Ireland beat England by seven wickets in third ODI – as it happened

And tomorrow the Test series against Pakistan begins …

England have been sloppy with the bat throughout this series, and today it caught up with them. But that shouldn’t detract from Ireland’s performance. They played beautifully and you’d need a pretty confused worldview to begrudge them their victory. I doubt anything will ever top Bengaluru, but a first victory in England - sealed by Kevin O’Brien as well - is quite a companion piece. And they scored 329 both times, which is coincidentally the number of people who will offer to buy Kevin O’Brien a pint whenever he is next able to have a night out in Dublin.

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Kevin O’Brien pulls Saqib Mahmood for a single to complete a famous victory for Ireland! In 2011, O’Brien set it up with an amazing century and John Mooney finished it. Here it was set up by Paul Stirling and Andrew Balbirnie, who scored glorious hundreds, and finished by O’Brien and the nerveless 20-year-old Harry Tector.

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49.2 overs: Ireland 326-3 (Tector 29, O’Brien 18) A high full toss is pulled for a single by Tector - and it’s a no-ball! It’s all over now, surely. Ireland need 3 from 4 balls, and the next ball is a free hit.

49.2 overs: Ireland 324-3 (Tector 28, O’Brien 18) Just a single. Five from four.

49.1 overs: Ireland 323-3 (Tector 28, O’Brien 17) It is Saqib to bowl. O’Brien heaves a wide yorker through the covers for two. Ireland need six from five balls.

49th over: Ireland 321-3 (Tector 28, O’Brien 15) O’Brien pushes Curran for a single. Ireland need from eight from the final over, which will probably be bowled by Saqib Mahmood.

48.5 overs: Ireland 320-3 (Tector 28, O’Brien 14) Willey makes an excellent stop at backward point. Just one run, so Ireland need 9 from 7 balls.

48.4 overs: Ireland 319-3 (Tector 27, O’Brien 14) Tector square drives Curran for four! Ireland are so close now.

48.3 overs: Ireland 315-3 (Tector 23, O’Brien 14) Tector pings Curran into the leg side, where Livingstone again does well to save the boundary. Two runs to Tector, 14 needed.

48.2 overs: Ireland 313-3 (Tector 21, O’Brien 14) Tector is beaten by a masterful slower bouncer. Ireland need 16 from 10 balls.

48.1 overs: Ireland 313-3 (Tector 21, O’Brien 14) O’Brien chips Curran for a single. Sixteen to win.

48th over: Ireland 312-3 (Tector 21, O’Brien 13) Willey has bowled some immaculate yorkers in this spell, which makes it even more frustrating that his rare loose deliveries are probably going to cost England the match. There was the six in the previous over and now O’Brien has lifted a low full toss over backward point for four. That aside it was a really good over. Willey finishes with figures of 10-1-70-1. Ireland need 17 from 12 balls. If it’s a tie, we’ll have a Super Over. Nurse, the Wisdens.

47th over: Ireland 305-3 (Tector 20, O’Brien 8) Tom Curran is back. He will love bowling in a situation like this, with a chance to pinch the glory from Paul Stirling and Andrew Balbirnie. Tector is beaten by consecutive slower balls but then lasers a cover drive for four. What a shot!

An eventful over continues when Tector is dropped by Banton, a tricky low chance running in from long-on. Seven from the over; Ireland need 24 from 18 balls.

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46th over: Ireland 298-3 (Tector 13, O’Brien 8) David Willey is back into the attack. There was a time when he would never be used at the death but he has worked hard to develop a repeatable yorker. He gets it spot on early in the over - but then lets slip a high full toss that is carted for six by O’Brien! It’s a no-ball, too, which means a free hit. The free hit is a wide, which means another free hit, but O’Brien can’t pierce the field. No matter: that six earlier in the over has put Ireland back in charge. They need 31 from 24 balls.

45th over: Ireland 285-3 (Tector 10, O’Brien 0) That was the last ball of the over. Rashid finishes with harsh figures of 10-1-61-1. Ireland need 44 from 30 balls.

