Billings played best innings of match in series openerIreland must choose between Boyd Rankin and Josh LittleOur first glimpse of white-ball
Cricket behind closed doors will last no longer in the memory than the soap opera Eldorado, which was axed as soon as Alan Yentob took charge of
BBC One in 1993. This anticlimax had more to do with the one-sidedness of the contest rather than the emptiness of the stands. We hope for a better game when
England and
Ireland meet again at 2pm on Saturday in the second ODI.
The opening match delivered some mundane fare but at least it was not the embarrassing massacre that was on the cards when Ireland were 28 for five after seven overs. After all the training, the England players especially revelled in the opportunity to play a proper match. “It was great to be back playing cricket‚” said Eoin Morgan, “which is what we’ve been doing since we were kids.”