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Ireland 172; England 174-4. England win by six wickets
Billings unbeaten on 67 after Ireland earlier recovered from 28-5

Here was a routine ODI victory for England except for the obvious oddities, empty stands which served only to echo the exhortations of the players, cloudless skies and the floodlights blazing way before dusk had even contemplated descending. Eoin Morgan’s side were only required to chase 173 after David Willey had caused mayhem at the start of the Irish innings, and after some messiness at the top of the order Sam Billings and Morgan, who had demoted himself to No 6, ensured that there would be no dramas. They won by six wickets with more than 22 overs to spare.
This would have been a drab game even if there had been 15,000 spectators in the stands. In fact, the viewers/listeners were lucky to have any sort of game to follow given that Ireland were 28 for five before the end of the seventh over and still rocking from Willey’s opening spell which delivered four wickets. A superb debut from the 21-year-old Curtis Campher, who would be unbeaten on 59 at end of the innings, created the semblance of a contest. When England were 78 for four there was even a glimmer of hope for the Irish even though their opening bowler, Barry McCarthy was compelled to limp off in his first over. Continue reading...