, but to no avail. Next ball he gets the single he needs to reach his half-century. It’s been an excellent debut for the 21-year-old, who has dug his team out of a large hole to reposition them in, well, a much smaller but still quite daunting hole.
36th over: Ireland 131-7 (Campher 48, McBrine 28) The players take drinks, after which Curran comes back. McBrine takes a bit of a wild swing at the last but top-edges over Bairstow for four.
35th over: Ireland 124-7 (Campher 46, McBrine 23) McBrine goes on one knee and swings his bat in a great arc. The camera pans upwards to follow the ball’s trajectory towards the boundary, then the cameraman realises it’s not there, pans downwards again and there it is, rolling harmlessly towards a fielder. Last ball of the over he goes again, and this one he catches cleanly and sends soaring into the stands for six!
34th over: Ireland 114-7 (Campher 45, McBrine 14) McBrine pulls Mahmood’s final delivery, a handsome shot. Straight to Rashid though, so just a single for it.
33rd over: Ireland 110-7 (Campher 42, McBrine 13) There were as many boundaries in the fourth over of this match as there have been in the last 23 overs. Three, since you ask.
32nd over: Ireland 106-7 (Campher 40, McBrine 11) Mahmood comes back, and Ireland score a few singles. It still looks a fine batting track I think, particularly in the blazing sun.
31st over: Ireland 103-7 (Campher 39, McBrine 9) “Richard Noble got me thinking about ‘that region’,” muses Dave Brown. “I remember opening the batting for my school when I stopped the bowler in his run up, realising I forgot to don my box. I trudged off to the changing rooms to rectify this. Came back to face the first ball of the game ... skittled. It felt a long walk back.”
30th over: Ireland 99-7 (Campher 37, McBrine 7) Rashid is all bowled out, his 10 overs costing 26 and bringing one wicket (and a run out).
29th over: Ireland 98-7 (Campher 36, McBrine 7) Moeen’s fifth over goes for a couple.
The ball would have cleared the stumps, concludes ball tracking, and anyway hit the batsman so far from the stumps that the technology can’t be relied upon, leading to a rarely-witnessed umpire’s call for excess distance.
He came way down the track to Moeen, making the on-field umpire’s job difficult, but though he’s unmoved England think they might have him.
28th over: Ireland 96-7 (Campher 35, McBrine 6) Runs! Rashid leaks seven, including a thumping crack over cow corner from Campher the brings the first boundary for 12 overs.
27th over: Ireland 89-7 (Campher 30, McBrine 4) Campher’s is - wait for it - the sixth slowest score of 30 or more against England since 1990. It’s the fourth slowest since the turn of the century, if that helps.
26th over: Ireland 87-7 (Campher 29, McBrine 3) Rashid’s eighth over yields but a single single.
25th over: Ireland 86-7 (Campher 28, McBrine 3) “So this isn’t a series, but three matches in the World Cup Super League,” notes Gary Naylor. “If England win the first two (some way to go I know), there’s no incentive for Morgan to sit one out and let Moeen lead or Rashid to step down and let Liam Livingstone bowl. Disappointing.” This is true. As with all leagues, it’s not just about having to play the good teams, but when you have to play them. For now England will just want to bank as many points as they can lay their greedy mitts on.
24th over: Ireland 83-7 (Campher 26, McBrine 2) Rashid’s doing good work here, getting some smart turn. And Vince’s near-miss (see 10th over) has got Richard Noble reminiscing. “That’s actually not all that bad,” he avers. “I faced the same rolling ball, kneeling to field it in classic pose at the Toronto Cricket Club while fielding at deep third man in front of the club patio. There I was next to multiple polite folk quaffing champers and masticating gently upon prawn sandwiches. The ball popped up ... not at my face ... but ‘whither a gentleman wishes a hard ball not’. There was much swearing. There are photos apparently on the web.”
