SOUTHAMPTON, United Kingdom, July 30, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – England
captain Eoin Morgan won the toss and elected to field against Ireland
in the first one-day international at the Ageas Bowl, Southampton, on
Thursday.
“I’d like to thank Ireland for coming over,” said Morgan at the
opening toss of a three-match series being staged behind closed doors
due to the coronavirus pandemic.
This was England’s first home ODI since beating New Zealand in a
dramatic Super Over in last year’s World Cup final at Lord’s.
It also launches the new World Cup Super League, which will
determine qualification for the 2023 50-over showpiece in India.
England’s red and white-ball fixtures are overlapping in a season
cut short by the coronavirus outbreak and they are maintaining two
separate squads, meaning a clutch of World Cup winners including Joe
Root and Ben Stokes will not feature against Ireland.
But England’s side on Thursday did feature several familiar faces,
including Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow and Adil Rashid, as well as
Dublin-born skipper Morgan.
“Joe Denly went down in training yesterday so Sam Billings comes
in,” said Morgan of a change to England’s batting line-up.
“It presents an opportunity throughout the rest of this summer,
there won’t be a huge amount of chopping and changing.”
Ireland captain Andy Balbirnie said: “We were going to have a bat.”
All-rounder Curtis Campher will make his Ireland debut, with Harry
Tector set for his first one-day international.
The visitors’ team also included veteran batsman Kevin O’Brien,
whose stunning century saw Ireland to a dramatic 2011 World Cup pool
win over England in Bangalore.
Teams
England: Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow (wkt), James Vince, Eoin Morgan
(capt), Tom Banton, Sam Billings, Moeen Ali, David Willey, Tom Curran,
Adil Rashid, Saqib Mahmood
Ireland: Paul Stirling, Gareth Delany, Andy Balbirnie (capt), Harry
Tector, Kevin O’Brien, Lorcan Tucker (wkt), Simi Singh, Curtis
Campher, Andy McBrine, Barry McCarthy, Craig Young