Last Updated on 2 years by Charbel Coorey

What went wrong for England in their T20 World Cup defeat to Ireland? | How did England lose to Ireland in the 2022 T20 World Cup?

England’s T20 World Cup hopes were dealt a surprising blow after falling to defeat against neighbours Ireland in Melbourne. England bowled out Ireland for 157 at the MCG, with both Liam Livingstone and Mark Wood taking three wickets apiece.

However, England stuttered in the first half of their innings, with Ireland taking full advantage of the damp, overcast conditions to remove big-hitters Jos Buttler and Alex Hales early on. By the time the rain arrived, England were five runs behind on the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method, handing a stunning win for the Irish.

Defeat means England are likely to require victories over Sri Lanka, Australia and New Zealand to advance out of Group 1. It explains why England have drifted to joint-second favourites to win Group 1, with LiveScore Bet pricing them at 5/2 alongside Australia after this Ireland loss. This online sportsbook is developed by the same LiveScore brand specialising in real-time scores and streams of sporting events around the globe.

Ireland got themselves off to a flying start. Although Stirling went for 14 in the third over, the second wicket partnership between skipper, Balbirnie, and Tucker provided the foundation for the Irish total. An 82-run partnership moved Ireland into three figures with eight overs remaining.

England did well at this point to take wickets with regularity, removing Tector, Balbirnie, Dockrell and Campher in quick succession to try and stem the run rate. It worked to a large extent, with Ireland’s last eight overs yielding just 54 runs.

England’s sluggish powerplay cost them dearly

At this stage, England and their supporters would have fancied themselves to see the game home at a run rate required of less than eight an over. However, skipper Jos Buttler could not have envisaged being caught out in the second ball of the England innings. The Irish were cock-a-hoop in the third over when Alex Hales also holed out, leaving England 14-2, with Ben Stokes exposed early on in the innings.

Stokes was bowled for just six, leaving Dawid Malan with the duty to take anchor and attempt to rebuild the run chase. There’s no doubt that the first ten overs of England’s innings is what proved their undoing, particularly with inclement weather in the vicinity of the MCG throughout the contest. Keeping up with the required run rate should have been a priority, but just eight boundaries were scored in the opening 87 deliveries.

Moeen Ali tried in vain to keep up with the run rate before rain stopped play

By the time Moeen Ali joined Malan at the crease, England were well behind the eight-ball. Despite Ali’s best efforts at bludgeoning runs, smashing 24 from 12 deliveries, England were five runs behind on the required run rate when Melbourne’s heavens opened. With only a ten-minute window for the rain to stop and for ground staff to make the wicket playable again, England’s prospects of victory looked very remote from the moment they stepped off the field of play. As the rain became harder, the umpires were forced to admit defeat and end proceedings, with Ireland winning by five runs.

The unpredictable Melbourne weather hung around the MCG for the next game, with the New Zealand vs Afghanistan contest a total washout.

For all of England’s misgivings – such as poor shot selections and general lack of composure – all the credit must go to the Irish team who put in the performance of their lives. Balbirnie acknowledged that the result was “emotional” given that the team had “never played a game of cricket here [in Melbourne]” before.

There were plenty of Irish spectators in the crowd that enjoyed the victory over their neighbours. It’s by no means the first time that Ireland has defeated England in a major competition. At the 2010/11 ICC World Cup, Ireland miraculously reached their 328 target with five balls to spare, thanks largely to 113 runs from middle-order batter Kevin O’Brien in just 63 balls.

This Irish team certainly channelled that spirit and fearless attitude to put England’s T20 World Cup hopes in the balance. Were England to go on and win a second T20 World Cup from here, they will have fully deserved it, beating all the best sides in the competition to merely advance to the knockout stages.