T20 World Cup: England win toss, choose to bowl against Ireland 

By PTI

MELBOURNE: England skipper Jos Buttler won the toss and chose to bowl against Ireland at the Twenty20 World Cup in overcast conditions in Melbourne on Wednesday.

The English are among the title favourites and opened their tournament with a five-wicket win over Afghanistan at the weekend.

Toss update from Melbourne

England have won the toss and opted to bowl against Ireland in Match 8 of Super 12.#T20WorldCup | #IREvENG |: https://t.co/WuCy4jxWJS pic.twitter.com/RkrccctGgC

— T20 World Cup (@T20WorldCup) October 26, 2022

Buttler said before the match they were eyeing a big win to boost their net run rate — small margins can prove significant with just two teams progressing to the semi-finals from Group 1.

England named an unchanged side for a game where rain could play a part. Ireland made one change, with bowling all-rounder Fionn Hand in for spinner Simi Singh.

Ireland are off to a wonderful start!#IREvENG |: https://t.co/WuCy4jxWJS

Head to our app and website to follow the #T20WorldCup action https://t.co/wGiqb2epBe pic.twitter.com/fr5FFNGRYC

— T20 World Cup (@T20WorldCup) October 26, 2022

Ireland beat the West Indies on their way to the Super 12 but was brought back down to earth by a nine-wicket defeat to Sri Lanka on Sunday.

England and Ireland have only met once before in T20s — in 2010 when the rain ruined the match.

England: Jos Buttler (capt), Alex Hales, Dawid Malan, Ben Stokes, Harry Brook, Moeen Ali, Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood

Ireland: Paul Stirling, Andrew Balbirnie (capt), Lorcan Tucker, Harry Tector, Curtis Campher, George Dockrell, Gareth Delany, Mark Adair, Fionn Hand, Barry McCarthy, Joshua Little

Umpires: Adrian Holdstock (RSA), Paul Reiffel (AUS)

TV Umpire: Kumar Dharmasena (SRI)

Match Referee: Ranjun Madugalle (SRI)

<br /> MELBOURNE: England skipper Jos Buttler won the toss and chose to bowl against Ireland at the Twenty20 World Cup in overcast conditions in Melbourne on Wednesday.</p> <p>The English are among the title favourites and opened their tournament with a five-wicket win over Afghanistan at the weekend.</p> <!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.85 --> <div class="quads-location quads-ad241053 " id="quads-ad241053" style="float:none;margin:0px 3px 3px 3px;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;" data-lazydelay="0"> <!-- WP QUADS - Quick AdSense Reloaded v.2.0.85 Content AdSense async --> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block;" data-ad-format="auto" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7550963679842137" data-ad-slot="3250057321"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});</script> <!-- end WP QUADS --> </div> <p>Toss update from Melbourne<br /> England have won the toss and opted to bowl against Ireland in Match 8 of Super 12.#T20WorldCup | #IREvENG |: https://t.co/WuCy4jxWJS pic.twitter.com/RkrccctGgC<br /> — T20 World Cup (@T20WorldCup) October 26, 2022<br /> Buttler said before the match they were eyeing a big win to boost their net run rate — small margins can prove significant with just two teams progressing to the semi-finals from Group 1.</p> <p>England named an unchanged side for a game where rain could play a part. Ireland made one change, with bowling all-rounder Fionn Hand in for spinner Simi Singh.</p> <!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.85 --> <div class="quads-location quads-ad241053 " id="quads-ad241053" style="float:none;margin:0px 3px 3px 3px;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;" data-lazydelay="0"> <!-- WP QUADS - Quick AdSense Reloaded v.2.0.85 Content AdSense async --> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block;" data-ad-format="auto" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7550963679842137" data-ad-slot="3250057321"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});</script> <!-- end WP QUADS --> </div> <p>Ireland are off to a wonderful start!#IREvENG |: https://t.co/WuCy4jxWJS<br /> Head to our app and website to follow the #T20WorldCup action https://t.co/wGiqb2epBe pic.twitter.com/fr5FFNGRYC<br /> — T20 World Cup (@T20WorldCup) October 26, 2022<br /> Ireland beat the West Indies on their way to the Super 12 but was brought back down to earth by a nine-wicket defeat to Sri Lanka on Sunday.</p> <p>England and Ireland have only met once before in T20s — in 2010 when the rain ruined the match.</p> <!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.85 --> <div class="quads-location quads-ad241053 " id="quads-ad241053" style="float:none;margin:0px 3px 3px 3px;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;" data-lazydelay="0"> <!-- WP QUADS - Quick AdSense Reloaded v.2.0.85 Content AdSense async --> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block;" data-ad-format="auto" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7550963679842137" data-ad-slot="3250057321"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});</script> <!-- end WP QUADS --> </div> <p>England: Jos Buttler (capt), Alex Hales, Dawid Malan, Ben Stokes, Harry Brook, Moeen Ali, Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood</p> <p>Ireland: Paul Stirling, Andrew Balbirnie (capt), Lorcan Tucker, Harry Tector, Curtis Campher, George Dockrell, Gareth Delany, Mark Adair, Fionn Hand, Barry McCarthy, Joshua Little</p> <!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.85 --> <div class="quads-location quads-ad241053 " id="quads-ad241053" style="float:none;margin:0px 3px 3px 3px;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;" data-lazydelay="0"> <!-- WP QUADS - Quick AdSense Reloaded v.2.0.85 Content AdSense async --> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block;" data-ad-format="auto" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7550963679842137" data-ad-slot="3250057321"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});</script> <!-- end WP QUADS --> </div> <p>Umpires: Adrian Holdstock (RSA), Paul Reiffel (AUS)</p> <p>TV Umpire: Kumar Dharmasena (SRI)</p> <!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.85 --> <div class="quads-location quads-ad241053 " id="quads-ad241053" style="float:none;margin:0px 3px 3px 3px;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;" data-lazydelay="0"> <!-- WP QUADS - Quick AdSense Reloaded v.2.0.85 Content AdSense async --> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block;" data-ad-format="auto" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7550963679842137" data-ad-slot="3250057321"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});</script> <!-- end WP QUADS --> </div> <p>Match Referee: Ranjun Madugalle (SRI)<br />