O’Brien is not out! Yep, it pitched outside leg and O’Brien survives.

O’Brien missed a sweep and was hit on the hip. I’m confident it was hitting the stumps but it may have pitched outside leg.

45 overs: Ireland 285-3 (Tector 10, O’Brien 0) Tector scrunches Rashid through extra cover for four, a helluva stroke in the circumstances. Then O’Brien survives a huge LBW shout - and England have gone for the review. This looks really close.

Rashid strikes at last. Balbirnie lofted a googly down the ground but didn’t get enough on it and Sam Billings crouched to take a simple catch at long-off. Balbirnie goes for a marvellous 113; his body language as he left the field suggested he fears the worst.

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44th over: Ireland 275-2 (Balbirnie 109, Tector 5) Saqib Mahmood replaces Tom Curran, who has two overs left. Balbirnie makes room to blast a couple over the off side and is then almost bowled round his legs when he misses an attempted sweep. This is starting to get very hairy for Ireland, and Balbirnie is almost run out when Vince’s throw from extra cover whistles past the stumps.

“This could get as exciting as Wrestlemania III, Rob ...” says Simon McMahon.

43rd over: Ireland 270-2 (Balbirnie 105, Tector 4) The required rate has screeched past eight an overr. Tector inside-edges Rashid past leg stump for a single, one of only four runs from a terrific over. Ireland need 59 from 42 balls.

“Evening Rob,” says Brian Withington. “To paraphrase the Pathé newsreel guy at half time when the Magical Magyars were stuffing us at football, five quick wickets and England will be right back in this game.”

42nd over: Ireland 266-2 (Balbirnie 104, Tector 1) The youngster Harry Tector is the new batsman. I thought Kevin O’Brien would be promoted to No4, but Ireland have kept their usual batting order. They need 63 from 48 balls.

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Balbirnie slices Curran overbackward point for four to reach a wonderful hundred. He has played second fiddle to Stirling - yet he has still scored his century at exactly a run a ball. But now Stirling has gone! He was sent back by Balbirnie, rightly I think, and run out by a cool underarm throw from the bowler Tom Curran. Stirling goes for a monumental 142, and England have a hint of an opening.

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41st over: Ireland 258-1 (Stirling 141, Balbirnie 98) Adil Rashid is back. “This is the game, right here and now,” says Mark Butcher on Sky. And James Vince has dropped the match! Stirling slogged a desperate slog sweep straight up in the air, but Vince shelled a relatively straightforward catch running back from mid-on.

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40th over: Ireland 253-1 (Stirling 139, Balbirnie 95) Tom Curran, who has four overs remaining, replaces David Willey. Ireland’s batsmen look in complete control, though, and milk Curran for five singles. They need 76 from 60 balls.

39th over: Ireland 248-1 (Stirling 137, Balbirnie 93) Livingstone saves two runs with a spectacular piece of fielding at cow corner. He jumped over the boundary to meet a bouncing ball and push it back into play while in mid-air. Ireland get their boundary later in the over, though, when Balbirnie lifts Moeen high over short fine leg. Nine from the over.

38th over: Ireland 239-1 (Stirling 137, Balbirnie 84) A really good over of yorkers from Willey; only three from it. Ireland need 90 from 72 balls.

37th over: Ireland 236-1 (Stirling 135, Balbirnie 83) Moeen Ali brings himself on in place of Rashid, whose last three overs are understandably being saved for the death overs. It’s a risk, though, because at this rate there might not be many death overs. A fierce sweep for four takes Balbirnie into the eighties, and then Stirling mistimes a drive that just evades the man running back from mid-off.

36th over: Ireland 229-1 (Stirling 133, Balbirnie 78) Stirling slog-sweeps Willey for his sixth six, all on the leg side. Balbirnie, who has played a supporting role yet still scored at more than a run a ball, pulls emphatically for four more. Ireland need 100 from 14 overs.

35th over: Ireland 217-1 (Stirling 126, Balbirnie 73) Ireland continue to sit on Rashid, taking four low-risk singles from his seventh over. They know that if they see him off, they will almost certainly win the game.

