Australia started their night in Brisbane needing to pulverise Ireland. There were no two ways about it: not in the fourth of five matches in the T20 World Cup group stage, with the chunk of net run rate that the hosts needed to make up on England.
Midway through the night that chance was there with Ireland 25 for five in reply to a mid-range 179. By the end of the night it had slipped away, with the young Irish wicketkeeper Lorcan Tucker playing an innings of consummate class to score 71 not out to take Ireland to 137 all out: not a winning total but enough to leave a mark on Australia’s campaign.
