England, after suffering an unexpected defeat at the hands of Ireland in the T20 World Cup, has been subjected to a barrage of criticism, with Michael Vaughan labeling their performance as “pathetic.”
Rain and the Duckworth–Lewis–Stern scoring methodology helped Ireland to an unexpected victory against England in their first-ever cricket match, which took place on Wednesday at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
When play was called off due to rain after 14.3 overs in the run chase, England’s score stood at 5-105, and they needed 158 runs to win.
Due to the fact that the British team was 5 runs short of the needed total according to the DLS method, Ireland was able to clinch a historic win when further play was unable to take place.
Highlights from England’s Twenty20 match against Ireland in the ICC World Twenty20:
Fans have been complaining about the weather, but the fact is that Ireland simply outplayed their opponent, who were considered to be favorites. Here you can watch ICC T20 World’s most exciting matches ahead; The fun and thrill are still on the go!
The bowling of England has been heavily criticised in the wake of the occurrence, with commentators as well as past players hitting out.
“England were pretty pathetic for around 15 overs and got it right towards the back end. but the lengths and lines were too inconsistent,” said former captain Vaughan.
“I think England allowed Ireland to play easy shots because the bowling was so poor.
“They should’ve been better, they should’ve been able to switch on sooner. And they just lapsed for that split second and, at this level, it’s very difficult to get back into a competitive mode.”
Paul Newman of the Daily Mail wrote this way: “Everything was in their favour when Buttler won the toss and asked Ireland to bat against an attack that got everything right against Afghanistan in Perth on Saturday. Only this time they got pretty much everything wrong.
“We cannot blame it on complacency because England resisted the temptation to rest Mark Wood and Chris Woakes and chose an unchanged team.
“But where they were brilliant in the field in Perth they were lacklustre here. It was as if they couldn’t raise themselves at a near empty MCG against underdogs in the Irish.”
Moreover, Scyld Berry of The Telegraph added: “A fresh, grassy pitch and overhead cloud did not suggest but actively dictated that England should bowl line and length – instead of being suckered by Paul Stirling and Lorcan Tucker into a bouncer war which saw Ireland shape the match by hitting 59 runs from the six-over powerplay and 92 for one from ten overs.
“Serious questions have to be asked: why were England blown off course so quickly by Ireland’s top three batsmen? Can England win this tournament without Reece Topley, who has gone home with an ankle injury, and who has a dependable temperament under fire and could have been expected to pitch the ball up?
“England batted poorly too, again, of course … but the truth was that Ireland’s seamers maximised conditions … whereas England’s did not.”
In the aftermath, there was considerable controversy caused by England’s captain Jos Buttler, who questioned whether or not the Irish had engaged in gamesmanship, considering that they were two overs down when the weather decided the match.
But Ireland’s captain and man of the match, Andrew Balbirnie, laughed at the notion and said his team was just going slowly around the field. Balbirnie was awarded the man of the match award.
“There’s certainly something, whether it’s gamesmanship … they knew the rain was coming and could slow the game up,” Buttler said.
“We had lost the game before that point.”
Buttler said Ireland had put them under pressure immediately after England won the toss.
“We were a long way short of where we needed to be right throughout the game and Ireland deserved to win,” he said.
“You should let it hurt … days like today are really, really disappointing and you have to feel that.
“There’s no point saying let’s sweep it under the carpet and move on; we have to reflect and do it quickly.”
In essence, England is now ranked third in the Team 1 lineup, while Ireland is currently ranked fourth. Both teams have split their first two matches, winning one and losing one, respectively.
What are your thoughts on Ireland’s victory against England, which was their first ever in World Cup T20? Let us know in the comments section below!
Jane Davies