34th over: Ireland 213-1 (Stirling 124, Balbirnie 71) David Willey, on for Saqib Mahmood, has his first two balls hit for four by the brilliant Stirling. This is now the highest score by an Ireland batsman against England, and it’ll go into folklore so long as his team finish the job. They need 116 from 96 balls. It should be a stroll. Should.

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33rd over: Ireland 203-1 (Stirling 115, Balbirnie 70) Attencion! Adil Rashid is back in the attack, and he has changed ends so that the legside boundary is much longer for the right-handers. Ireland don’t need to risk big shots, certainly not against Rashid, and they are content to milk five singles. The gear changes in this partnership - which is now worth 153 - have been beautifully judged.

32nd over: Ireland 198-1 (Stirling 112, Balbirnie 67) The required rate is still under control, even though it has now moved above seven an over. Stirling keeps Ireland on course by blasting Mahmood down the ground for four. That’s his seventh four, to give with five meaty legside sixes. Ireland need 131 from 18x6 balls.

108 balls.

31st over: Ireland 192-1 (Stirling 107, Balbirnie 67) Balbirnie chips Curran’s slower ball for four, and almost makes it consecutive boundaries with a fierce cut that is brilliantly fielded on the boundary by the sliding substitute Dawson. England really need a wicket. They’ve needed one for about two hours.

“You know what’s very, very nice about this partnership, this effort?” says Robert Wilson. “It doesn’t feel that surprising. As a boy, I had languid dreams of Irish Test status, and while I’m not claiming they’re early-days Sri Lanka, they’ve done more than alright. Particularly considering how many players they’ve lost to the opposition (I’ll include the tragically lost son of Erin, Martin McCague, just to butter your parsnips). Kinda nice that the reality has outmatched the pipe-dream - though with fewer triple-hundreds and fivefers from me.”

30th over: Ireland 185-1 (Stirling 107, Balbirnie 60) England have gone up a gear in the last 10 minutes. Stirling misses an attempted pull off Mahmood, coming perilously close to dragging the ball onto his stumps, and there are only three runs from the over.

29th over: Ireland 182-1 (Stirling 106, Balbirnie 58) This is a promising spell from Tom Curran, who is getting a bit of reverse (presumably) back into the right-handers. Just three runs from his fifth over. Ireland need 147 from 126 balls.

28th over: Ireland 179-1 (Stirling 105, Balbirnie 56) Stirling slaughters a cut for four off Mahmood. Both sides are now 10/11 to win the match, though it’s becoming increasingly hard to see how Ireland can lose from here. Rashid has five overs remaining; he’s England’s likeliest matchwinner.

27th over: Ireland 171-1 (Stirling 100, Balbirnie 53) It’s a double bowling change, with Tom Curran replacing James Vince. Stirling survives a big LBW appeal from a lovely inswinging yorker. Replays show he was hit plumb in front of middle stump; sadly for England, the only thing the ball made contact with was his bat.

Stirling works his next delivery to leg for a single to reach a fantastic hundred from 96 balls, his first against England. He’s given it some hammer, as he usually does, but has also played with a lot of intelligence.

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26th over: Ireland 164-1 (Stirling 96, Balbirnie 51) Where’s Liam Plunkett when you need him? In his absence, and with England in urgent need of a wicket, Moeen Ali turns to Saqib Mahmood. The move almost works, but Stirling is dropped by Vince on 95. He nailed a pull stroke towards midwicket, where Vince put down a sharp two-handed catch to his right.

25th over: Ireland 160-1 (Stirling 93, Balbirnie 50) James Vince continues into his third over. It might be his last: Stirling mows him over mid-on to move into the nineties, and then Balbirnie threads a cover drive for two to reach a calm, classy half-century from only 43 balls. England may have looked a bit rudderless in the field, but these two have batted superbly. Ireland need 169 from 150 balls.

