3rd ODI: Ireland ask England to bat first

Southampton, Aug 4 (SocialNews.XYZ) Ireland captain Andy Balbirnie chose to field against world champions England in the third and final ODI of the three-match series here on Tuesday.

England, captained by Eoin Morgan who led them to 2019 World Cup glory on home soil, have won the first two games to take an unassailable 2-0 lead.

Ireland have never won on English soil and in the two matches, they have had first use of the batting surface, and failed to put up a stiff enough target.

Both teams made one change to their teams with Simi Singh making way for Mark Adair for Ireland and Tom Curran back in place for the injured Reece Topley for the hosts.

"Looks a good wicket, I think it will stay pretty similar as the day goes on," said Balbirnie.

"The wicket does look a lot better but we would have bowled, just because it's worked," said Morgan.

The two teams will be wearing black armbands, to mark the death of John Hume, the Irish politician and Nobel peace prize winner.

There will also be a minute's silence before the match.

Ross McCollum, chair of Cricket Ireland, said as quoted by ESPNCricinfo: "We were all saddened to hear of the passing of John Hume. He was a tremendous man with fantastic vision and a relentless commitment to peace. He will no doubt be remembered as a giant of his time, and his legacy will extend for many generations to come. On behalf of the Irish cricket community, we pass on our condolences to John's family and friends."

England: Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow (wk), James Vince, Eoin Morgan (capt), Sam Billings, Tom Banton, Moeen Ali, David Willey, Tom Curran, Adil Rashid, Saqib Mahmood

Ireland: Paul Stirling, Gareth Delany, Andy Balbirnie (capt), Harry Tector, Kevin O'Brien, Lorcan Tucker (wk), Curtis Campher, Andy McBrine, Mark Adair, Craig Young, Josh Little

Source: IANS