Rain glorious rain. It arrived at the Melbourne Cricket Ground just before 6.45pm and 10 minutes later Ireland had another famous World Cup victory over England.

 

Eleven years after the Kevin O’Brien-inspired win in Bangalore and 12 years after they were in a winning position at the T20 World Cup in West Indies, only to be denied by the rain, this was sweet and deserved revenge.

 

The players returned to greet the Ireland fans at both ends of this huge stadium, now oblivious to the elements, with special hugs for family members and team-mates who had travelled to the other side of the world to support the team.

 

And while a five runs margin of victory with five and a half overs of the match still to be completed may sound like a ‘lucky’ victory, post-match Jos Buttler admitted Ireland “outplayed us in all three facets and the better team won”.

 

A superb second wicket stand of 82 between man of the match Andrew Balbirnie and Lorcan Tucker set up the victory and, indeed, when Ireland brought up their 100 in the 12^th over, they were 57 per cent favourites to win.

 

 But a horrible collapse, as they lost their last seven wickets for 25 runs, flipped the odds and made England the favourites at halfway, with a victory target of 158.

 

But that didn’t allow for the Ireland bowlers to regain the momentum.

 

Josh Little removed England captain Jos Buttler with his second ball, an outside edge into the gloves of Lorcan Tucker, and then took the wicket of Alex Hales in his next over, to a well judged catch by Mark Adair.

 

No doubt about the most joyous wicket and the best celebration, however. That, rightly, went to Fionn Hand, called into the side to replace Simi Singh – the first time Ireland have changed their team this tournament  - and after a nervous wide first up, his second ball was right on target and swung back to breach the defences of England’s Test captain and 2019 World Cup hero Ben Stokes. England were 29 for three and well behind the clock.

 

And the Ireland bowlers kept it that way with Barry McCarthy and Gareth Delany also playing their part, so the fourth wicket stand of 38 between Dawid Malan and Harry Brook used up 34 balls.

 

With the possibility of rain increasing, it was George Dockrell who made the breakthrough in a crazy first over when both batsmen were dropped in the outfield. Fortunately the miss off Brook didn’t matter as next ball he gave Delany the chance to make amends and this time, running in from deep mid-wicket, he safely held on.

 

It was McCarthy who took the crucial fifth wicket, which kept England behind the DLS par score, having Malan caught by Hand, to seal his perfect World Cup debut.

 

Moeen Ali hit the first three balls of the 15^th over for 6, 2, 4 which meant that if he hit the next for six, England would have been ahead of the par score. It was never bowled.

 

Balbirnie lost the toss so Ireland were forced to bat first for the second game in a row but they were in dreamland 12 overs into the innings on 103 for one with the captain and Lorcan Tucker still together after Paul Stirling had been caught on the thirdman boundary for 14.

 

Two balls previously, Sam Curran thought he had turned a Stirling six into a single with an acrobatic stop on the boundary but it was just adjudged that he had a foot on the rope. However, when Stirling tried to do the same again, he found the same fielder, this time five yards inside the boundary.

 

No matter, Balbirnie and Tucker continued to take the attack to England, taking a particular liking to Chris Woakes who conceded 41 in his three overs and Curran’s first went for 14.

 

All good things must come to an end but Ireland were so unlucky in how it happened, Balbirnie driving Adil Rashid back down the pitch and the bowler got a deflection onto the stumps with Tucker stranded out of his ground.

 

Two balls later, Harry Tector was caught behind from a 95mph delivery from Mark Wood but as long as Balbirnie was still there, Ireland kept motoring.

 

The Ireland captain pulled Curran for six – he had earlier done the same to Woakes – but trying to clear the huge deep mid-wicket boundary at the MCG off slow bowler Liam Livingstone proved his downfall. With no pace on the ball, it fell well short and when Ireland’s new ‘finisher’ George Dockrell was bowled next ball, Ireland were suddenly 132 for five.

 

It didn’t get any better. Next over, Curtis Campher’s bright and breezy 18 off 11 balls was ended by a leg side catch by Jos Buttler off Wood, then Mark Adair holed out to deep mid-wicket to give Livingstone another wicket, and when Curran returned for the 19^th over, he bowled Barry McCarthy and Fionn Hand.

 

Stokes had the final say, having Little caught behind but this Ireland team never gives up and  nights like tonight when they can beat England without, as even Balbirnie admitted, playing their best cricket shows they deserve to be on the world stage.

 

Afghanistan, a team they defeated 3-2 in the summer, is next up on Friday, back at the ‘G’, now Ireland’s new favourite ground!