England v Ireland, third one-day international – live!

Vince out in the teens again! Young gets one to come back at the right-hander – a very good delivery – and Vince doesn’t adjust quickly enough, feathering the ball through to Tucker off his inside edge. It’s given not out but Ireland review immediately and they are rewarded with a third wicket inside the power play.

8th over: England 44-2 (Vince 16, Morgan 22) Morgan gets a fat inside edge off Adair, running away for another boundary. A tighter over on the whole, though.

“OBO readers usually go on about one or more of the following,” says John Starbuck. Okay, let’s do it:

1. Drinks

2. Foods

3. Family circumstances

4. Popular (or not) music

5. Crickers past, present and future

6. A funny thing happened on my way to the ….

7. OBO writers’ errors or opinions

8. Fillums and TV

9. The state of the current game

I would add, insisting that Joe Root is too weak to be a Test captain. Oh, and asking for the TMS link (which I then google, and post). Wouldn’t have it any other way.

7th over: England 39-2 (Vince 15, Morgan 18) My hunch is firming – Morgan is tucking in now. First up a half-volley from Young, which the captain drives so straight that it hits the non-striker stumps before running away for four. Later in the over, the swing bowler is too short and is pulled away with real authority.

“Afternoon Adam.” Hello, Brian Withington. “Bit torn this afternoon between watching a JM Vince career defining ton and an AN Cook fourth innings masterclass at Chelmsford. He’s guiding debutant FIN Khushi along nicely too.”

Plenty of Bob Willis Trophy fixtures are heading towards exciting finishes. Follow the final afternoon of the opening roung with Tanya Aldred on the county blog.

6th over: England 28-2 (Vince 14, Morgan 8) Adair is mixing up his pace to Morgan, and it is working – five dots on the bounce. But the England captain makes the most of a wider offering to finish, beating the field with a slap through point for four. I reckon they have missed a trick not getting Little on straight away at him.

A question from Richard O’Hagan. “You’re writing about the proposed Australia series like it is definitely going to happen. Do you know something that we don’t?”

No, I don’t, but the strong sense from Australia is that, once government approval has been finalised, it will be on. There were reports last week that it will likely be three T20s (Rose Bowl) then three ODIs (Old Trafford), from 4-16 September.

5th over: England 24-2 (Vince 14, Morgan 4) A third boundary for Vince, a second reaching the rope via his outside edge without a lot of footwork. He looks better later in the set, flicking Young behind square for a couple. Big day, James. Big day.

“Afternoon, Adam.” Afternoon, Anthony Pease. “I was wondering if you could give me a head start on the OBO riff of the day. I’ve been trying to brush up on as many obscure subjects as possible—all non-cricket-related, naturally—but to be honest I’ve got a busy afternoon planned and could do with some advance warning. Thanks for the help and keep up the splendid work.” It happens organically; I feel pressure to identify. But I know it when I see it, and will telegraph accordingly.

4th over: England 18-2 (Vince 8, Morgan 4) Morgan, who was sorted out for nothing on Saturday by Josh Little’s bouncer, is in early and off the mark straight away from the edge of his bat, through about fourth slip for four. Will they bring the big left-armer on right away to rough the captain up a bit? He won’t be happy if they do.

“Hello, Adam.” Hello, Ian Forth. “Ironically I’m watching via Foxtel in Australia and we most definitely got Jerusalem. Funnily enough, it’s the second time I’ve heard it today. The excellent Quickly Kevin podcast – a football nostalgia show – played it out on an episode as it was the official anthem for England’s Euro 2000 campaign. It’s had a strange sporting odyssey over the years and not one about which I’d wager William Blake would be too enthused.”

Yes, I hit go too early on that – they cut to the coverage about halfway through. This is the bit where I post my essay about the history of Jerusalem and England cricket, right? https://www.thenightwatchman.net/news/editors-choice-issue-16

Bowled through the gate! Bairstow was trying to flick Adair over the top but there was just enough movement to beat his blade. Lovely stump-to-stump stuff.

3rd over: England 14-1 (Bairstow 4, Vince 8) That’s a delicious cover drive, Vince at his most aesthetic. Can he stick around for a couple of hours, though?

“I hope you’re right about Mark Adair,” writes Michael Keane. “The word is that he hasn’t been right since his ankle surgery, is that right? Anyway, come on you boys in green etc.” Went for plenty in the warm-up. But can do it. Worth a shot today.

2nd over: England 7-1 (Bairstow 2, Vince 4) Mark Adair is into the team and has the new ball. Over the cordon and far away! Vince gets off the mark with a streaky boundary when attempting to cut. Judging by my packed inbox, the OBO community have very strong views about the Hampshire right-hander.

“Afternoon, Adam.” And to you, Matt Potter. “Needed to go to the office this week so had to decide between this game and a game of the test starting tomorrow. I chose today. I’ll forever regret that if James Vince scores a century. Looking forward to you to describing it to me instead! (As long as he doesn’t get a start and get out, again).”

I reckon you’ve made the right choice. I spoke to Kevin O’Brien yesterday and he sounded like a man who was fired up for a special performance. As I said off the top, with the Super League in place, there’s still plenty to play for. But from the veteran’s perspective, it’s mostly about giving it big against England. Maybe for the last time.

1st over: England 2-1 (Bairstow 1, Vince 0) Well, then. The second time Roy has been out in the first over this week, Young doing the job for his captain once again.

With an opportunity like this, coming in during the power play, this could not be more important. Especially with so many players back for the Australia series.

Caught at second slip! Conventional as dismissals come, Young getting a little bit of shape with the opener playing with hard hands. Balbirnie makes no mistake.

Craig Young has the ball in his hand. He’s starting off from the pavilion end, running away from where we are seated. Roy is on strike to begin. PLAY!

“This could be last chance saloon time for Vince,” writes Chris Evans. “Don’t want the guy to fail because he’s monstrous against a white ball in domestic cricket, but three games against Ireland on your home ground is a pretty sweet chance. Lots of people want his squad slot.”

True enough. With England batting first, a big opportunity ahead for the No3.

Jerusalem is playing to the empty stadium here. A touch strange given Sky Cricket aren’t taking this bit, but there we have it. And here come the players ahead of the minute’s silence for John Hume. Both teams are also wearing black armbands.

Excited to see Mark Adair back for Ireland. He was out of the squad initially, coming on this tour with an injury. Remember, he was one of the bowlers who knocked England over for 85 at Lord’s last year, picking up three wickets. One of those with Joe Root, who he claimed in both innings. Long story short: can bowl.

Sam Billings is on Sky with Rob Key. “I am at the stage of my career where I know my game well. I’ve made some changes and thankfully, they hae worked out. This is the first time in ODI cricket where I have played games back to back since 2016.”

He’s an excellent communicator and coming off two important (and unbeaten) contributions. He adds that his red-ball England dream remains alive as well.

Those XIs as named.

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

Ireland: Paul Stirling, Gareth Delany, Andrew Balbirnie (c), Harry Tector, Kevin O’Brien, Lorcan Tucker (wk), Curtis Campher, Mark Adair, Andy McBrine, Joshua Little, Craig Young.

I neglected to say, drop me a line! I’m here for the first dig, Rob the second.

Andy Balnirnie says the pitch looks good. He thinks it will play the same through the day, thus bowling first. Simi Singh is out of the XI for recalled quick Mark Adair.

Eoin Morgan says England would have bowled first too. One change: Tom Curran, as expected, is coming in for the injured Reece Topley.

There will be a minute’s silence before play to pay tribute to John Hume. Ross McCollum, Chair of Cricket Ireland, said: “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.”