England v Ireland: ICC World Cup 2011- preview
England will play their third match of 2011 World Cup against fellow European team, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/March-c74391 2 at Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore.
The Poms are one of the favorites to lift the trophy while on the other hand Ireland will hope to cause an upset by defeating the 1992 finalist.
Twenty20 champions played against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 on Sunday, the match was tied. Chasing a mammoth total of 338 they nearly defeated 2011 World Cup co-hosts thanks to skipper, Andrew Strauss’s, innings of 158 from 145 balls.
The tied match must have given England a lot of confidence since critics had started to write them off after their dismal One Day International (ODI) performance against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746, which the English side lost 6-1.
Ireland, on the other hand, will have to get things together after their loss to http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Bangladesh-c747. After dismissing the Bengali Tigers for 205, the Irish side slumped for 178.
Ireland’s skipper, William Porterfield, said, “The day after the game and that night the lads were pretty gutted. It's no lie, anyone that loses a game like that you're going to be pretty down, but that's professional sport”.
The pitch at Bangalore had a little bit of grass on it in the previous match and fast bowlers from both sides will be hoping that it is still there so they can exploit it.
Team form
The Irish team will go into the match as underdogs. England will try to build on the momentum they gained against India and get back to winning ways. They have won one match from the last five they played and that was against the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Netherlands-c753.
Ireland will not give up easily and England can expect to get a run for their money. The fighting Irish will be looking to make a statement by defeating the three time finalists. The minnows have won two matches from the last five they have played.
Key players
Andrew Strauss showed that he means business in this World Cup. He led his side from the front in the drawn match against India. He will try to repeat his performance. Tim Bresnan is in good form with the ball and will trouble Irish batsmen along with Stuart
Broad. Broad is a tall bowler and will get extra bounce on this pitch, which he will utilize to his advantage.
Trent Johnson is an experienced campaigner and bowls a steady line and length. His consistent line can cause some trouble for the Poms. 19 year old, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/George-Dockrell-c59135, bowled well against Bangladesh’s team and is all set to repeat his performance.
England (possible):
Andrew Strauss (captain), Kevin Pietersen, Jonathan Trott, Ian Bell, Paul Collingwood, Matt Prior (wk), Michael Yardy, Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Ajmal-Shahzad-c42489
Ireland (possible):
William Porterfield (captain), Paul Stirling, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Ed-Joyce-c1417, Niall O'Brien (wk), Andrew White, Kevin O'Brien, Andre Botha, John Mooney, Trent Johnston, George Dockrell, Boyd Rankin
Tags: