T20 World Cup: Ireland, the breaker and now the maker of England's hopes

The Irish may have lost to the Australians, but they kept their net run rate in check, thus reviving England's chances

They say, "He giveth and He taketh away." As far as England's fortunes in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022 are concerned, one might as well be talking about Ireland's Lorcan Tucker. The lone Irish knight, who led the charge in dismantling the English campaign in their tie last week, put up a brave, albeit futile, fight against the furious Australian pace attack on Monday at the Gabba. In the process, his unbeaten 71 of 48 balls ensured Australia's net run rate remains below their Ashes rival, thus reviving English hopes. 

Earlier, the Irish had won the toss and decided to bowl first. This proved costly as the Kangaroos' skipper Aaron Finch chose this match to come into his own. As he raced off to a swift 63 off 44 with five fours and three sixes, he was consistently supported by Mitchell Marsh (28 off 22, 2 fours, 2 sixes) and Marcus Stoinis (35 off 25, 3 fours and 1 six). The Australians wrapped up their 20 overs with 179 runs on the board and five wickets lost.

Chasing 180, Ireland crumbled to 25 for 5 in 4 overs. However, the lethal swingers from Mitchell Starc and the sheer white heat of the Australian pace could not deter Tucker. Shouldering the weight of the total alone, the right-handed wicket-keeper-batsman kept rotating the strike in a clockwork fashion while consistently punctuating his play with boundaries. However, he had no support from the other end, and the giant killers were wrapped up for 137 in 18 overs.

While the victory brought relief to the Australian camp, Lorcan's brave stint would have found cheers amongst the English. The Aussies have one game left and are sitting tied with their northern neighbours New Zealand, at 5 points. The English have two more games to go and are close on their heels with 4 points and a much better run rate (+0.239 against Australia's -0.304).

Should England manage the significant feat of winning their two remaining matches against New Zealand and Sri Lanka, it will require Australia to maul Afghanistan during their sole fixture left to play in Adelaide. England also has the advantage that their clash with Sri Lanka is the final game in the entire group, so they will know the exact net run rate permutations.