Mark Wood and Liam Livingstone took three wickets apiece as England battled back in their T20 World Cup clash with Ireland at the MCG, after Andrew Balbirnie had impressed with 62 off 47 balls.
England were out of sorts after electing to field first and, following two brief rain delays, they watched their opponents rack up 103 for one before being given a helping hand with a fortunate run-out.
Adil Rashid deflected Balbirnie’s drive on to the stumps at the non-striker’s end to run-out Lorcan Tucker for 34, ending an 82-run stand in 57 balls, and wickets tumbled at regular intervals from then.
They were all out for 157 from 19.2 overs, with Wood by far the most threatening of England’s bowlers, repeatedly unsettling Ireland with his express pace as he finished with three for 34.
Livingstone claimed two dismissals in two balls – the first of which came when Balbirnie swept to deep backward square leg, which led to Ireland losing their last seven wickets for 25 runs in 24 balls.
Livingstone finished with an international best three for 17, while Sam Curran bowled both Barry McCarthy and Fionn Hand as Ireland imploded in their first competitive match at the MCG.
England elected against shuffling their bowlers, with Australia to come in two days, and they were under the pump as Ireland raced to 59 for one from the powerplay then reached 100 in the 12th over.
Chris Woakes conceded 41 from three overs, while Curran also went at more than 10 an over, but England came back into it in the second half of Ireland’s innings and face a smaller chase than they might initially have envisaged.
