Friday's washout was not the first time rain intervened...
Friday 8 May 2015 15:28, UK
England and Ireland's rain-ruined one-day international in Dublin on Friday was the seventh between the two sides - and there can be few doubts about the most memorable of the previous six.
It was surely the teams' humdinger at the 2011 World Cup in Bangalore, in which Kevin O'Brien smoked a tournament-record 50-ball hundred to fire Ireland to a historic three-wicket triumph.
But the other Anglo-Irish tussles have been far from drab, with a vintage Tres ton, Flintoff fireworks, Morgan magic and that old pain rain making for some glittering games...
2006 (Belfast): England win by 38 runs
Marcus Trescothick took a liking to Ireland's attack in the sides' maiden 50-over contest, pummeling 113 from 114 deliveries - not to mention a dozen fours - as the visitors posted 301-7 The Somerset swashbuckler ploughed somewhat of a lone furrow early on with Ed Joyce, Andrew Strauss and Paul Collingwood failing to get going but received support from Ian Bell (80) during a fourth-wicket stand of 142. Ireland played confidently for much of their chase, though a three-wicket haul for Steve Harmison, the lofty Durham quick finding his rhythm after a wayward start, and a rather surprising Bell two-for helped England down their plucky opponents, albeit in far from convincing fashion. Glenn Chapple went wicket-less from his four overs of seam, though he did club the only six of the England innings in what proved to be his solitary ODI.
2007 (Guyana): England win by 48 runs
England have a World Cup reverse against Ireland, then, but also hold a Word Cup victory over the associate member, besting them in the Super 8 stage in the Caribbean. Andrew Flintoff put the 'Fredalo' incident to one side by throwing in an excellent all-round display, scoring 43 runs to propel England to 266-7 from their 50 overs and then taking 4-43 as Michael Vaughan's men skittled Ireland out for 218. Kevin Pietersen played an entertaining cameo with the willow - cracking 48 from 47 balls - but the Man of the Match accolade was granted to Collingwood for his 90 which included eight boundaries and three maximums. Niall O'Brien (63) was the pick of Ireland's batsmen but saw his innings come to a close after being nabbed by Vaughan. Still, that places him in good company, Sachin Tendulkar once fell to the Mancunian's filthy spin!
2009 (Belfast): England win by two runs - D/L Method
England made heavy weather of a weather-affected game in 2009. Ireland's dependable medium-pacer Trent Johnston banished Ravi Bopara and Jonathan Trott for ducks, while skipper Collingwood (9) had just a fleeting stint at the crease, too. England were subsequently thankful to the debuting Joe Denly (67) and a brisk 36 from Luke Wright, both of whom also fell to Johnston, as they stumbled to 203-9. A deluge caused a three-hour delay and led to Ireland being asked to chase a revised total of 116 from 20 overs. That looked more than doable but a canny bowling effort from England, including a notable 3-15 from part-time tweaker Owais Shah, stalled the Irish and when some stunning fielding from sub fielder Morgan at long-on denied Johnston a six off the penultimate ball with nine required, the game was up. Foiled by one of their own!
2011 (Dublin): England win 11 runs
Five and a bit months after their World Cup humbling by Ireland, England exacted revenge, though once again the rain came into play. Skipper Morgan (59 from 65 balls) added impetus to England's knock, with Trott (69 from 105) playing the anchor role he was famed for, as the visitors crept up to 201-8 from 42 overs. Another downpour caused a further reshuffle with Ireland's target now 129 from 23 overs, a total that was just out of reach. Chris Woakes and Steven Finn set the tone with economical spells up front and Jade Dernbach collected three wickets, while Bopara pouched two catches in addition to castling Nigel Jones as Ireland ended on 117-8. There was still time for Kevin O'Brien (26 from 15) to biff two fours and a pair of sixes but it was another Dubliner, Morgan, who had the broadest smile on the Emerald Isle.
2013 (Dublin): England win by six wickets
Morgan is making quite a habit of flourishing against his homeland. This time around, the left-hander (124no) combined with Bopara (101no) for an unbroken, match-winning fifth-wicket stand of 226, a partnership only bettered in ODIs for England by the 250 Strauss and Trott put on against Bangladesh at Edgbaston in 2010. Morgan and Bopara's tandem came at a crucial time for England, who had slipped to 48-4 inside 15 overs in pursuit of Ireland's 269-7. England-born paceman Tim Murtagh snared three wickets for Ireland after Ireland-born paceman Boyd Rankin had stockpiled four for England, the gargantuan bowler taking a career-best 4-46 on his inaugural appearance for the three Lions having previously registered 37 caps for the men in green. Ireland captain William Porterfield (112) shone but, as usually happens in these games, England won.
