A Josh Little hat-trick halted New Zealand’s charge towards the 200+ total that looked likely as their top order all made runs, having been asked to bat by Ireland. A half-century opening partnership between Finn Allen and Devon Conway got them underway, Adair striking first with the wicket of Allen. Two more wickets for Gareth Delany’s collection, Conway and Glenn Phillips saw New Zealand at 114-3 before a fourth wicket stand of 60 between Kane Williamson and Daryl Mitchell took them to 174. Enter Josh Little who had Williamson caught by Delany before consecutive deliveries accounted for Neesham and Santner, both trapped lbw. A challenging total but Ireland’s reply started well, Stirling and Balbirnie getting to 68 before chopped on a Santner delivery. Stirling swung across a slower Sodhi top-spinner which clipped the top of off stump, and the impetus was lost. The old spinners adage of ‘Slower, Higher, Wider,’ paid more dividends when Tector came down the wicket to Santner only to slice a drive into the gully. With the total at 102/5 in the fifteenth, now it was the fast men’s turn, as Lockie Ferguson claimed Delany and Dockrell leaving Adair and Hand to Southee, all falling to catches in or around the ring. A comfortable win for New Zealand that would have been by a wider margin but for that magic moment from Josh Little.

After a scratchy start that could have seen him run out for only 6, Australian skipper Aaron Finch played himself into some form in partnerships of 52 with Mitch Marsh and 70 with Marcus Stoinis. Ireland had started well with Barry McCarthy claiming the wicket of out of touch David Warner with his first delivery, and a second when Marsh edged behind in the ninth over. Australia were 78/2 at the halfway mark, but from there powered on to add another 101 in the second ten overs. Not out of reach would have been the thought as Ireland started the chase. Hopes were quickly dashed however, as five wickets fell for only seven runs - 18/1 becoming 25/5, as Stirling and Tector fell to Glenn Maxwell, and Mitchell Starc removed Campher and Dockrell with identical inswingers, in a double wicket maiden from which there was no way back. This World Cup has featured a number of stunning individual performances and today it was Lorcan Tucker's turn. He scored 71* off 48 deliveries (9x4, 1x6) showing little regard for reputations, at one stage blasting a 6 and 4 of consecutive Hazlewood deliveries, and three boundaries in the next Starc over. Australia would have hoped that their win today would give them a better NRR than England but Tucker ensured that would not happen - Australia claimed the points but it is England who are the beneficiaries from Ireland's performance today.

Disappointing result for both teams, each would have been targeting a win in this one. One of those days where the rain eased enough to raise hopes of a start only for it to return - the sort of day groundstaff dread. You can relive the frustrations by going to the Commentary in our live coverage - plenty there for you to enjoy, if not the cricket.

A historic win for Ireland on an historic occasion. A brilliant first ten overs from Ireland saw them reach 92 for the loss of only Paul Stirling. Andy Balbirnie and keeper Lorcan Tucker then added 82 off only 57 deliveries for the second wicket which fell at 103 when Tucker was unluckily run out, a Balbirnie drive deflected onto the stumps by bowler Rashid. But that was as good as it got in Ireland's innings as the rest of the wickets went 'like snow off a ditch'. Extreme pace and leg-spin, the classic recipe for success at the MCG, proved a winner again as Wood and Livingstone claimed three wickets each and Curran two to wrap things up for a 'par' score of 157 that threatened to be twenty or thirty more at one stage. In the England reply Little stuck twice setting England back, and when Fionn Hand produced the ball of the day to remove Stokes with only his first 'legal' delivery, you sensed something special was in prospect. Two dropped catches off Dockrell's first two balls didn't prove costly as Brook holed out off the fifth at deep midwicket. Rain arrived with Moeen Ali trying to hit England ahead of the DLS target to no avail. Rain was forecast, the result was not, but as Eoin Morgan said in his summary - 'Ireland outbatted and outbowled 'us' (quickly corrected to England) on the day, deserved winners.'

Choosing to bat first, Ireland struggled against the variety of spin that the Sri Lankans have in their armoury. Paul Stirling up front and Harry Tector, who joined him in the fifth over with the score at 26, added 29 for the sixth wicket. Then with Stirling gone it was Tector and Dockrell who added 47 before Dockrell was bowled with the score 107/7. It became a case of 'Après Moi le Déluge' - to quote the Dambuster's squadron motto, as the innings was wrapped up in quick time. Sri Lanka's opening pair Kusal Mendis and Dhananjaya de Silva rattled up half the required total before Delany had de Silva caught by Lorcan Tucker. Charith Asalanka joined Mendis and the remaining runs required only another six overs, with all three Sri Lankan batters who got to the crease scoring at better than a run-a-ball. 'Ordeal by spin' today and it will be 'Ordeal by pace' against England at the MCG on Wednesday.

