Ben Duckett hits unbeaten century for England against Ireland before ODI is abandoned
- Published
Duckett hits century before rain stops England-Ireland ODI
Third one-day international, Seat Unique Stadium, Bristol |
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England 280-4 (31 overs): Duckett 107*, Salt 61, Crawley 51 |
Ireland: Did not bat |
Match abandoned, England win the series 1-0 |
Ben Duckett made an unbeaten century but England were denied the chance to post a mammoth total against Ireland as the third one-day international was abandoned because of rain.
Duckett was 107 not out off 78 balls as England reached 280-4 off 31 overs at the County Ground before heavy rain curtailed play at 14:48 BST.
The umpires decided at 15:21 no further play would be possible.
England captain Zak Crawley and opener Phil Salt had earlier hit fifties.
The first ODI of the series at Headingley was washed out without a ball being bowled, meaning England's 48-run win at Trent Bridge in the second match has given them a 1-0 series win.
It was a little surprising to see the match, England's final international of the summer, called off so abruptly, given just over half an hour had elapsed between the players going off and the decision to abandon the match.
Strong wind hampered the efforts of groundstaff to cover the square and the bowlers' run-ups but water was understood to have got under the covers and on the pitch.
By 15:40, the ground itself was bathed in sunshine and the forecast for the remainder of the day was good but the umpires determined conditions would not improve sufficiently at a non-Test match venue to enable play to recommence.
Crawley, England's skipper for the three-match series, said the decision to abandon the match so quickly "caught everyone by surprise".
He said: "It's a shame it ended like that, it was all so sudden. Obviously a lot of rain fell in not a long space of time.
"I think it caught us all by surprise when they came in to shake our hands. I went on the outfield just now and that was soaking wet, I think it was all unfit."
Ireland skipper Paul Stirling added: "I don't think we expected it to end the game. It's our last game for the next few months so we wanted to get out there."
The last four ODIs at Bristol have now been washed out and Gloucestershire chief executive Will Brown defended the speed with which the county's groundstaff had got the covers on.
He said: "It is just gutting. We've had our fair share of rain offs such as in World Cups and you wonder if we give it a bit longer maybe it can dry out, but it is what it is.
"The umpires and the match ref know what they are doing, the groundstaff are working their backsides off to get it right.
"The covers were heavy and wet and they were trying to move them in tough conditions. It was blowing a gale which makes it a lot harder to move. I think they did and admirable job in difficult circumstances."
Salt hits 22-ball 50 inside first six overs
Duckett presses his claims
England have already named their 15-man squad for next month's World Cup in India and none of those players were involved in this match.
However, selector Luke Wright indicated that rather than select travelling reserves for the tournament a number of players will be asked to remain on standby.
Duckett's maiden one-day hundred will have done his cause to be called up in the event of injury or otherwise no harm, as he produced a mature knock which included 12 fours and two sixes.
A high-octane start from openers Phil Salt (61) and Will Jacks (39) saw England reach 50 off 3.3 overs - the fastest by any team in the first innings of a men's ODI match - to set the tempo.
Duckett could have been swept away by the momentum when he arrived at the ninth over with England already on 104-2, but there was no sense of recklessness with his approach as he retained focus to build an innings.
England opener Salt hits 18 off first four balls
"Ducky's always the same, very chilled and plays a similar game to how he does in Tests. It felt quite similar," added Crawley.
"When the openers were going, it looked like a belter but when I went out there with Ducky, it didn't feel immensely easy at the start, a bit two-paced. We were just trying to rebuild and then suddenly we got the momentum again."
Duckett brought up his century up with a six off spinner George Dockrell over long-off and had looked primed to help England challenge the 498 they posted against the Netherlands in Amstelveen in June 2022 before the rain ended things prematurely.
Nevertheless, the left-hander's versatility to bat in a number of positions in the top-order, as well as his ability to play spin in the subcontinent as a confident sweeper and reverse sweeper of the ball, will strongly work in his favour should a batter be required in India.