MELBOURNE, Australia — Ireland and rain had a major impact on the
T20 World Cup Wednesday as England
suffered a shock defeat and New Zealand were denied the chance to take
advantage when their match with Afghanistan was washed out.
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Captain Andy Balbirnie led the way for Ireland with
62 from 47 balls at the
Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) to give England a
158-run target.
But England’s much-vaunted batting line-up struggled
to get going in the face of some disciplined Ireland swing bowling and were
reduced to 29–3 off the first five overs.
A late Moeen Ali boundary flurry (24 off 12 balls)
took England to 105–5 off 14.3 overs when the rain ended play.
England were five runs behind on the DLS scoring
method, handing Ireland a famous victory.
“It’s amazing, kind of emotional,” said
man-of-the-match Balbirnie.
“Our message was to just create chances, and we know
how this England team like to play, if we take every chance then we would be in
with a shot.”
“This will do a lot to grow the game back home.”
The rain stayed around for the rest of the night
and, after several aborted attempts to start the second match of the MCG
double-header, New Zealand and Afghanistan had to make do with a point each
without a ball being bowled.
It leaves New Zealand top of a wide-open Group 1
with three points after two rounds of matches.
Sri Lanka, England, Ireland, and Australia are
locked together on two points with Afghanistan bottom on one.
It was Ireland’s second massive upset of the
tournament after they beat the West Indies in the first round to send the
two-time champions home.
England, who
enjoyed an opening five-wicket win over
Afghanistan, are among the title
favorites and were heavily fancied to beat the Irish.
Captain Jos Buttler had no excuses and said England
needed to feel the pain of defeat after their dismal performance.
He demanded a reaction for their next clash — a
blockbuster against hosts and defending champions Australia in Melbourne on
Friday.
‘Let it hurt’ — Buttler
“I think we should let it
hurt, to be honest,” said Buttler, who is in charge of England for the first
time at a major tournament following the retirement of Eoin Morgan this year.
“Days like today are really, really disappointing,
and you’ve got to feel that.”
“We have got to reflect and we have to do it quickly
with another game very soon, but today should hurt,” said Buttler who was out
for a duck off the second ball of England’s innings.
“I expect a reaction from the team.”
New Zealand won their tournament opener against
Australia last week and next face
Sri Lanka in Sydney on Saturday.
Black Caps coach Gary Stead said Ireland’s win
showed there was no room for complacency.
“They are making a habit when you look at world tournaments.
It’s not the first win they have had against a major nation,” he said.
Ireland also hammered the West Indies by nine
wickets in the first round last week to knock out the two-time former champions
and famously beat England in the 2011 50-over World Cup when they chased down a
mammoth 328 to win.
Ireland face Afghanistan next on Friday at the MCG
in the first match of another double-header before the Ashes foes go
head-to-head later in the evening.
“It’s all to play for,” said Afghanistan coach and former
England batsman Jonathan Trott.
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