Defending ODI world champions, England, had an excellent Thursday evening at Southampton as they won the 1st ODI against Ireland. England’s win in the 2nd ODI will seal the series, whereas Ireland will look forward to winning this match to stay alive in the series.
David Willey’s(5-30) exceptional bowling smashed the Ireland team badly. Because of this, Ireland’s team was not able to put a high score on the board.
There wasn’t any “watch-out” performance in the Ireland team, except debutant Curtis Campher’s 50. They had good control over the England team in the first half with their bowling and managed to shorten England’s Innings at 78/4. But they lost the track and it became difficult to stop the host.
Despite the fact that the key players were missing from England’s playing XI, Sam Billings (67 runs) and Eoin Morgan (36 runs) made the victory possible for England with their splendid batting.
The England team is expected to play the same XI unless they want to replace James Vince with Joe Denly. England’s bowlers have built a strong profile by restraining the Irish team within 200. They will likely continue to wrap up the series before it gets to the decider.
On the other hand, the Ireland team is expected to make a change by replacing the injured Barry McCarthy. The most likely options replacing him are Boyd Rankin and Josh Little. The Irish team looked promising before they let the match go in the hands of the host. In order to win the match, experienced players like Paul Stirling and the skipper Andrew Balbirnie have to take control.
Now, both teams are against each other for the second time in this 3-match series at the same location and both teams will have the same goal to win the match.
Fantasy Cricket prediction:
David Willey, the man of the match in the first ODI, had a victorious return to the England team. He bamboozled the Ireland team with swing and subtle seam movements, taking 5 wickets in the opening match.
England’s other star player of the match was Sam Billings. His knock of 67* helped England win the match.
Curtis Campher had a promising debut with a fifty and took 1 wicket. Will he be able to play the same way in the second match?
Adil Rashid was able to turn the ball both ways. Though he got only 1 wicket in the opener, he is now the highest wicket-taker in current ENG-IRE ODI teams.
Craig Young (2 – 56) showed his ability to play with the new ball quite effectively in the opening match. The question is will he get greater support from his teammates in the second match?
Both Jason Roy (24 runs off 22 balls) and Eoin Morgan (36* runs off 40 balls) are expected to perform well in the second match. Morgan has a superb record against Ireland and Roy’s average at Rose Bowl is above 50.
Other key players to watch for are Tom Curran (1 – 37) and Andy McBrine (1 – 47).
Pitch report and weather prediction:
The Rose Bowl pitch was slow in the first ODI but still promising for the batting. However, the scores were not depicting that. The new ballers found a swing, which is expected in the second match as well. If the top order batsman can get through the initial stress, we can see runs on the board.
According to the weather prediction, there is a chance of showers on Saturday.
Stats:
The average first innings score at Rose Bowl is 245. The team batting first and second both have won 3 matches.
1st Test match result – ENG won by 6 wickets
Top Scorer(s): Sam Billings(BAT) – 67* runs off 54 balls.
Curtis Campher (ALLR) – 59* runs off 118 balls.
Top Wicket-taker(s): David Willey (BWL) – 5 wickets.
Saqib Mahmood (BWL), Craig Young (BWL), 2 wickets each.
| Player | Position | Avg. FPs | |
| England | David Willey | BWL | 163 |
| Sam Billings | BAT | 106 | |
| Saqib Mahmood | BWL | 63 | |
| Adil Rashid | BWL | 63 | |
| Ireland | Curtis Campher | ALLR | 101 |
| Andy McBrine | BWL | 73 | |
| Craig Young | BWL | 60 |
Captain picks: David Wiley (BWL) (ENG), Sam Billings (BAT) (ENG), and Andy McBrine (BWL) (IRE)
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