Ireland v England: ODI – as it happened (or didn't)

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/live/2015/may/08/ireland-v-england-odi-live-cricket

Version 0 of 1.

3.12pm BST15:12

Match abandoned, Ireland 56-4, 18 overs

At last – confirmation. It’s a bleak, bleak day and the game’s done. A real disappointment both for Ireland, who don’t get matches such as this enough, and for England’s young tyros. So no more cricket here. By contrast, you can follow men in coloured clothing in packed stadiums hitting sixes and leaping about with Dan Lucas’s IPL over-by-over commentary of Chennai Super Kings v Mumbai Indians. Thanks for your company, such as it’s been. Bye.

3.06pm BST15:06

The umpires amble out, under their umbrellas, squelching around the outfield, which surely will confirm the bleedin’ obvious. Then they return to the dressing rooms, but they’re keeping us waiting, the little teases.

2.53pm BST14:53

There are puddles on the pitch, you’d think it was all over … but it isn’t. The umpires are going to inspect them in closer detail in 10 minutes. This seems an almost poetic exercise in futility that someone should, well, write a poem about.

Meanwhile, in other cricket, the touring New Zealanders are currently 70-2 against Somerset on day one of their four-day match at Taunton.

2.19pm BST14:19

Still raining, and prospects of play are receding further. Liveblogging this makes you a soulmate of stalwarts such as this:

2.07pm BST14:07

On radio and screen, the argument is simultaneously being made for Ireland to play the major nations more often – Cricket Ireland chief executive Warren Deutrom is talking to TMS about the way forward for countries such as theirs, while Sky is showing highlights of Ireland’s terrific win over West Indies at the World Cup. Are you listening/watching ICC?

It’s still raining in Malahide.

1.56pm BST13:56

Rain calculations latest: set your alarm clocks for 5.37pm folks. That’s the time by which play would have to resume for there to be hope of completing a 20-overs-a-side match. Though they may, of course, knock it on the head long before that. In which case why not sleep through the afternoon?

1.51pm BST13:51

Afternoon everyone, Tom here for, well, I’m not sure how long really. But let’s hope the players are enjoying with their lunch eh – likely the last spent discussing data and skillsets with Peter Moores, who’s set to be packing his laptop bag when Andrew Strauss gets his feet under the table as director of cricket.

“Whoever answers prayers for rain should be sacked for failing to get the right match,” thunders Ian Copestake. So what was the right match?

1.45pm BST13:45

With the rain still falling I’m going to step away from this gripping drip-by-drip narrative and hand over to Tom Davies, who will take you through the rest of the day’s rain. And play, if there is any. At least we’ll always have those 18 overs. Anyway, all emails to tom.davies@theguardian.com if you’d be so kind. Bye!

1.29pm BST13:29

The players’ lunch is going to be served in a minute or so (1.30pm BST), so there’ll certainly be no action for a while.

1.23pm BST13:23

Nice to see some fans are so committed they’re currently cheering on the groundsmen and the covers.

Decamped to a malahide bar #IrevEng pic.twitter.com/QnhLni5x8Z

1.20pm BST13:20

Another update from Ireland. It is no more encouraging than the last.

@Simon_Burnton In Donabate across the estuary from #IrevEng in Malahide. Rain is down for the day, denying us another game against Test oppo

1.11pm BST13:11

Our man on the ground says he’s off to the pub. I’m not entirely sure that he ever left the pub.

@Simon_Burnton well ahead of TMS, en route to the pub, u don't schedule matches in Ireland in May it's going 2 rain, it's Ireland! Slainte!

1.05pm BST13:05

“We think that’s it for the day,” reports TMS.

1.02pm BST13:02

It looks profoundly soggy out there. I’m not sure how much water the ground can take before it becomes irredeemably damp.

12.56pm BST12:56

“Any way to blame the Tories for the rain?” wonders Neil Connolly. I can’t really see how, to be honest, and it’s not like we’re short of other things to blame them for. “Incidentally, while it’s raining and Ireland are playing, did you know that ‘Tory’ is an Irish word?” I did not know that. “A class of robbers noted for outrages and savage cruelty”, you say. Hmmm.

12.40pm BST12:40

The skies in Ireland are looking pretty dreary, so I think anyone intent on following every moment of this game can fairly safely pop out for some lunch approximately nowish. If there’s any change, I’ll let you know as soon as it happens.

