England will put on a brave face as they head to India to take part in the 2023 ICC World Cup which runs from 05 Oct to 19 Nov. England are the defending champions but haven’t had the kind of preparation they would have liked ahead of the World Cup.
Ireland ODI Tour Turns into a Wet Blanket
England hosted Ireland for a 3 match ODI series in their lead-up to the World Cup. This series seemed counter-intuitive as it made no sense for England to tune-up for the ODI World Cup outing in English conditions where the ball swings and seams instead of sub-continent conditions where the ball reverse swings and spins.
Both England and Ireland did not get a lot of cricket in during their ODI series as the first match was abandoned due to rain. The second match England got the better of Ireland and won by 48 runs. The third match was another washout as England batted first and only faced 31 overs before rain interrupted and produced a no result.
Joe Butler will lead England and will captain a strong team who are short of proper ODI match practice.