England beat Ireland by 85 runs at Lord’s to avoid repeat of Bangalore upset

All out | Mark Wood took the final wicket of the match
Charlie Crowhurst/Getty Images
Tom Collomosse7 May 2017

England avoided a repeat of one of their most embarrassing days in limited-overs cricket by beating Ireland at Lord’s on Sunday.

Ireland were set 329 for victory here – the same total they reached to defeat England in Bangalore in the 2011 World Cup and complete one of greatest shocks in cricket history.

Six years later, in Ireland’s first one-day international at Lord’s, England’s 2017 team ensured lightning did not strike twice. The home side won by 85 runs, sealing a 2-0 victory in the two-match series after their seven-wicket win at Bristol two days previously.

As he did in Bristol, Joe Root shone with both bat and ball. The England Test captain made a run-a-ball 73 to help England compile 328 for six, before taking three for 51 – the first time he has bowled his full 10 overs in an ODI.

England captain Eoin Morgan, who switched allegiance from Ireland in 2009, top-scored with 76 but the star performer with the bat was Jonny Bairstow, who made an unbeaten 72 from only 44 deliveries.

England will find it extremely difficult to leave him out of their team for the opening game of the Champions Trophy, against Bangladesh at The Kia Oval on June 1, even with Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes and Jos Buttler back from the Indian Premier League.

England were 229 for five with eight overs remaining, and Ireland could be pleased with their work in the field. That was before Bairstow and his Yorkshire team-mate Adil Rashid took over, adding 88 from only 46 deliveries. Bairstow hit three sixes in the final two overs to ensure England had the initiative when they started to bowl.

Ireland threatened to win only during the early overs, when their explosive opener Paul Stirling took on England’s new-ball pair of Mark Wood and David Willey. He hit eight fours and a six on his way to 48 before he was dismissed on review, caught behind off Jake Ball.

There was also an entertaining partnership between captain Will Porterfield and George Dockrell, who put on 45 in six overs for the seventh wicket before Porterfield was bowled attempting to sweep the extra pace of Wood, in the first over of his second spell. Porterfield turned the air blue when he was out for 82 from 83 balls – an innings deservedly given a warm reception by the Irish supporters.

Earlier, Root had dismissed Ed Joyce (16) in his first over and had Niall O’Brien (15) caught in the deep. In between those wickets, Liam Plunkett removed Andy Balbirnie, lbw for two.

Photo: Charlie Crowhurst/Getty Images
Charlie Crowhurst/Getty Images

Gary Wilson was Root’s third victim and Kevin O’Brien – the hero in Bangalore – scored only 18 here, falling when he tried to attack Rashid’s leg-spin. After Porterfield departed, Plunkett returned from the Pavilion End and quickly took the wicket of Barry McCarthy.

How much have England learned from this series? Not too much. They know their openers, Jason Roy and Alex Hales, are devastating but erratic. Both men made starts here – 20 for Roy, 33 for Hales – but were unable to make a serious impression

They know Root is a class act. They know Morgan, their captain, is a mature, supremely confident one-day batsman – on his day.

The pair added 130 for the third wicket and never looked in trouble until, strangely, both threw away their wickets. Root chipped Peter Chase to mid-off, while Morgan did not read McCarthy’s slower ball and was caught at extra-cover.

They know their bowling will be strengthened immeasurably by the return of Stokes and Woakes: David Willey struggled early on, while despite his pace, Mark Wood must be handled with care, due to the ankle problems that have hampered his England career to date. He did take the final wicket, however, with a classic yorker that was too good for Dockrell.

Most of all, England know they must find a place in this team for Bairstow. The three matches against South Africa later this month are a last chance for them to work out how to do it.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in