England Vs Ireland : Live Updates! - Page 19

James Anderson comes on for Michael Vaughan.

40.1 Anderson to White, 1 run, punched off the back foot through the covers, the man in the deep mops up

40.2 Anderson to Johnston, 1 wide, Anderson's compass needs recalibrating ... that was speared down the leg side from wide in the crease, so it looked even worse than it was. Nixon scurries across to field

40.2 Anderson to Johnston, no run, better, on the stumps and blocked

The rate is almost at 12 an over ...

40.3 Anderson to Johnston, SIX, Johsnton takes a step to leg and hammers the ball way over the midwicket boundary ... a dozen or so rows back, but banks of empty seats so no chance of spectator heroics

40.4 Anderson to Johnston, 1 wide, it's all going Percy Sonn ... flung down the leg side, Johnston shimmies out of the way and Nixon again has to dirty his blues to stop the ball

40.4 Anderson to Johnston, no run, Anderson recovers and finds roughly the right area

40.5 Anderson to Johnston, 1 run, full toss on leg stump, clipped to the deep square boundary where Panesar fields

40.6 Anderson to White, no run, White steps to leg and aims to thump the ball back past the bowler, he gets it off the toe of the bat and Anderson tumbles more than dives to his right to lie on the ball

End of over 41 (10 runs) - Ireland 161/6 (106 runs required from 54 balls, RR: 3.92, RRR: 11.77)

AR White 5* (16b) JM Anderson 6-1-29-1
DT Johnston 15* (12b 2x6) MS Panesar 10-1-31-2

Sajid Mahmood on ... and how many slower balls in his first over ... I reckon three.

41.1 Mahmood to Johnston, 1 wide, he opens with a bouncer that flies about three feet over Johnston's head

41.1 Mahmood to Johnston, 2 runs, wide, the drive evades cover's dive but third man round to mop up. 84mph ...

41.2 Mahmood to Johnston, no run, slower ball No. 1 - 64mph - well spotted and dug out

41.3 Mahmood to Johnston, 1 run, No. 2 - Johnston sees it, waits, and steers the ball down to third man

41.4 Mahmood to White, FOUR, short and wide, White slashes, finds the edge, and the ball races down to the rope over what would have been second slip

41.5 Mahmood to White, 1 run, yorker-length, on leg stump, clipped down to long leg

41.6 Mahmood to Johnston, FOUR, short and wide again, Johnston winds up and slashes that over backward point and all the way

Fourteen off the over, and not very much thought into some of those deliveries either.

End of over 42 (13 runs) - Ireland 174/6 (93 runs required from 48 balls, RR: 4.14, RRR: 11.62)

DT Johnston 22* (16b 1x4 2x6) SI Mahmood 7-2-31-0
AR White 10* (18b 1x4) JM Anderson 6-1-29-1

England look ragged. They need to win this match well to boost their morale.

42.1 Anderson to White, 2 runs, Anderson again bowls too wide, and White slams that through the covers
The Irish supporters are enjoying this and making quite a noise ...

42.2 Anderson to White, 1 run, full, turned into space on the on side

42.3 Anderson to Johnston, no run, slower ball - 69mph - or perhaps he's just tired ... anyway, Johnston swings and misses

42.4 Anderson to Johnston, 1 run, full toss on leg stump, thwacked into the deep

42.5 Anderson to White, 1 run, slower ball, pushed to cover, Pietersen picks up and throws, shatters the stumps at the non-striker's end ... the batsman was in, but the ball scoots away and they run an overthrow

Vaughan looks unimpressed ... scowling and muttering.

42.6 Anderson to Johnston, 1 run, fullish once more, and tickled into a gap on the leg

End of over 43 (6 runs) - Ireland 180/6 (87 runs required from 42 balls, RR: 4.18, RRR: 12.42)

DT Johnston 24* (19b 1x4 2x6) JM Anderson 7-1-35-1
AR White 14* (21b 1x4) SI Mahmood 7-2-31-0

Michael Vaughan asks Paul Collingwood to sort things out.

43.1 Collingwood to Johnston, 3 runs, slow, Johsnton waits and smacks that over the covers, Panesar chases and taps the ball back on the rope

43.2 Collingwood to White, FOUR, super shot, White stands tall and cracks that through the covers, timed and Panesar chases but he has no chance

Ireland are fighting hard here. They need a miracle to win it, but they are battling and making England look ordinary.

43.3 Collingwood to White, no run, Collingwood concentrates on line and length, good response

Vaughan reinforces the offside field with a man in the deep.

43.4 Collingwood to White, 2 runs, swung to leg, an edge loops high fine, safe as the man is up

43.5 Collingwood to White, no run, wide, White reaches and cuts to backward point. That was a four ball ...

43.6 Collingwood to White, 1 run, another slower ball, slogged to deep midwicket

Slower balls are great as a surprise option, but you cannot help but feel they are being overused here.

End of over 44 (10 runs) - Ireland 190/6 (77 runs required from 36 balls, RR: 4.31, RRR: 12.83)

AR White 21* (26b 2x4) PD Collingwood 5-0-27-0
DT Johnston 27* (20b 1x4 2x6) JM Anderson 7-1-35-1

Time for the big gun ... Andrew Flintoff into the attack. Desperate(ish) times etc ...

44.1 Flintoff to White, 2 runs, full, well driven past extra cover, quick running and they scamper back for two

44.2 Flintoff to White, 2 runs, good yorker, but well played and backward point misses the ball which squirms past him as he is wrong footed, and third man has to mop up

44.3 Flintoff to White, 2 runs, White steps to the off, clips a ball up in the blockhole into a gap on the leg side
Big cheers, much drum banging from the Irish.

