Thursday 2 May 2019 10:38, UK
England's ICC Cricket World Cup preparations truly begin with a trip to Ireland for a single one-day international on Friday - live on Sky Sports.
It is the first of nine games England play - with a T20I and five ODIs versus Pakistan and warm-up matches against Australia and Afghanistan to follow - before the World Cup begins on May 30 against South Africa at The Oval.
Ireland and England have squared off nine times before in the 50-over format, with England convincingly winning the two most recent clashes on home soil in 2017 - Adil Rashid taking a career-best 5-27 in a win at Bristol - but, before then, the two teams have been involved in some classic encounters.
Here, we take a look at the most memorable meetings…
Tresco ton downs Ireland
ODI, Belfast, June 2006
England's first ODI against Ireland was played on Irish soil, with the touring side including one of Dublin's own in their team. And no, it wasn't Eoin Morgan. Ed Joyce - remember him? - was making his ODI debut for England, along with Jamie Dalrymple - don't suppose you remember him either? - and Glenn Chapple, earning his only cap at the tender age of 32.
None would really have a debut to remember, with Joyce out for 10 - although that was at least 10 runs more than his brother Dom would later manage for Ireland. Dalrymple returned 17 runs with the bat and a lone wicket with the ball, while Chapple only bowled four wicketless overs.
It was Joyce's opening partner Marcus Trescothick who did the damage for England, striking a superb 113, while Ian Bell also added 80 to help set Ireland 302 to win. The home side made a better fist of the run-chase than many would have anticipated - Andre Botha top-scoring with 52 - before ultimately succumbing to a 38-run defeat, with Steven Harmison (3-58) the pick of the England bowlers.
England escape upset defeat
ODI, Belfast, August 2009
Three years later, in the third ODI meeting between the two, Ireland would come even closer - 35 runs closer to be precise, falling to an agonising three-run defeat in a rain-affected contest it looked for large parts they'd won.
An England side that again included three debutants - Joe Denly, Jonathan Trott and Rashid - were woeful batting first, only able to inch up to a total of 203-9 from their 50 overs. Trent Johnston did the bulk of the damage, taking 2-26, including dismissing opener Ravi Bopara, and Trott, for ducks. Denly fared much better in his first England outing, grinding out 67 crucial runs, while Luke Wright's 36 off just 26 balls lower down the order proved equally important.
After rain interrupted proceedings, Ireland were set a revised target of just 116 runs from 20 overs. Tim Bresnan (2-10) took a couple of early wickets, but Paul Stirling (30 off 26) was seemingly guiding his side to a famous victory until he became Rashid's first ODI victim. Thereafter, England were spun to victory, but from an unlikely source - Owais Shah taking 3-2 in two overs before finally getting some tap in the last by Johnston (20no off 15), but England held on.
O'Brien record ton stuns England
2011 ICC World Cup, Group B, Bangalore, March 2011
To 2011… Arguably the biggest upset in World Cup history, if not cricketing history, achieved thanks to the utterly explosive hitting of Kevin O'Brien - 113 off 63 balls, featuring 13 fours and six huge sixes - as Ireland successfully chased down 328 to win.
This was actually the second World Cup meeting between the teams, following a fairly soporific encounter in Guyana four years earlier which England won easily. In Bangalore, however, the game exploded into life with Kevin Pietersen - in a new spot as opener - cracking 59 off 50 balls to get England off to a flier, before Trott (92) and Bell (81) added further fine half centuries to see England above 300 and to an imposing looking score.
Victory seemed assured when James Anderson bowled Ireland captain Will Porterfield first ball and, although Stirling (32) and Ed Joyce (32) - this time in Ireland colours - valiantly attempted to lead the recovery, at the midway point of their run-chase Ireland had just lost their fifth wicket and still needed a staggering 215 runs to win. Cue Kevin O'Brien. His 50-ball century - the record-fastest in World Cup history - left England utterly stunned, while the supporting roles of Alex Cusack (47) and John Mooney (33no) also cannot be underplayed.
England quicks dazzle in Dublin
ODI, Dublin, August 2011
Mere months later, England almost succumbed to another embarrassing defeat at the hands of Ireland. Back home in Dublin, Morgan stood in for Alastair Cook as captain of an experimental England line-up that handed debuts to James Taylor, Scott Borthwick and a certain Ben Stokes.
Again, the impact of the debutants was limited, with Borthwick (15) - batting as low as No 9 - the only one to reach double-figures as England struggled with the bat after being inserted by their hosts. In a rain-reduced 42-over innings, England could only muster a total of 201-8 - Trott top-scoring with 69, with Morgan managing 59.
Due to further bad weather, Ireland's target was revised to a run-chase of 129 in 23 overs, and though Kevin O'Brien again top-scored, this time with a more modest tally of 26, Ireland fell 11 runs short - England quicks Jade Dernbach (3-30) and Steven Finn (2-16) doing the damage.
Morgan hits hundred on homecoming
ODI, Dublin, September 2013
England have since returned twice more to Dublin, taking on an ODI in Malahide in both 2013 and 2015, though the latter - which gave birth to the ODI careers of Jason Roy, James Vince, David Willey, Mark Wood and Zafar Ansari - was ultimately abandoned due to rain.
The 2013 affair though was another classic, with Porterfield striking a superb 112 for the hosts as they posted a tricky target of 269-7 from their 50 overs, despite the best efforts of Boyd Rankin - another of Ireland's own appearing against them - who took impressive figures of 4-46 from his nine overs.
England were in all kinds of trouble at 48-4 in the 15th over of their reply - Johnston (1-34) first snaring debutant Michael Carberry (10), before London-born Tim Murtagh (3-33) ran through Wright (5), Gary Ballance (0) for a debut duck, and Taylor (25). But in came skipper Morgan to break Irish hearts once more with a stunning unbeaten 124, while his wasn't the only match-winning turn, as Bopara (101no) struck his long-awaited maiden ODI ton in a terrific 226-run partnership to see England to victory with seven overs to spare.
Watch the first one-day international between England and Ireland in Bristol, live on Sky Sports 2 from 10.30am on Friday.
