England seek to clear up muddle before CWC 19

Overview

Ireland v England
Only ODI
The Village, Dublin
Friday, 3 May; 10:45am local time, 9:45am GMT

Less than a month removed from the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2019, England are under pressure. Alex Hales' removal from the preliminary squad has created a muddle, one they will need to clear up over the next couple of weeks, starting with the one-off ODI against Ireland in Malahide.

England will have the chance to try their reserves ahead of the tournament. Those include Jofra Archer, who recently became eligible to play, Chris Jordan and James Vince.

With Jos Buttler and Jonny Bairstow rested for the ODI, Ben Foakes will come in as the wicket-keeper batsman. Dawid Malan and Ben Duckett, who were added to the squad in place of Hales and the injured Sam Billings, will also be vying for World Cup spots.

Standing opposite them are Ireland, who in their last ODI assignment, tied a competitive five-match series against Afghanistan 2-2 in Dehradun.

The hosts will rely on the experienced trio of Paul Stirling, Kevin O' Brien and skipper William Porterfield. Andrew Balbirnie, their best batsman in the Afghanistan series, will be the lynchpin of their batting order.

The veteran duo of Tim Murtagh and Boyd Rankin will spearhead the pace attack, while George Dockrell and Andy McBrine complete the spin department.

Key players

**Jofra Archer (England):**The all-rounder will make his much-anticipated England debut, after a long wait of more than three years. Archer is a proven commodity in franchise T20 cricket, but can he replicate it at the international level?

**Andrew Balbirnie (Ireland):**Balbirnie had a highly successful series against Afghanistan, scoring 145* and 68. He also made 125 for Leinster Lighting in a List A fixture last week, and will hope he can sustain that form.

Conditions

Passing showers have been forecast midway through the game, which might bring the DLS method into play. Three 330-plus totals have been notched up at this venue in the last three years, a stat that might pique the interest of batsmen from both sides.

Squads

**Ireland:**William Porterfield (c), Andrew Balbirnie, George Dockrell, Josh Little, Andrew McBrine, Barry McCarthy, James McCollum, Tim Murtagh, Kevin O’Brien, Boyd Rankin, Paul Stirling, Stuart Thompson, Lorcan Tucker, Gary Wilson

**England:**Eoin Morgan (c), Jofra Archer, Dawid Malan, Ben Duckett, Ben Foakes, Tom Curran, Chris Jordan, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, James Vince, David Willey, Mark Wood