Making history as the youngest player to captain an English team, Jacob Bethell’s first decision as stand-in for Harry Brook was to win the toss and put the hosts in to bat.
Following pre-series concerns over Ireland’s lack of match practice, all eyes were on openers Paul Stirling and Ross Adair. While the pair initially looked for rhythm, they established a solid platform, reaching 49-0 at the end of the powerplay. Stirling was particularly aggressive, launching four sixes, two of which landed on the roof of a hospitality tent at the compact north Dublin ground.
However, the 60-run partnership was broken when the openers fell in quick succession. Adair was first to depart, caught on the boundary by Phil Salt off Liam Dawson in the eighth over. Nine deliveries later, Stirling was caught by Will Jacks from the bowling of Adil Rashid.
Harry Tector then anchored the remainder of the innings, striking an impressive 61 from 36 balls. While the scoring pace shifted towards more singles, Tector found the boundary seven times and brought up his half-century with a six. His innings came to an end on the penultimate ball when he edged a delivery to wicketkeeper Jos Buttler.
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