It has been England’s summer so far. First, Sri Lanka were outclassed in both tests as well as one-dayers, then India were whitewashed in a lopsided series. Before limited overs leg of the India tour kicks off next week, England play neighbours Ireland in a one-off ODI at Dublin.
To many it may look like a game where England would try to fine tune their one-day skills so that India could be tackled easily but there is lot more to this solitary game than mere acclimatization with coloured clothing or white ball.
Rewind back to 2011 WC in the subcontinent and Ireland’s win over England at Bangalore still stands out as one of the most fascinating encounters of the whole tournament. Ireland, till then considered “minnows” pulled off a shock win that is now part of their folklore. When the two sides meet again on Friday, an Irish win would no longer be considered an upset because the Porterfield led side are a force to reckon with on international circuit these days.
Call it destiny, fate, irony or whatever; England’s revenge bid is spearheaded by an Irishman- Eoin Morgan who started his career with Ireland’s national team before shifting to England where he is a regular member of the Test as well as ODI teams. Since, most senior members of the English one-day side have been rested for this game; Morgan is captaining a side with many first-timers. Only Jonathan Trott among the seniors has been included in the squad to test his fitness after the shoulder injury sustained during the India series.
Since, tickets for the game were sold out months ago, Dublin should wear a festive look. However, it remains to be seen whether Ireland can convert the crowd support into a victory in what could be termed as the biggest game of their calendar this season.
Squads:
Ireland: William Porterfield (C), Alex Cusack, George Dockrell, Trent Johnston, Nigel Jones, Ed Joyce, John Mooney, Kevin O'Brien, Niall O'Brien, Boyd Rankin, Paul Stirling, Albert van der Merwe, Andrew White, Gary Wilson.
England: Eoin Morgan (C), Jonathan Bairstow, Ravi Bopara, Scott Borthwick, Jade Dernbach, Steven Finn, Craig Kieswetter, Graham Onions, Samit Patel, Ben Stokes, James Taylor, Jonathan Trott, Chris Woakes.
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