ENG Vs IRE 1st Innings Update

In the contest between England and Ireland at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, it is Ireland that batted first. England won the toss and opted to bowl first. The green team scored 157 in first innings. The English Tean now needs 158 runs to chase in 20 overs for the win. Let us look at ENG Vs IRE 1st Innings Update in detail.

Ireland Builds Decent Total

At the halfway point, Ireland had a score of 92 to 1 and was dominating. With a half-century, Andy Balbirnie took the initiative. They did lose Paul Stirling early, but the captain and wicketkeeper batsman Locran Tucker scored 82 runs for the second wicket. However, Tucker’s unfortunate run-out allowed England to escape at one end.

Wood’s pace proved to be too much for Tector, and Livingstone’s triple-burst—which saw Balbirnie and Dockrell fall consecutively before Campher was dismissed—blew them away. Only 65 came from the final 9.2 overs, and they also lost 9 wickets. The momentum is solidly in favour of England, who will support themselves in the pursuit of 158.

Mark Wood Shows Unsatisfaction

Mark Wood talked about the team’s bowling performance. He said, “I don’t think I bowled that well, I struggled a bit because it was wet and greasy, was worried about my landings. A bit flat for the first 10 overs, but then Liam Livinstone came in and did the job.”

“I think we have a score we should be able to chase now. We gave away too many boundary balls, and they used the big stadium to run a lot of twos. I think we could have done better as a bowling unit to restrict them under 157. The body is feeling good, I’m happy with the pace I’m able to generate.”

What Captains said at the Toss

England Won the Toss and Elected to bowl first.

Jos Buttler talked about team’s combination ahead of toss. He said, “We’re going to bowl first. A bit unsure about the weather so we are going to bowl first. Lots of these grounds in Australia are huge, so fielding is a big part of our preparation. Yes, we play two games in three days here, but we want to stick to our best playing combinations, hence no changes.”

Andy Balbirnie also showed interest in bowling first. Talking about the team’s combination, he said, “We would have wanted to chase as well with the rain around. The message has been clear, we back our plans and try to create some special memories for our fans. (On 2011 win) There are two guys in our group who were part of the U19 World Cup that same year, so there’s always hope that we can replicate something similar. One change for us – Fionn Hand comes in for Simi Singh.”

England vs Ireland: Playing XI

England (Playing XI): Jos Buttler(w/c), Alex Hales, Dawid Malan, Ben Stokes, Liam Livingstone, Harry Brook, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood

Ireland (Playing XI): Paul Stirling, Andrew Balbirnie(c), Lorcan Tucker(w), Harry Tector, Curtis Campher, George Dockrell, Gareth Delany, Mark Adair, Fionn Hand, Barry McCarthy, Joshua Little