Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
FIRST ODI, AGEAS BOWL POWER
HOME are the conquering heroes and, on the anniversary of their football cousins’ triumph in 1966, England played like World Cup winners.
Jules Rimet is still gleaming 54 years on and, 382 days after their champagne super-over at Lord’s, Eoin Morgan’s champions have not lost their stardust either.
Five-star David Willey reduced Ireland to Blarney rubble and Sam Billings hit a sparkling half-century as England romped home by six wickets with 22.1 overs to spare at the Ageas Bowl in their first one-day international appearance on home soil for 12 months.
Set 172 to win, they wobbled to 78-4 in reply before Billings decorated his unbeaten 67 off 54 balls with 11 boundaries and twinkling footwork.
Willey’s one-day international career-best 5-30 will never make up for his omission from England’s World Cup-winning squad to accommodate Jofra Archer’s express pace.
But left-arm quicks
who swing the ball back into the right-hander at a decent lick are always worth their weight in gold.
And Willey said: “To be realistic, I had not been bowling at my best in the lead-up to the World Cup and I knew someone was going to miss out. Ultimately I was the one on the receiving end and I want to make the of it – but being left out most of it.” didn’t mean that I didn’t Fragile batting has become want the guys to do well. a feature of Angloirish “Obviously I was bitterly cricket rivalry. disappointed because In the nations’ inaugural it’s every kid’s Test at Lord’s last year, dream to play in a England managed to get World Cup on bowled out for 85 before home soil, but it Ireland, chasing 182 for was fantastic victory, were rolled that they went over for 38 in just on to win it. 15.4 overs.
“To be And when the honest, it underdogs in green was just subsided to 28-5 special to after being given be playing first use of a blameless for pitch, England’s England first steps on the road to qualification for the again 2023 World Cup threatdebut. ened to become another peep show. Willey, 30, bulldozed through Ireland’s top order until Curtis Campher, 21, chiselled a fine unbeaten 59 on Campher, (below) born in South Africa and eligible for Ireland through his mother’s passport, has never even played cricket on Irish soil.
Before anyone in glass houses starts throwing stones, England are scarcely qualified to lecture anyone about the eligibility of international cricketers. Especially when their own captain leads them to victory against the country of his birth.