24th over: Ireland 152-1 (Stirling 88, Balbirnie 47) Balbirnie drives Rashid through extra cover for four, and then Stirling top-edges a sweep into the empty seats. That’s his fifth six. “Still need 180 here, fellas,” says Jonny Bairstow. But he knows that England are in all sorts. We’re approaching the stage where the only thing that can stop Ireland winning the match is excessive thought about the prospect of winning.

23rd over: Ireland 141-1 (Stirling 82, Balbirnie 42) Two Irishmen have made ODI centuries against England. Kevin O’Brien’s we know about; the other was by William Porterfield at Malahide in 2013, a match that Ireland would have won but for Boyd Rankin and Eoin Morgan.

22nd over: Ireland 137-1 (Stirling 80, Balbirnie 40) Rashid has accepted Stirling’s challenge and is now starting to toy with him. Stirling drives not far short of mid-off and then inside edges a wrongun past leg stump. Three from the over.

21st over: Ireland 134-1 (Stirling 78, Balbirnie 39) Moeen Ali replaces himself with James Vince. English cricket’s newest golden arm almost strikes again when Balbirnie, aiming to leg, top-edges over Bairstow’s head for four. An otherwise excellent over is tarnished by an errant last delivery that Balbirnie tickes for four more. Ireland aren’t just on top at the moment - they’re cruising.

“Hi again Rob,” says Simon McMahon. “It’s a pity England can’t bring on Andre the Giant for a few overs of left-arm spin. My uncle, Vince McMahon Jr., once told me that he wasn’t a bad cricketer. Vince himself was a useful all-rounder. His ‘power walk’ to the middle was often enough to strike fear into opposition bowlers...”

On the subject of walking to the middle, Sky’s documentary on England’s 1989-90 tour of the Caribbean, Pictures from Paradise, is brilliant. There’s a particularly stirring bit of Viv Richards’ duel with Devon Malcolm in the fourth Test in Barbados. Malcolm dismissed Richards twice in the first Test, and was lured by the press into saying he had the formula to dismiss Viv. After hooking Malcolm’s first ball for six, Viv walked up the wicket to him and said, “Showtime”.

20th over: Ireland 126-1 (Stirling 78, Balbirnie 31) Rashid’s contest with Stirling is developing nicely. After being hit for six in each of his first two overs, Rashid responds with an excellent maiden.

19th over: Ireland 126-1 (Stirling 78, Balbirnie 31) Stirling premeditates a lap for four off Moeen, who is having a tricky time both as bowler and captain. He picks up a pair of twos and then lashes a cut stroke for four more. He has 78 from 66 balls and has played quite brilliantly. Ireland need 203 from 31 overs. It is emphatically on.

18th over: Ireland 113-1 (Stirling 65, Balbirnie 31) Hello! Stirling smears Rashid over midwicket for another big six, his fourth of the innings. This is a terrific, courageous assault on England’s most dangerous bowler. If Ireland deal with Rashid, they should win the match.

Drinks break entertainment (sic)

“Rob,” says Mac Millings. “I have been ‘inspired’ by that perfect couple, Curtis Campher and Phil Sawyer, to come up with a Scents and Smells XI. I nicked a couple off Sawyer’s effort below the line at the County Cricket live blog yesterday. I have no regrets about the theft. He knows what he did.

1. Lou Vinscent
2. Graham Gucci
3. Aromavinda de Silva
4. Rahul Dravidoff (c)
5. Curtis Camphor
6. Bruce Stench †
7. Chris Old Spice
8. Brut Reid
9. Andre Chanel
10. Curtly Ambrosia
11. Alan Smellally

17th over: Ireland 104-1 (Stirling 57, Balbirnie 30) The required rate is still below 7, so Ireland will feel they have this chase under control. They are batting beautifully at the moment, and Balbirnie skids back in his crease to guide Moeen through backward point for four more. That’s drinks.

16th over: Ireland 98-1 (Stirling 56, Balbirnie 25) Adil Rashid replaces Tom Curran, and immediately the pulse of the match increases. Stirling survives a big LBW appeal second ball after missing a premeditated sweep; he was outside the line. He misses another big sweep off Rashid’s fifth delivery - but he nails it next ball, clouting Rashid over midwicket for his third six.

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