Ireland vs England: Quick flicks

Just before the start of the bilateral five-match series between England and Australia, the Ashes holders jetted off to the Irish coastal suburban town of Malahide, near Dublin for a one-off ODI against the Shamrocks.

Batting first, the Irish made 269/7 riding on skipper William Porterfield’s magnificent 112 – his sixth century in ODIs. However, England made rough weather of the chase, slipping to 48/4 before stand-in skipper Eoin Morgan and all-rounder Ravi Bopara took the side home with seven overs to spare.

Here are the quick flicks for the game:

First green, then blue, then green again

Ed Joyce is a confused soul. Widely regarded as one of the best players to have been produced by Ireland, the left-handed batsman chose to don the English colours after completing his qualification period in 2005. On top of that, he made his ODI debut against his birth nation and played in the 2007 World Cup before being dumped from the Lions squad. After good county performances for Sussex and Middlesex, he was granted permission by the ICC to play for Ireland in the 2011 World Cup.

A rather curious case, truth be told. Joyce is certainly a fine player, but he seems to have a rather indecisive mind. Can’t keep washing both the blue and green jerseys simultaneously now, can we?

In yesterday’s match, Joyce was dismissed hit wicket by former Irish pacer Boyd Rankin, now turning out for England. Not a very happy homecoming for our hero.