Summary England's red and white-ball fixtures are overlapping in a season cut short by coronavirus outbreak
SOUTHAMPTON (AFP) - England captain Eoin Morgan won the toss and elected to field against Ireland in the first one-day international at the Ageas Bowl, Southampton, on Thursday.
"I d like to thank Ireland for coming over," said Morgan at the opening toss of a three-match series being staged behind closed doors due to the coronavirus pandemic.
This was England s first home ODI since beating New Zealand in a dramatic Super Over in last year s World Cup final at Lord s.
It also launches the new World Cup Super League, which will determine qualification for the 2023 50-over showpiece in India.
England s red and white-ball fixtures are overlapping in a season cut short by the coronavirus outbreak and they are maintaining two separate squads, meaning a clutch of World Cup winners including Joe Root and Ben Stokes will not feature against Ireland.
But England s side on Thursday did feature several familiar faces, including Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow and Adil Rashid, as well as Dublin-born skipper Morgan.
"Joe Denly went down in training yesterday so Sam Billings comes in," said Morgan of a change to England s batting line-up.
"It presents an opportunity throughout the rest of this summer, there won t be a huge amount of chopping and changing."
Ireland captain Andy Balbirnie said: "We were going to have a bat."
All-rounder Curtis Campher will make his Ireland debut, with Harry Tector set for his first one-day international.
The visitors team also included veteran batsman Kevin O Brien, whose stunning century saw Ireland to a dramatic 2011 World Cup pool win over England in Bangalore.
Teams
England: Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow (wkt), James Vince, Eoin Morgan (capt), Tom Banton, Sam Billings, Moeen Ali, David Willey, Tom Curran, Adil Rashid, Saqib Mahmood
Ireland: Paul Stirling, Gareth Delany, Andy Balbirnie (capt), Harry Tector, Kevin O Brien, Lorcan Tucker (wkt), Simi Singh, Curtis Campher, Andy McBrine, Barry McCarthy, Craig Young
