Jos Buttler refused to blame the Melbourne rain for England’s shock defeat by Ireland, accepting “the better team won” in Melbourne.
England were loose with the ball after putting their opponents in to bat at the MCG, but dragged things back well as the boys in green slipped from 103 for one to 157 all out.
But with the constant threat of rain, England’s reply never really found its feet. Buttler, Alex Hales and Ben Stokes all fell cheaply and, with the constant threat of a downpour in the air, they never got above the DLS par score.
They were still short when the weather turned, leaving the Irish to celebrate a memorable five-run win.
Asked if he had any qualms about the early finish, Buttler told Sky Sports: “Not really, it was only going to get heavier. They outplayed us in all three facets of the game. The better team won today.”
“Especially in the first 10 overs with the ball we were poor,” he added to the BBC. “We were a long way short of where we needed to be and we let Ireland get away from us.
“We let them them score both sides of the wicket when it was favourable for bowling. We won the toss had everything in our favour but we didn’t take advance of that.
“The second 10 overs we were much better, we let Ireland have 20 or 30 too many in the first half and so we were under pressure. We managed to restrict them but they showed us how to bowl out there.
“Myself getting out in the first over, that’s never ideal and it put pressure on the rest of our batting. They bowled well and certainly used the conditions better.
“We won the toss and chose to bowl knowing we’d have the advantage of knowing what we’d have to do when it came around to batting, but we weren’t able to make the most of it.
“Friday is massive. This result has put a lot of pressure on us now but it’s as big as it can get now to get us up for it, Australia v England at the MCG.”
Irish skipper Andrew Balbirnie revelled in a famous win at one of the game’s great venues.
“It’s amazing and it’s emotional because we’ve never played a game of cricket here,” he told the BBC. “To come here and play the tournament favourites, with so many big names, and put on a show in front of friends and family and so many people around the world is very satisfying.
“To do this at one of the most amazing cricket grounds in the world is pretty special.”