23rd over: Ireland 81-7 (Campher 25, McBrine 1) A single each off Moeen.
22nd over: Ireland 79-7 (Campher 24, McBrine 0) Singh comes in, seems desperate to get off strike as quickly as possible, is beaten by a beauty, hits one straight to Morgan at short cover, and the next time he gets bat on ball he just starts running.
God that’s painful. Singh works the ball to point, calls for a run and sets off; Campher tells him not to be so silly; Banton returns it to Bairstow and Singh is out by miles.
The partnership is broken! O’Brien tries to lift the ball over deep extra cover and, um, doesn’t.
21st over: Ireland 79-5 (O’Brien 22, Campher 24) Moeen comes on, and the 50 partnership comes up.
Overs 1-10: 37-5
Overs 11-20: 39-0
Keep going lads!#ENGvIRE SCORE: https://t.co/qWGUbXsCRk#BackingGreen☘️ pic.twitter.com/P2BgEkQPN0
20th over: Ireland 76-5 (O’Brien 20, Campher 23) A Rashid maiden; Campher misses a sweep and Bairstow whips off the bails, but the batsman’s back foot is grounded. “It’s nice to see David Willey make a successful return to the one-day side,” writes David Wall. “He must have been pretty devastated to be left out of the World Cup squad after being a regular and important member of the starting XI for much of the previous four years. At least in his public messages he seemed to take it well, just offering his support to those that did get picked, but it must have stung. Hopefully he’ll be part of the next T20 World Cup squad at least. Plus it’s nice to see a (former) Northamptonshire player at international level, they’re a rare bunch in recent years.”
19th over: Ireland 76-5 (O’Brien 20, Campher 23) Three singles and a wide, courtesy of a bouncer that overbounced.
18th over: Ireland 72-5 (O’Brien 18, Campher 20) It’s now looking like the benign batting track that Balbirnie thought it was when he decided he would like to bat on it as soon as possible. Of course he wouldn’t have thought he’d be batting on it as soon as he was, but that early-innings wicket avalanche is feeling increasingly distant.
17th over: Ireland 70-5 (O’Brien 18, Campher 20) “I was looking at England’s top ODI bowling performances and was astonished by how many of the top ten were made up of medium-paced dibbly-dobbly not-quite all-rounders. I wonder if Willey is going to join that list today,” ponders Tom van der Gucht. “Please don’t tell Willey or Collingwood that I described them in such a way... Or Flintoff...” Here’s a list of England’s ODI five-fers. It’s good to see the Guardian’s very own Vic Marks on there.
16th over: Ireland 69-5 (O’Brien 17, Campher 20) Campher miscues a cut, and cries of “catch it!” die as it lands wide of Moeen and runs away for four.
David Willey has found just 0.28 degrees of swing so far in this match - he's never found so little swing in the opening 20 overs of an ODI. #ENGvIRE
15th over: Ireland 60-5 (O’Brien 13, Campher 15) The players have a drink. Finally Ireland have a partnership of sorts, a pair who look minded to stay around and eat up some balls. It still looks likely to be a choice between losing fast and losing slow for Ireland, mind.
14th over: Ireland 56-5 (O’Brien 11, Campher 13) Gah! Rashid rips a googly through O’Brien, just past leg stump, past Bairstow and away for four byes. That was a beauty, but less impressive is the rank full toss with which the over ends. O’Brien wallops it into the covers and gets a couple.
13th over: Ireland 48-5 (O’Brien 7, Campher 13) Tom Curran comes on, and Campher pulls a short ball past point for a tasty four.
12th over: Ireland 41-5 (O’Brien 5, Campher 8) The ball goes past Campher and into Bairstow’s gloves. He appeals, but the umpire doesn’t like it and there’s no review, and just as well as snicko shows the ball missed bat and flicked pad.
