Suddenly it’s raining quite hard and the covers are on unfortunately. But there is plenty of blue sky around so hopefully only a passing shower.
Baker returns to close out the innings. Delany crunches his second ball down the ground, and then clears mid off from the penultimate delivery. An uncharacteristically wild throw from Bethell then allows Ireland to scamper two from the final ball. So Ireland end up with 154-8, largely thanks to Delany’s perky cameo: he struck the ball very cleanly, and faced all the 12 last deliveries himself.
Baker was very upbeat when he spoke to the press yesterday. But he ends with 0-52 from his four overs: another chastening debut, after his 0-76 from seven overs against South Africa on ODI debut.
Delany is trying to hit every ball for boundary, but can’t quite find his timing. Overton concedes just three, though at least Delany is on strike for the last over.
Rashid is back, again entrusted to bowl the 18th over - that’s the second game in a row, so seems like part of England’s thinking. As so often, Rashid’s returns gives England control back. Humphreys resorts to the reverse sweep from the fifth ball of the over, and earns four. He’s out from the next ball, caught at fine leg - but Delany remains on strike. Jordan Cox takes the catch, but in the process seems to have hurt his knee, which landed awkwardly on the turf. He’s now walking off the field. Hope his terrible run with injuries when in the England reckoning does not continue. Remember: Cox’s fractured thumb, sustained in the nets, in New Zealand last year robbed him of a Test debut.
