• Ireland stun England in final ODI

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    Ireland pulled off a famous victory on Tuesday evening when they beat England by seven wickets in the third and final ODI in Southampton.

    Having been convincingly beaten in the first two encounters at the Ageas Bowl, Ireland only had pride to play for but a spirited performance by Andy Balbirnie’s men handed them only their second- ever win over the English.

    The Irish captain won the toss and sent England in to bat first and, as expected, the hosts made a quick start with the bat, despite losing openers Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow fairly cheaply.

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    Skipper Eoin Morgan steadied the ship for his team and brought up a high-paced century, while sharing a massive 146-run stand with Tom Banton.

    The latter also reached his half-century before David Willey contributed 51 from 42 deliveries as England were bowled out for 328.

    The Irish batsmen, though, took the challenge on with grit and determination as opener Paul Stirling and Balbirnie hit famous tons against a wayward England bowling attack.

    Stirling eventually departed for 142 off 128 balls, while the captain managed 113 from 122.

    It was left to Harry Tector and Kevin O’Brien to complete the job for Ireland as they chased down eight runs from the final over of Saqib Mahmood for a superb victory and to bag their first points on the new World Cup Super League table.

    Scorecard

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    Andre Huisamen