11th over: Ireland 41-5 (O’Brien 5, Campher 8) “I’m starting to think maybe England have enough bowlers after all...” says Matt Dony, as Willey comes to the end of his sixth over. They’re about to try a different one, in the shape of Adil Rashid.
10th over: Ireland 37-5 (O’Brien 2, Campher 7) The ball is rolling harmlessly towards Vince at cover when it hits a bump and suddenly jumps towards his face. Happily he reacts before his nose is wiped out. Talking of cover, Campher hits the last ball of the over past him for a lovely four.
9th over: Ireland 33-5 (O’Brien 2, Campher 3) O’Brien top-edges off the shoulder of the bat, but the ball lands safe. Campher gets off the mark with a fine shot through the covers. “If this is all over within an hour, as looks likely, is there any chance of them staging an impromptu 20:20 match to finish off the afternoon?” wonders Peter Gluckstein.
8th over: Ireland 29-5 (O’Brien 1, Campher 0) With all of these wickets clattering all over the place we’ve hardly had time to talk about cheesecakes, which seems a pity. It’s only National Cheesecake Day once a year, after all. “I was moved to write because you mentioned that today is National Cheesecake Day, so I checked,” writes John Starbuck. “It is National Cheesecake Day but only if your nation is the USA. On which topic, note that 1st August is Lammas Day (halfway between the summer solstice and autumn equinox), when people should bake their own loaves, as a signifier of the harvest.” I’m not much of a fan of cheesecake, to be honest, and ordinarily wouldn’t give it the time of day, let alone an entire 24 hours.
7th over: Ireland 28-5 (O’Brien 0, Campher 0) It is stating the bleeding obvious to say that Ireland need someone to stick around for a while, and since I started writing that sentence when they were only three down the need has become significantly more desperate. Curtis Campher, their other debutant, comes in and successfully negotiates the hat-trick ball. Willey has four wickets for 12 runs from his four overs, this one a double wicket maiden.
So happy for @david_willey
Early collapses have been a frustratingly common thing for Ireland of late. Since the start of 2019, they've been at least three down within the first 10 overs on five occasions - though this is the first time they've been four down by this stage since 2016.#ENGvIRE
Three reds and he’s gone! The ball pitched just in line - another couple of centimetres to the right and he’d have been saved - before straightening and it would have sent leg stump cartwheeling!
A loud lbw shout, a shake of the head from the umpire, but England want to check!
Another one bites the dust! Delany’s diverting cameo is over after he picks out backward point, where Banton makes a pretty hard catch look pretty easy.
6th over: Ireland 28-3 (Delany 22, O’Brien 0) Mahmood’s second over, the fourth of the game, went for 13 runs as Delany tucked in. Here’s a wicket maiden.
Tector, itching to get off the mark, edges down and into the stumps!
5th over: Ireland 28-2 (Delany 22, Tector 0) Delany is purring now, and he pumps Willey down the ground, straight as an arrow, for another four, before planting the next past point for more of the same. He’s faced 14 balls so far for his 22.
4th over: Ireland 20-2 (Delany 14, Tector 0) The day’s first boundary comes off the edge of Delany’s bat, which flies wide of a diving second slip. The second comes next ball, which is dispatched over square leg, and the next ball brings another, driven through the covers!
3rd over: Ireland 7-2 (Delany 1, Tector 0) In comes Harry Tector, Ireland’s 20-year-old batting tyro. Eoin Morgan has of course met him before.
You never know who’s behind you @Eoin16@harry_tectorhttps://t.co/tM5IOahfvypic.twitter.com/nYerqHZlFb
Edged and gone! Willey angles the ball across the batsman, who attempts a drive but feathers a nick.
2nd over: Ireland 7-1 (Balbirnie 3, Delany 1) Saqib Mahmood slings down a set. One bonus ball from a delivery that slides down leg, and a single for each batsman. It is such a glorious day to be at the cricket, which only makes the whole no-spectator thing a bit more painful.