12.29pm BST12:29

“What happens to the new caps if the game is abandoned? Are they rescinded in the records?” asks Luke Williams. Presumably if the game is struck from the records, those debut international appearances to all intents and purposes didn’t happen, and the caps will be ripped from their heads. I don’t know this for actual fact, and it seems a little mean, but I’m not sure there’s an alternative. If anyone knows better, I’d be delighted to be put right.

12.15pm BST12:15

They need to get through 20 overs each for this to go down in the records as a proper, echte, honest-to-goodness cricket match. There’s a lot of leeway there - we won’t start to lose overs for another hour - but they could have done with the water waiting for another couple of overs, giving the option of England’s innings starting at the resumption, if there is one.

12.11pm BST12:11

Head here to check out today’s rain radar (thanks to Dave Dineen for the link). It does not look promising.

12.05pm BST12:05

Rain stops play

The rain doesn’t seem very heavy, but it does seem persistent, and so the umpires eventually bring them off. The question is, how long for?

And off they go for the rain, with Ireland 53-4 off 18 overs. The fear is that could be it for the day...

12.04pm BST12:04

18th over: Ireland 56-4 (Joyce 23, Wilson 3)

It’s still raining, and they’re still playing. England don’t want to go anywhere, with Ireland continuing to score at a pretty dismal pace. Finn bowls another maiden - the three overs he’s bowled so far have between them cost one run.

@Simon_Burnton I think the barstool in Gibneys will be calling my name unless Ireland get the finger out & put some runs on the board!

12.00pm BST12:00

17th over: Ireland 56-4 (Joyce 23, Wilson 3)

Balbirnie pushes the ball down the ground, just wide of a desperately diving mid off and away for a four. The next ball is near-identical, just a fraction wider, and Balbirnie attempts another drive and gets it wrong. Wilson sends the final delivery through the covers - as the camera pans across you expect it to find the ball trundling over the rope, but in fact it holds up in the soft, wet grass and they run three.

11.57am BST11:57

WICKET! Balbirnie c Roy b Willey 5 (Ireland 53-4)

Now that’s how to take a slip catch! Balbirnie sends the ball flying high to the right of Roy at second slip, he flings out both hands and the ball disappears into them. Very fine catch indeed, that.

11.54am BST11:54

16th over: Ireland 48-3 (Joyce 22, Balbirnie 1)

Finn squares Balbirnie up with a stonker that straightens and flashes just past the batsman’s proferred blade. England are bowling well here, so well in fact that the last five overs have cost just five runs.

11.51am BST11:51

15th over: Ireland 47-3 (Joyce 21, Balbirnie 1)

Willey yields a few singles, as spots start to appear on camera lenses.

Congrats all the guys making their England debuts today. Special day and good work Knighty! (Pic via @PCA) pic.twitter.com/Ccn0PZfuyK

11.47am BST11:47

14th over: Ireland 44-3 (Joyce 19, Balbirnie 0)

Steve Finn replaces Bresnan from the Castle end, as umbrellass start to go up around the ground. Only a few umbrellas, mind, with most people apparently not having noticed yet that it’s raining. That’s how engrossing this game is, people. It’s a maiden, which ends with groundsmen poised to run on with some covers, but umpires unsure whether they it’s worth the hassle.

11.43am BST11:43

13th over: Ireland 44-3 (Joyce 19, Balbirnie 0)

That there is a maiden over from Willey, bowling full and straight. Joyce tries a couple of shots, but doesn’t quite time them, and/or picks out fielders.

11.39am BST11:39

12th over: Ireland 44-3 (Joyce 19, Balbirnie 0)

There aren’t just thick jumpers in the crowd, there are scarves and bobbly hats and thick fur-lined hoods pulled tight round heads despite an absence of the predicted rain. Balbirnie’s first ball smacks him on the pad, and Bresnan loudly appeals, but it was going down leg side, and probably high.

Updated at 11.40am BST

11.37am BST11:37

WICKET! O'Brien c Vince b Bresnan 10 (Ireland 44-3)

Bresnan tempts O’Brien into a drive, and he top-edges the ball straight to Vince (which is just as well - he barely moves his hands before it arrives, and they wouldn’t have got anywhere near it had it not got so near to them).

