England vs Ireland, ENG vs IRE, Today Match Prediction 20 September 2023

ENG vs IRE Match Prediction & Analysis

England’s World Cup preparations are now on at full swing. After beating New Zealand 3-1 at home recently, they are all set to host Ireland for a three-match ODI series beginning Wednesday. Ireland have beaten England only twice in 50-over cricket and would be eager to add a win or two to that tally as the home side are without most of their regular players. 

RECENT PERFORMANCE

ENG

W W W L

ENG

311/9 in 50.0 6.22

ENG vs NZ

England beat New Zealand by 100 runs 15 Sep 2023

NZ

211/10 in 38.2 5.5

ENG

368/10 in 48.1 7.64

ENG vs NZ

13 Sep 2023

NZ

187/10 in 39.0 4.79

ENG

226/7 in 34.0 6.65

ENG vs NZ

England won by 79 runs 10 Sep 2023

NZ

147/10 in 26.5 5.48

ENG

291/6 in 50.0 5.82

ENG vs NZ

New Zealand won by 8 wickets 08 Sep 2023

NZ

297/2 in 45.4 6.5

IRE

W W W L L

IRE

269/8 in 49.2 5.45

ICC WCQ 2023

Ireland won by 2 wickets

04 Jul 2023

NEP

268/9 in 50.0 5.36

IRE

197/4 in 34.2 5.74

ICC WCQ 2023

30 Jun 2023

USA

196/10 in 42.4 4.59

IRE

349/4 in 50.0 6.98

ICC WCQ 2023

Ireland beat United Arab Emirates by 138 runs

27 Jun 2023

UAE

211/10 in 39.0 5.41

SL

325/10 in 49.5 6.52

ICC WCQ 2023

Sri Lanka won by 133 runs

25 Jun 2023

IRE

192/10 in 31.0 6.19

IRE

286/8 in 50.0 5.72

ICC WCQ 2023

Scotland won by 1 wicket

21 Jun 2023

SCT

287/9 in 50.0 5.74

HEAD TO HEAD

TEAMS PREVIEW

England Preview

England have rested quite a few players that featured in the series against New Zealand. Zak Crawley will lead this new-look England side, which also features three uncapped players. Crawley has played three ODIs in his career, all of which came in the Covid-19-affected series against Pakistan in 2021. It will be his first time leading England in any format.

Harry Brook, who has been included in England’s World Cup squad, will be the main batter to watch out for in this series. He mustered 37 runs from 68 balls across his three appearances in the New Zealand series. However, the talented youngster has shown a lot of promise across formats and will be eager to prove that he deserves the World Cup spots. We are expecting a big knock from Brook in one of the three matches at least.

Joe Root has been added to the squad for the first ODI at the last moment. Root, whose form across 50 overs has taken a dip, will be taking this opportunity to get some handy runs under his belt in this match before he s the England World Cup squad bound for India.

Phil Salt is also an exciting prospect. The wicket-keeper batter has played 14 ODIs so far, scoring 460 runs at an average of 38.33 and a strike rate of 125.

Also, watch out for uncapped Sam Hain. The middle-order batter has a List A average of almost 58 from 62 matches with 10 centuries. We are backing him to play an important role in this series.

England’s bowling too will have a lot of new faces. Brydon Carse and George Scrimshaw are ed by Luke Wood, Craig Overton, and Matthew Potts as seam-bowling options. Rehan Ahmed is the main spin bowler in the squad. The 19-year-old leg-spinner is still very young in international cricket and will relish this opportunity to get some valuable experience.

England Predicted Playing XI:

Will Jacks, Phil Salt (wk), Joe Root, Zak Crawley (c), Ben Duckett, Sam Hain, Rehan Ahmed, Brydon Carse, Tom Hartley/George Scrimshaw, Luke Wood, Matthew Potts

Ireland Preview

Ireland has assembled a solid squad for the England series. They will be led by Paul Stirling, who is by far the most experienced batter in the side. Stirling has been in good form of late, collecting 346 runs from his last 10 matches. Ireland have announced that Andrew Balbirnie will open with Stirling. They believe the pair have a great understanding and want to develop them into a longer-term opening option in 50-over cricket. 

Balbirnie has played 13 ODIs this year, smashing 363 runs in them at an average of 36.30 and a strike rate of 73.33.

Curtis Campher will make the move to number 3 in this series. He has been a mainstay of Ireland’s middle order for a few years now, but we believe he will have a positive impact in this new role as well. 

Harry Tector is another batter you should keep an eye on. The middle-order batter has been blasting runs on a consistent basis of late and averages almost 49 in his last 10 matches.

Ireland’s bowling will be led by Mark Adair and Josh Little. The two seam bowlers should find enough assistance from this surface, especially at the start, and can take out a few early wickets. Adair has grabbed 20 wickets from his last 10 games at a strike rate of 24.4. We feel he will be Ireland’s standout bowler in this series.

Ireland Predicted Playing XI:

Paul Stirling (c), Andrew Balbirnie, Curtis Campher, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker (wk), Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Andy McBrine, Mark Adair, Josh Little, Barry McCarthy

PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS

Weather Conditions

Headingley often offers a true surface that usually aids the batters a little more. Like most venues in England, seam bowlers will find some help here too in the initial overs. Moreover, rain is expected during the day and that will lead to cloudy conditions. This will allow the seam bowlers to get consistent movement off the air. However, once the ball becomes softer, batters can settle in and start playing their shots.

ENG vs IRE Pitch Report

The average score batting first at Headingley is 213. The highest team total at the venue is England’s 351-9 versus Pakistan in 2019. The average runs per over here is 4.68, so the team batting first would look to set a total of around 250-260 at least.

Toss: To Bowl

26 of the 46 ODIs played at Headingley have been won by the chasing side. Moreover, rain is expected on the day of the match. Thus, the team winning the toss is likely to field first.