This most unpredictable and competitive T20 World Cup continues to thrill. This was the first meeting between England and Ireland at a major men’s tournament in more than a decade, and while a weather-impacted finish and a bare MCG meant this win lacked the pulsating delight of the Kevin O’Brien-inspired heist in Bangalore of 2011, this was no less of a famous Irish triumph – the better team on a dank Melbourne evening bust Group 1 wide open.
Rain had curtailed the last competitive meeting between the two sides in Guyana in 2010, granting an English side in the mire what proved a vital reprieve, but the intervention from the heavens here was far more welcome for Ireland – victory sealed with a nod of the head from the umpires and a handshake between the captains as the drizzle came down steadily.
