ENGLAND v IRELAND: 3rd ODI – Ireland Make History

When is an ODI not an ODI? When it’s part of the 2001 Women’s European Championship, that’s when! England sent what they then considered to be an “A” side to that competition, and have always refused to recognise the matches as official ODIs. The ICC however does consider them to be full ODIs, including Ireland’s 56 run victory over England at Reading. So depending on which you believe (and… honestly… we go with the ICC on this one) this is either the first or second time Ireland have beaten England in an ODI.

England 153 v Ireland 155-7 (T: 155) #IREvENG

— CRICKETher (@crickether.bsky.social) 2024-09-11T17:53:35.651Z

Through sunshine and rain, and at one stage both at the same time, Ireland stuck in there to better England off the final delivery, when a fielding error on the boundary by Hollie Armitage allowed the ball to trickle over the rope with 4 required. Armitage looked like she wanted the ground to swallow her up, but no one player loses a game by themselves. The error behind the stumps by Bess Heath which had conceded 3 byes in the 20th over was equally critical; but the same applies – it was England who weren’t quite good enough on the day, not Armitage or Heath.

With half the day lost to the weather, it was past 3 in the afternoon when the players finally took to the field to play a 25 overs per side game – soon reduced to 22 overs after a further break for rain, making it more a slightly elongated T20 than a shortened ODI. This undoubtedly played into Ireland’s strengths; but England would still have been firm favorites, even after getting bowled out with 7 balls remaining.

England 153 v Ireland 155-7 (T: 155) #IREvENG

— CRICKETher (@crickether.bsky.social) 2024-09-11T17:54:01.645Z

Despite losing 8 wickets in the second half of their innings, England still managed to go at a decent clip – maintaining a run rate in excess of 6 an over to get them to 153, to which one run was added by DLS as a result of the reduction in overs during England’s innings. In T20 terms, that’s about 139 – not a huge score, but by no means a poor one either. (A typical 1st innings score in a T20 between the ICC Championship sides is 138.) England yet again had Tammy Beaumont to thank for the bulk of their runs, adding another 50 to the 150 she made in the 2nd ODI, to finish the rubber with 212 runs and a Player of the Series medal.

With an ask of 7 an over, there was only one way for Ireland to play if they were going to win the game – go on the attack, which stand-in captain Gaby Lewis did with aplomb. Kate Cross had taken Ireland to pieces in the first game, but Lewis was able to put that out of her mind and go on the attack in Cross’s first over, striking her for two 4s, which set the tone for an innings of 72 off 56 balls. If she’d stayed in, Ireland would have won easily, but Bess Heath held onto an edge of Lauren Filer, and with 137 on the board and 18 still required, Lewis was going to have to watch the rest of the game from the boundary like any other spectator.

The ask was less than a run a ball, but not a lot less – 18 off 22 – so Ireland needed to maintain their impetus to take it to the final over with 8 required. Kate Cross could have bowled it, but she handed the ball to Mady Villiers, who did not let her down, helping to complete a run out, then taking two wickets by keeping it simple and bowling at the stumps, leaving Ireland’s No. 9 Alana Dalzell to face the first and only delivery she’s received this year(!) in international cricket, needing 4 to win the game.

And the rest, as they say, is history.