44.4 Flintoff to White, 1 run, full toss on off stump, slammed through the covers to the man on the rope

44.5 Flintoff to Johnston, OUT, full, Johnston aims a wild swing over midwicket, misses, and the ball clatters his leg stump

DT Johnston b Flintoff 27 (21b 1x4 2x6) SR: 128.57

England crowd round Flintoff, Vaughan looks relieved. It wasn't getting serious, but there were a few nervous glances at the scoreboard.

44.6 Flintoff to McCallan, 2 runs, McCallan reaches for that outside off and works the ball through point

"Monty has just kept the Irish team down to two-runs-per-over," spits Paul from the UK. "Leave the English alone you fool." We will, Paul, when England start to perform like a Test nation and not flattering to deceive, like they currently are.

End of over 45 (9 runs) - Ireland 199/7 (68 runs required from 30 balls, RR: 4.42, RRR: 13.60)

WK McCallan 2* (1b) A Flintoff 7-1-38-2
AR White 28* (30b 2x4) PD Collingwood 5-0-27-0

45.1 Collingwood to White, FOUR, leg stumpish, swung high over square leg. Collingwood was fooled by White's first movement, which was to leg, and he then shuffled to the off

45.2 Collingwood to White, FOUR, far too wide, White swishes and a thick edge scurries along the ground for four, too fine for the man at wide third man

45.3 Collingwood to White, no run, Collingwood goers wide again, White misses but that should be a wide if there is consistency

45.4 Collingwood to White, 2 runs, slower ball, White leans back and hammers that into the leg side, long-on has to run 30 yards to his right to field five yards in from the rope

45.5 Collingwood to White, OUT, White tries to paddle the ball round to leg, Collingwood bowls wide outside off stump and there is no way the batsman can scoop it round from there, it lobs off the face of the bat high into the air and Nixon runs ten yards back to take the simplest of catches

AR White c Nixon b Collingwood 38 (35b 4x4 0x6) SR: 108.57

Lovely little cameo from White. England are almost there now ...

45.6 Collingwood to Langford-Smith, 1 run, tipped into the off side, he pinches the strike

End of over 46 (11 runs) - Ireland 210/8 (57 runs required from 24 balls, RR: 4.56, RRR: 14.25)

D Langford-Smith 1* (1b) PD Collingwood 6-0-38-1
WK McCallan 2* (1b) A Flintoff 7-1-38-2

46.1 Flintoff to Langford-Smith, OUT, super yorker-length delivery, the bat comes down just in time and the ball squirts away fine on the off side ... Flintoff and Nixon appeal and the umpire gives it out. I would like to see that again ...

D Langford-Smith lbw b Flintoff 1 (2b 0x4 0x6) SR: 50.00

46.2 Flintoff to Rankin, 1 run, full, jammed into the off side for a quick single

46.3 Flintoff to McCallan, (no ball) 1 run, again full - Flintoff has a rhythm now - and a single to the off

46.3 Flintoff to Rankin, no run, outside off stump, a bit of a push, Nixon and Flintoff both go up for the catch but Billy Doctrove remains unphased

46.4 Flintoff to Rankin, no run, beats him outside off, but this time not near the edge

46.5 Flintoff to Rankin, no run, full toss, a thick edge flies to the left of Nixon and he is down and across quickly to gather one handed. A good stop made to look easy

46.6 Flintoff to Rankin, 2 runs, a step to leg and pushed to the man in the deep in the covers

End of over 47 (5 runs) - Ireland 215/9 (52 runs required from 18 balls, RR: 4.57, RRR: 17.33)

WB Rankin 3* (5b) A Flintoff 8-1-43-3
WK McCallan 3* (2b) PD Collingwood 6-0-38-1

47.1 Mahmood to McCallan, no run, onto the front foot and played to cover

47.2 Mahmood to McCallan, 1 run, steered to point for a quick single, and had the throw at the bowler's end hit, then the batsman, who was ambling, would have gone

47.3 Mahmood to Rankin, no run, outside off, misses with an attempted prod

47.4 Mahmood to Rankin, no run, Rankin moves towards leg stump and misses outside off

47.5 Mahmood to Rankin, 1 run, steered to point where Vaughan misfields

47.6 Mahmood to McCallan, 1 run, into the off side for a strolled single

The last rites being played out now, the crowd are quiet and it's all unsurprisingly subdued.

End of over 48 (3 runs) - Ireland 218/9 (49 runs required from 12 balls, RR: 4.54, RRR: 24.50)

WK McCallan 5* (5b) SI Mahmood 8-2-34-0
WB Rankin 4* (8b) A Flintoff 8-1-43-3

48.1 Flintoff to McCallan, OUT, another well-directed yorker, through a indecisive swish, and the leg stump is sent spinning

WK McCallan b Flintoff 5 (6b 0x4 0x6) SR: 83.33

A fairly comfortable win for England, but they were made to work hard by a determined Irish side. England's bowlers lost their way in the middle of the innings, and had it not been for Paul Collingwood's late onslaught then it would have been a much tighter match - at 40 overs the two teams' scores were almost neck-to-neck, but England, crucially had wickets in hand and heaps more experience. A good contest and Ireland showed doubters that they are worth their place in the Super Eights.

That's it from us this afternoon. Tomorrow it's another of the surprise packages, Bangladesh, against Australia. Will it be Cardiff 2005 all over again? From Martin Williamson and Will Luke, it's goodbye.

England: 266-7 (50.0 overs)
Ireland: 218 (48.1 overs)
England beat Ireland by 48 runs

😃