T20 World Cup 2022, Match 20: Predicted Ireland Playing XI vs England

After a humiliating nine-wicket defeat at the hands of Sri Lanka, a demoralized Ireland will be locking horns with England in their second ICC T20 World Cup Super 12 encounter at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Wednesday, October 26. The Three Lions, on the other hand, would be heading into this contest on the back of a five-wicket win over Afghanistan.

This is a must-win game for the Irish side as a loss here would make it nearly impossible for them to make any further advancements in the competition. herefore,  and they would be hoping to come out all guns blazing against the in-form English unit who have been on a roll down under for a month. 

Here's Ireland's Predicted Playing XI against England

Openers: Paul Stirling and Andrew Balbirinie (c)

Skipper Andrew Balbirnie and power-hitter Paul Stirling can be the destructive pair on their day and can lay a soild foundation for Ireland once they are well set. Stirling happened to be the one of the impactful scorers against Sri Lanka, contributing with 34 off 25.

Andrew Balbirnie, on the other hand, can be an impactful player with the bat in the shortest format. Unfortunately for him, he was off-colour against Sri Lanka being dismissed for just one run against his name. 

Middle-Order: Lorcan Tucker, Harry Tector, George Dockrell

Ireland have a very good middle-order batters with the ability of playing game-changing knocks. Lorcan Tucker has been one of their most consistent players at this position. Even though he scored a match-winning 45 runs off 35 balls to knock out the West Indies, he could only manage 10 runs against the Lankans.

Harry Tector was the top-scorer of the last game scoring 45 which eventually helped Ireland in getting closer to the 130-run mark. Meanwhile, George Dockrell might have played some impactful knocks so far, but he has not been to covert them into big scores. Even in the last match he got out after scoring just 14. He will be looking to make amends against England.

All-Rounders: Curtis Campher and Gareth Delany

Curtis Campher had scored a match-winning 72 and chipped in with two scalps against Scotland, but has not been able to showcase consistent performances since then. He would be hoping for a revival in fortunes against England.

Gareth Delany took the solitary Sri Lankan wicket of Dhananjaya de Silva in the last game and even his performances have not be exceptional of late, barring his three-wicket haul against the two-time champions Windies. 

Bowlers: Simi Singh, Mark Adair, Joshua Little, and, Barry McCarthy

All the Irish bowlers had a forgettable day against Sri Lanka as none of them could pick up a single wicket defending 129 runs. The collective responsibility will be on the new ball duo of Joshua Little and Mark Adair who would be expected to shine with the new ball against England in the next game. Meanwhile, the duo of Simi Singh and Barry McCarthy would be expected to provide vital breakthroughs in the middle overs.

Ireland's probable playing XI against Sri Lanka: Paul Stirling, Andrew Balbirnie (c), Lorcan Tucker (wk), Harry Tector, Curtis Campher, George Dockrell, Gareth Delany, Mark Adair, Simi Singh, Barry McCarthy, Joshua Little.