11.34am BST11:34

11th over: Ireland 43-2 (Joyce 18, N O’Brien 10)

David Willey, another of the day’s five debutants, gets a bowl, and Joyce pulls a short ball that arrives at neck height for four.

11.30am BST11:30

10th over: Ireland 37-2 (Joyce 13, O’Brien 9)

A repeat of the Sterling run-out with a different outcome, the ball again dropping near the stumps at his end, and being thrown at the stumps at the other by Bairstow. Joyce this time would have been out had the ball gone six inches t’other way. Instead it misses, and he gets a bonus run.

11.26am BST11:26

9th over: Ireland 33-2 (Joyce 9, O’Brien 9)

O’Brien pulls the ball off his hip and away to the square leg boundary for four. The stadium DJ promptly plays The Only Way is Up by Yazz, which I think is a little harsh. It was a lovely shot, and brought four runs. How much better do you expect it to get, exactly? A couple of balls later he edges to Hales at gully, the ball flying just wide of his left shoulder - he gets both hands to it, but can’t hold it. A couple of singles later, another short ball is pulled away for four.

11.22am BST11:22

8th over: Ireland 23-2 (Joyce 8, O’Brien 0)

Bresnan bowls, Joyce defends, the ball flies past the edge, produces a clear edgy noise, and flies through to Bairstow. There’s an enormous appeal, but the umpire is unmoved, to the general puzzlement of everybody - until slow-motion replays show the ball flicked the edge of the pad, and missed the bat by the slimmest of margins. Mark Hawthorne either took a very lucky guess there, or he’s got magic slow-mo eyes.

Updated at 11.53am BST

11.20am BST11:20

7th over: Ireland 23-1 (Joyce 8, O’Brien 0)

Wood seems to be getting faster but finding less swing. The wicket comes from the final delivery of the over, and just survives a check that it wasn’t a no ball.

11.17am BST11:17

WICKET! Porterfield b Wood 7 (Ireland 23-2)

Porterfield tries to slap the ball through the covers but inside-edges into his stumps instead!

Updated at 11.53am BST

11.13am BST11:13

6th over: Ireland 22-1 (Porterfield 7, Joyce 7)

An edge! Bresnan bowls across the left-handed Joyce, the ball flicks the edge and it lands a good three feet short of Bairstow. Joyce promptly thwacks one to the deep cover boundary.

@Simon_Burnton You think you're scraping the bottom of the barrel. This one doesn't even actually end in -hide. https://t.co/FQgmFOPMx8

11.09am BST11:09

5th over: Ireland 17-1 (Porterfield 7, Joyce 2)

After a wide in each of his first two overs (and before he delivers another in this one too), Wood bowls an emphatic no ball in his third, giving Porterfield a free hit, which he thumps along the ground, just past the stumps at the other end, through the umpire’s legs and away for four. So firmly is the ball struck it obviously is smashed out of shape, and the umpires immediately decide to switch it for another one.

11.03am BST11:03

4th over: Ireland 7-1 (Porterfield 2, Joyce 0)

So with the ball lolloping about at the striker’s end, Bairstow is first on the scene, strips off a glove, gathers and throws down the stumps at the other end, with the batsman nowhere near making his ground. Fine bit of fielding. A leg bye is Ireland’s only reward from Bresnan’s over.

11.00am BST11:00

WICKET! Sterling run out (Bairstow) 2 (Ireland 6-1)

Sterling drops the ball a yard or two from that bat and sets off on a run. “Good running!” enthuses the Sky commentator. Erm ...

Updated at 11.54am BST

10.58am BST10:58

3rd over: Ireland 6-0 (Porterfield 2, Stirling 2)

Another wide from Wood, and that’s as much as the over yields. And if we’re going to go down the hit singles that end in -hide road, I’d like jump straight to scraping the bottom of the barrel, with this 1988 No47 smash:

10.55am BST10:55

2nd over: Ireland 5-0 (Porterfield 2, Stirling 2)

Tim Bresnan, absent from England’s one-day team for one year, two months and three days, is back, back, back. Ireland struggle to come to terms with his infamously heavy balls, but eventually get a single off the last.

@Simon_Burnton I see your Rawhide and raise you https://t.co/ukQbpv3vIY Martha and the Vandellas. This is England's state right now.

