Updated 6.24pm
ENGLAND 201-8 (42 overs) beat IRELAND 117-8 (23 overs) (D/L METHOD)
IRELAND’S BRAVE PERFORMANCE wasn’t enough to beat England today, as they lost out by 11 runs.
A late rain delay had left Ireland needing 87 from 60 balls to catch England, after several revised D/L calculations.
However, their hopes were ended when George Dockrell failed to lay a bat on the final two balls, allowing England to gain a relatively comfortable victory.
The win represented an assured start to Irish-born Eoin Morgan’s England captaincy, as his side avoided a repeat of their embarrasing loss to the Irish at the World Cup earlier this year.
Earlier, Ireland, chasing a total of 202 reached 42 for two when rain intervened after 13 overs of the reply.
Paul Stirling was the star batter against England, hitting one big six over cover but fell two balls later.
Ed Joyce, who lined out for England in the past, hit two fours but became Finn’s second victim when Craig Kieswetter took a thin edge behind the stumps.
The rain returned with William Porterfield and Niall O’Brien the men at the crease.
This morning, the visitors’ much-changed one-day side stuttered under pressure as they were restricted to 201 for eight in the first innings of the RSA Challenge.
England were captained by Dubliner Eoin Morgan who was greeted warmly by home supporters. The new-look English were sent into bat when Ireland won the toss.
Each innings was reduced to 42 overs after a rain delay. The cut-off point for play was 5.34pm or the game would have been abandoned.
Additional reporting by Paul Fennessy