West Indies coming up 15-20 short of what they had hoped for and indeed looked set to get, although today Ireland would still likely have come out on top. For the Windies only Brandon King with 62* off 48 balls managed to make an impact. Ireland excellent in the field and Gareth Delany with those 3 wickets the pick of the attack. For the first time this week Ireland got a start. Great hitting from both openers and 64 in the Powerplay set things up for a win 'slowing down' that was inevitable from a long way out. On now to the Super 12s, and let's be honest, anything other than that would have been a huge disappointment, they did it the hard way and all credit to them for that. Ireland's next opponents will be Sri Lanka at the same venue on Sunday. Another early 5am start for those at home.

As they say about Halley's Comet, you only see it once in your lifetime, this was a stellar performance from Campher and Dockrell that saved skipper Balbirnie's blushes. A magnificent 86 off 55 balls from Michael Jones had propelled Scotland beyond the 170 total that had previously been chased down in Hobart only 3 times in over 20 encounters with questions asked as to how Ireland's bowling was managed, Campher taking 2-9 but only bowling two overs! When Ireland were 61/4 after 10 overs in the reply it was all Scotland and Campher and Dockrell took the only option open to them. With 115 added in the next 9 overs of the innings, an unbroken fifth wicket stand of 119, Campher 72* off 32 (7x4, 4x6) and Dockrell 39* off 27 (4x4, 1x6) ensuring that Ireland live to fight another day - at least!.

A 82 run Sikandar Raza blitz set Ireland an improbable target 175 for victory. Raza's 48 ball innings contained 5x6 and 5x4 and the Ireland bowlers wilted under the barrage. There was pace and bounce in the pitch which Josh Little exploited to claim his 3 wickets, with a couple each for Mark Adair and Simi Singh. Whatever pace and bounce Little got was more than matched by Muzarabani who had Balbirnie and Tector flatfooted and edging to slip. Little positives to report in the Ireland innings, except perhaps some lusty swings in the final overs clawing back a few decimal points in their NRR.

The final margin 27 runs and the series level at 2-2 going into the decider on Wednesday. Afghanistan scored at twelve runs an over with 53 coming off the last three. For Ireland Dockrell's phenomenal series goes on and on. That's now 134 runs in the series without being out but no real support after an opening stand of 28. Crucially the wickets kept falling throughout the 11 overs. The big blow for Ireland, apart from Stirling hitting a long hop straight to long leg was the wickets of Adair and Hand off successive balls in the eighth over. All to play for on Wednesday.

Afghanistan powered their way back into the five-match T20I series with a 22-run win over Ireland at Stormont. The victory was set up by their top order with Man-of-the-Match Gurbaz (53) and the recalled Zazai (39) laying the perfect platform with an opening stand of 90 in 11.2 overs before being dismissed by Josh Little (2-29) and debutant Fionn Hand. Ibrahim (36) kept the momentum going, but the real damage was inflicted by Najibullah who hit five sixes in his 42 as the visitors ended on an imposing 189 for 5. The chase started poorly with Stirling going in the first over, Balbirnie in the third, and Tector the fourth. Soon, the Irish were in disarray at 85 for 7, despite a feisty 3 from Lorcan Tucker. An Irish record 8th wicket stand of 74 in 38 balls between George Dockrell, who made an unbeaten 58 from 38 balls (6 fours, 2 sixes) and Fionn Hand, whose 18-ball 36 included 4 fours and 2 sixes put a gloss on the card, but in truth the result was never in any doubt.

Ireland have gone two-nil up in their five-match series after comfortably beating Afghanistan by 5 wickets in Belfast. A fine bowling display saw Man-of-the-Match Josh Little, Curtis Campher, Mark Adair and Gareth Delany each take two wickets to restrict the Afghans to a modest 122 for 8 in their 20 overs. In reply, skipper Andy Balbirnie top-scored with 46 adding 65 for the second wicket in 9 overs with Lorcan Tucker, who made 27. There was a little mid-innings wobble, but George Dockrell's unbeaten 25 sealed the win with an over to spare. The teams meet again on Friday with the action at Stormont getting under way at 3.30pm.

