Ireland beat England in T20 Cricket World Cup at rain-soaked Melbourne as Andrew Balbirnie inspires history yet again
TWELVE years ago, Ireland were on the receiving end of the cruellest of defeats at the 2010 T20 World Cup against England
The threat of rain become frustratingly tangible when the heavens opened and forced an early end to the game, handing the victory to the eventual champions.
That defeat brought Ireland's World Cup to an end, while England would go on to win the tournament outright.
Fast forward to Wednesday morning, October 26, 2022, and the ghosts of that game were washed away in poetic fashion at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
They had already made an impact before taking to the field against neighbours and tournament favourites England.
A group stage which started with defeat to Zimbabwe was rescued by wins over Scotland and, famously, the West Indies.
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That latter victory came to be defined as a dream come true in the aftermath, and booked their place in the Super 12.
In doing so, they joined New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Australia, Afghanistan, and England; a group of teams that boasted three champions, including 2021 holders Australia.
The opening game against Sri Lanka was an exercise in being brought back down to Earth; a nine-wicket defeat demonstrating the level to which they still needed to rise.
And so it was that, on Wednesday morning, they rode into the iconic MCG, storm clouds hanging forebodingly overhead, to face England.
The Three Lions are the tournament favourites, but come premature close of business at the MCG, their prospects of making the semi-finals looked more precarious than they would have foreseen.
Ireland lost the toss, but they took advantage of being first out to bat in a major way.
An early onslaught brought with it 103 runs from the first 12 overs with just one out.
Captain Andrew Balbirnie led the way throughout these innings with 62 runs from 47 balls, although Lorcan Tucker did his very best to write his name in lights with 34 from 27.
However sparse in numbers, Irish supporters let their voices be heard amongst this exceptional performance, with chants of 'Are you Scotland in disguise?' directed at their beleaguered rivals.
Eight of England's remaining wickets came in the eight overs following that extraordinary start.
Sam Curran and Mark Wood were the English bowling saviours, claiming the wickets of Paul Stirling, Harry Tector, Curtis Campher, Barry McCarthy, and Fionn Hand between them.
With the fast start in mind and the damage that they threatened to do as a result, captain Balbirnie confessed to frustration at having been limited to 157.
He said: "We were slightly disappointed we finished the way we did, losing seven wickets for not a lot.
"They took the momentum in with them, so our message was to try and create chances because we know how this England team like to play.
"We managed to ride our luck a bit, take a few wounds and move forward. We were able to get a competitive total and a winning total."
WHEN IT RAINS
Rain, which has drenched Ireland throughout the week during which the cricketers were doing the job almost 16,000km away, played a redemptive role in England's proceeding batting innings.
With 14.3 overs played and England trailed by five runs due to the admittedly contrived DLS scoring system.
The DLS system sets targets (and decides outcomes) by calculating how many runs teams should score (and would have scored) with equal resources available.
Nonetheless, with the slender margin, there was a chance that, within a couple of balls, England could match and then exceed Ireland's tally.
And then, fate would play its hand with delicious irony
Over a decade on from it breaking Irish hearts against the very same team, the rain fell and play was stopped. Irish fans held their breath, praying that time would run out and the win would be confirmed.
At 8:56 am Irish time, the time limit lapsed and Ireland were declared the winners.
All of a sudden, with games against Afghanistan, Australia, and New Zealand to come, belief has never been higher for a team defying the odds.
Balbirnie added: “It's amazing and it's kind of emotional because we've never played a game of cricket here and to come and play the tournament favourites with so many big names in the game and put on a show in front of friends, family and a number of people around the world is very satisfying."
Even England captain Joe Root did not hide from the reality to which England were exposed.
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He confessed: "Ireland outplayed us. The better team won today.
“We made a mistake here which has put even more pressure on us in a tough group but if you needed a game to get up for it, a must-win game, England and Australia at the MCG is certainly one of those."