10.51am BST10:51

1st over: Ireland 4-0 (Porterfield 1, Stirling 2)

The first ball of the day goes just down the leg side, and Ireland are thus off the mark. Both batsmen also start scoring, Porterfield with a single to midwicket, Stirling with a nice flick off his toes for a couple. The pitch is allegedly “tacky”, and there seems to be some swing about.

10.46am BST10:46

Mark Wood, one of the debutants, is going to bowl the first over.

10.45am BST10:45

And now they’re preparing for actual action, under grey skies and in front of a decent if scattered crowd.

10.43am BST10:43

The teams are out and engaging in a little pre-match pageantry.

10.37am BST10:37

Andrew Strauss is missing from Sky’s comentary box, and they announce that it “is highly likely that he will be the new cricket director”.

Updated at 10.41am BST

10.31am BST10:31

Morning, then, to John McEnerney, who appears to be on the ground in Malahide. Good to have a local correspondent on the OBO, John, keep ‘em coming.

@Simon_Burnton a lovely May morning on the Northside of Dublin, some nice pubs in Malahide in case it rains(odds on)going for a home win COI

10.25am BST10:25

So the new headwear goes to Zafar Ansari, Jason Roy, James Vince, David Willey and Mark Wood.

10.23am BST10:23

The teams are in, and look like this:

The Ireland team for today: Porterfield (c); Balbirnie; Cusack; Dockrell; Joyce; Mooney; K O'Brien; N O'Brien; Stirling; Wilson (wk); Young

The England team for today: Taylor (c); Ansari; Bairstow (wk); Bresnan; Finn; Hales; Rashid; Roy; Vince; Willey; Wood

10.18am BST10:18

England win the toss and will bowl

That is very much the sum total of my current knowledge, with broadcasters yet to turn their attention to Malahide.

10.05am BST10:05

I find it very hard to think about Malahide without this coming to mind (and given that I’m perfectly happy for this to come to mind, I tend not to try very hard):

9.58am BST09:58

There’s also a picture on social media of five new caps on a table, waiting for pre-match presentation. We await news of whose heads they will be placed upon.

9.54am BST09:54

Good news! It looks cloudy over in Malahide, but not currently rainswept.

The guys are warming up - lots of activity on the ground here #IrevEng https://t.co/2IEEENnMsm

9.53am BST09:53

Hello world!

It’s a new dawn. It’s a new day. Forget the infernal election, on the cricket field we have temporarily at least swept away the stale old mob of underperforming, entitled has-beens, and can now prepare to usher in a new era for the nation. Of course, the incumbents will resist, and the old guy’s still in charge for now, but his premiership is looking increasingly wobble-footed.

The Ashes series is precisely and exactly two months away from commencement, and after another disappointing tour in West Indies England’s wild thrash for a potentially victorious cricket side starts here. It promises to be a fascinating and/or painfully depressing process, about which all we really know is that the experimental side set to play today isn’t really going to have much to do with it. Today is not an open audition for a totally new-look team, but it may be an opportunity for a couple of individuals to raise their hands and cough out a polite “ahem”.*

“It’s a massive treat and an honour to be named England captain,” said James Taylor. It’s not a treat. A 6ft-wide Smartie is a massive treat. An entire, habitable house made of brownie and plumbed with Champagne-spouting taps is a massive treat. Captaincy of England is an honour, however temporary, I’ll certainly grant him that, but if you imagine life as a giant version of Halloween favourite trick or treat, I’d suggest that what’s just happened to him is very much the opposite of treat.

* Except if it rains all day, which looks very much a possibility, in which case the only physical gestures of note would probably be related to dressing-room games of charades.

9.45am BST09:45

Simon will be here shortly. In the meantime, read Ali Martin’s preview piece.

As Peter Moores was taking practice for possibly the final time as the England head coach, the stand-in one-day captain James Taylor was in front of the microphones insisting Friday’s international against Ireland in Dublin was important for all involved, not just one man.

With Andrew Strauss having agreed to become England’s director of cricket, the attention has switched to Moores and whether his new superior sees him as the man to take the national side forward, having himself been set the dual target of winning the Ashes and the World Cup in 2019.

Taylor leads a fledgling 50-over side in the absence of Eoin Morgan, who spent Thursday scoring a 28-ball 63 for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League. Taylor said Moores remained his usual upbeat self, despite a 4,000-mile overnight trip from Barbados, via London.

For the full article, click here.