Ireland’s opener Paul Stirling and skipper Andrew Balbirnie’s match-winning heroics helped Ireland win the third and the final ODI match against England by seven wickets on Wednesday.
Stirling scored 142 runs off 128 balls that also included nine fours and six sixes while Balbirnie blasted 1113 runs off 112 balls (12 fours)
Due to their knocks, both the batsmen moved up in the latest ICC rankings. Balbirnie moved four places up to 42nd rank while Stirling’s 142 runs sturdy knock pushed him to the 26th spot.
Both the batsmen stitched a partnership of 214 runs as they took past the team’s score over 250 runs and also registered a nail-biting win for the visitors. It was also their first win of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League in Southampton on Tuesday.
Debutant Curtis Campher also impressed with his all-round skills by scoring half-centuries in both the innings he batted in. He also took five wickets in all the three matches of the series at an impressive economy rate of 6.69.
Pacer Craig Young took six wickets in the series and that helped him rise 40 places up to 89th rank in the bowlers’ rankings.
Among the England players, skipper Eoin Morgan’s century helped me jump to the 22nd spot in the batsmen’s rankings while Johny Bairstow moved to 13th spot after his 82 runs knock in the 2nd ODI.
Among the bowlers, Adil Rashid moved to 25th spot from the 29th place. All-rounder David Willey’s eight wickets in the series including the fifer in the first ODI earned him a career-high 51st spot in the latest rankings.
