England vs Ireland: England on the Back of an Undefeated Streak

• England are coming on the back of an undefeated streak in the last five completed matches.
• England defeated Afghanistan by five wickets in their opening fixture.
• The bowling attack of Sam Curran, Mark Wood, Chris Woakes, and Ben Stokes has been in good form.tttttt

England vs Ireland Odds

England vs Ireland Prediction and Pick

The two teams have only met once in the T20 format, back in 2010, which also ended in no result after 23 overs of play. England have a significantly better line-up for this fixture and more suited to Australian conditions than Ireland. 

England to win. (-250)

Predicted XI

England: Alex Hales, Jos Buttler (c/wk), Dawid Malan, Ben Stokes, Liam Livingstone, Harry Brook, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood

Ireland: Paul Stirling, Andrew Balbirnie (c), Lorcan Tucker (wk), Harry Tector, Curtis Campher, George Dockrell, Gareth Delany, Simi Singh, Mark Adair, Barry McCarthy, Joshua Little

England look to Continue Their March but Will Be Wary of Spirited Ireland

England will be looking to continue their momentum when they take on Ireland in the next Group 1 fixture. However, they won't take them lightly as Ireland have pulled off a couple of upsets against England in the fifty-over format.

The Jos Buttler-led side defeated Afghanistan by wickets in the first match at Perth. Mark Wood recorded the fastest-ever spell in the T20 World Cup history and snared 2 for 23 while Ben Stokes bagged 2 for 19. Sam Curran also created history, becoming the first England men's player to pick a T20 five-for in the world cup.

Chasing the target, England's batters could not get off the blocks and lost wickets at regular intervals. Jos Buttler and Alex Hales got starts but fell trying to up the ante. Liam Livingstone's unbeaten 29 off 21 to take them over the line.

Ireland defeated Scotland and West Indies to reach the Super 12s but were beaten by Sri Lanka in their first game on the main stage. They were hammered by nine wickets on Sunday after a lackluster batting display.

Paul Stirling smashed 34 off 25 at the top but the Irish batters struggled to score at a good rate. Harry Tector made 45 but it took him 42 deliveries as Ireland crawled to 128/8. Their bowling attack was ineffective in the second innings, with Sri Lanka chasing down the target in 15 overs.

Team News

England chose to go with the batting heavy approach in the first game, batting down to the no. 10. Chris Woakes was fit to play and he pipped David Willey for the position. The likes of Mark Wood, Sam Curran and Ben Stokes were magnificent on the day. Leg-spinner Adil Rashid's poor form continues to be a concern. England will hope for a better start from Jos Buttler and Alex Hales. Dawid Malan struggled against the quality spin trio of Afghanistan but should be fine versus Ireland. The batting unit also comprising Stokes, Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali and Curran looks power-packed.

Ireland do have a settled line-up and despite their loss against Sri Lanka, they're likely to remain unchanged. Paul Stirling's return to form is great news for them with Andy Balbirnie, Curtis Campher, Harry Tector and George Dockrell also scoring runs in the tournament. Ireland will need a couple of those batters to play impactful knocks. The seam bowling attack of Joshua Little, Mark Adair and Barry McCarthy can be taken apart. Simi Singh hasn't been in good form either but could be crucial against the left-hand heavy side.

Key Players

Mark Wood has been bowling at some serious pace since his return from injury, not that he wasn't a menace to face already. He has the ability to blow away teams that don't have good players of high pace in these conditions. The speedster has snared 37 wickets for England in 24 T20Is, striking at every 14.2 balls. In his last four T20I innings, Wood has picked 11 scalps.

Jos Buttler scored a run-a-ball 18 in the last game but remains the biggest threat for Ireland. The England captain has adopted a balanced batting style, choosing his moments wisely. His T20 record for England as an opener is outrageous, having smashed 1399 runs at 152 strike rate while averaging 49, including a hundred and 13 fifties.

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