Ireland survived a late wobble to record their first win under new Head Coach Henrich Malan, beating Afghanistan to take a 1-0 lead in the five –match series at Stormont. Chasing 169, Paul Stirling (31) and skipper Andy Balbirnie gave their side a perfect platform with an opening stand of 61. The Irish captain showed a timely return to form after his barren run, making a Man-of-the-Match 51 from 38 balls (5 fours, 1 six). Lorcan Tucker scored his second 50 in three games, hitting 6 fours and a six in his 50 from 32 balls. However, 23 were still needed from the last two overs, and 13 from the last, making Afghanistan slight favourites. However Harry Tector (25*) and George Dockell both found the boundaries needed to seal a welcome win. Barry McCarthy (3-34) and Dockrell (2-7) were best with the ball. The teams meet again on Thursday and Friday.

Ireland’s losing streak in T20I’s continued after they were well beaten by 44 runs against South Africa. Chasing 183, they lost captain Andy Balbirnie and Lorcan Tucker without scoring, the first two of five wickets for left-arm paceman Wayne Parnell (5-30). Paul Stirling hit two sixes in a quickfire 28, while YMCA duo Harry Tector (34) and Curtis Campher (19) added 47 in six overs for the fifth wicket. However, Ireland lost five wickets in two overs to slump to 96 for 9. Parnell’s fifth wicket was courtesy of a stupendous diving catch by De Kock off McBrine. A last wicket stand of 42 between Barry McCarthy (32) and Josh Little softened the losing margin. Little (1-20) and Gareth Delany (2-24) had helped Ireland keep South Africa quiet despite Reeza Hendricks 42, but once again death bowling proved Ireland’s Achilles heel. The Proteas plundered 89 from the final six overs, and a total of 182 was always going to be challenging on a used pitch.

Lorcan Tucker and George Dockrell batted superbly in a sixth wicket stand of 86 in 46 balls, but Ireland still lost by 21 runs in a tough chase. Tucker produced his best batting display as he top-scored with 78 from 38 balls (7 fours, 5 sixes), while Dockrell’s rich vein at interpro level transferred into the top arena as he hit 3 sixes and 2 fours in his best T20I score of 43 in 28 balls. The pair had come together with Ireland on 84 for 5, chasing 212, but after they fell in the space of two balls, the hosts ended on 190 for 9. The Irish bowling display wasn’t their best, as Reeza Hendicks (74) and Aidan Markram (56) added a third wicket stand of 112 in 10 overs to power them to 211 for 5. The teams meet again in the second and final match of the series on Friday.

Ireland were once again competitive, but were beaten by New Zealand who completed another series whitewash against the hosts. They had looked well-placed at the half-way stage, having put 174 for 6 on the board, with runs for Paul Stirling (40), Lorcan Tucker (28) and Harry Tector (23) setting the stage for fireworks at the end. Mark Adair hit four sixes in an unbeaten 37, adding 58 in 3.3 overs with Curtis Campher (19*). A total of over 140 had never been chased at Stormont, but that was broken as a half century from Man-of-the Match Glenn Phillips, plus runs for Daryl Mitchell (48) and Jimmy Neesham (23* from 6 balls) took the Black Caps to victory with an over to spare.

Ireland produced a horror batting display as they slumped to an 88-run loss against New Zealand in the T20I series in Belfast. Needing an unlikely 180 for victory, the chase was effectively over before halfway as Jacob Duffy, Lockie Ferguson and Ish Sodhi reduced them to 54 for 7. Mark Adair struck a defiant 27, but Michael Bracewell’s dream series continued as he finished the game with a hat-trick – Ireland 91 all out. Dane Cleaver hit 5 fours and 4 sixes as he top-scored with 78 for the Black Caps in their 179 for 4, with runs too for Finn Allen (35) and Glenn Phillips *23). Josh Little (2-31) and Craig Young (2-34) the successful bowlers. The sides meet again on Friday in the third and final match of the series.

Ireland were going into the final day of the 3-day match with a lead of 212 hoping that they could repeat their first day success with the ball and seal the win. But heavy overnight and early morning rain put paid to their chances of forcing a result in what was their final fixture of the 2022 season.

Cade Carmichael fell to the penultimate ball of a rain truncated day as Ireland Academy racked up 236 for 4 at Loughborough against England U19s. The Instonians batsman hit 18 boundaries before edging to first slip just before the rain returned. The day's play was overshadowed by an injury to James McCollum, who was struck on the helmet by a return throw from the bowler, which saw him retire hurt with concussion and he will take no further part in the match. Ali Frost (40) and Tim Tector (35) also were in the runs on a day when the ball dominated the bat for the most part.