1st over: Ireland 4-1 (Balbirnie 2, Delany 0) Stirling only has four balls at the crease, and in that period completely fluffs two shots. The first skews off his bat, along the ground and through midwicket for a couple, the second floats straight to the England captain.
“‘England currently have international cricket scheduled on 21 of the next 33 days’,” quotes Craig Keeley. “That is possibly the most beautiful sentence ever uttered in the English language.”
Paul Stirling miscues a shot straight to Morgan at midwicket, who takes the easiest of catches!
The bell has been rung. The ball is in the hands of David Willey. Let’s watch cricket!
The players are ready to take the field, and action is but a couple of minutes away.
“This England team looks a bowler short,” writes Kevin Longshore. “Who would be the sixth bowler if need be?” I’ve no idea, it looks a bowler short to me. James Vince is an occasional bowler?
“I’m very excited. And, generally, as an Ireland fan it’s best to get the excitement in early, as we saw in the test last year. Before the start is often even better,” says Michael Keane. “Presumably Ireland could play their home games against England in Bready and Stormont so there’s no quarantining required? Ditto if they play Scotland. Are Scotland in it? Why not a lockdown tri-series!!! I’m over excited now.”
Scotland are not in it - it’s the 12 Test-playing nations plus the Netherlands. Scotland will get a chance to qualify for the 2023 World Cup in a final 10-team qualifying competition sometime in 2022, which will include the bottom five nations from the Super League and from which two teams will qualify.
Apparently it’s national cheesecake day. I know it’s not strictly relevant, but I thought you might want to know.
Here are the two teams in Twitter form:
We've won the toss and will bowl! #ENGvIRE
England have won the toss and we're going to be having a bat!
Here's our XI for the first ODI.#ENGvIRE | #BackingGreen☘️ pic.twitter.com/U23nAWByOZ
The coin has been tossed, and Eoin Morgan has chosen to bowl. Andrew Balbirnie says he would have chosen to bat anyway.
Morgan says Jo Denly came down with an unspecified injury in training yesterday, and he and Reece Topley are both out of the team. Someone else is also out of the team, but Morgan’s microphone keeps failing so we don’t get to hear who it is.
“Points for rain? Could Ireland play all their games at home please?” they will play half of them there, so that’s a start. There’ll be no rain points today, mind - it’s absolutely glorious in Southampton.
Sorry about the radio silence, Sky have been reshowing last year’s World Cup final (again) and it just never gets less compelling.
After the famine, the feast. England’s Test series against West Indies only ended a couple of days ago and now the blink-and-you-miss-it ODI series against Ireland gets under way. It’ll all be over in three games and five days, leaving about 12 hours before the next Test series against Pakistan kicks off, at the end of which there’ll be three T20s, the entire business coming to an end in one month and two days. England currently have international cricket scheduled on 21 of the next 33 days. If rain holds off and all the Tests go long, there could be international cricket played in England in a little over 20% of all hours between now and September.
Listen, I’m not complaining. Cricket beats no cricket, and this series is actually meaningful, being as it is the start of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League™, which is an extra-long, mildly complex qualifying competition for the 2023 World Cup. Ten points for a win, five for a tie/no result/abandonment (yes, you get points for it raining), none for a defeat, tot it all up in a couple of years (see the ICC’s Q&A here).
It is now established that Test cricket works better than most expected behind closed doors. On Thursday there is the opportunity to gauge whether the white-ball game, usually a much noisier one, can produce a worthwhile spectacle.
At the Ageas Bowl, England play the first of three 50-over matches against Ireland in their first outing on home turf since winning the World Cup, so they have to step out without fanfare. Not that the captain, Eoin Morgan, seems too bothered by that. “Given the context of the last five months, I’m just delighted that we’re back playing again and that we have cricket back on TV. I’m extremely grateful to Ireland for agreeing to play.”
Related: England's Eoin Morgan delighted to be back for first of three ODIs with Ireland
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