England v Ireland ODI series preview: Root aiming to let fly against Ireland

England and Ireland will face off in three ODI matches between Wednesday and next Tuesday as their preparation for next month’s ICC World Cup in India begins to draw to a close.

We preview the series below.

Root searching for form

Despite the timing of this localised ODI series – just two weeks before the first ICC World Cup fixture – England’s squad for this three-match contest against Ireland will largely consist of reserve players who will not make the travel to India. Except for one player.

Joe Root looked worryingly out of touch in all three ODIs against New Zealand recently, and has requested to play in the opening fixture against Ireland on Wednesday in his home ground of Headingley in order to find some form. There will be questions about his suitability in the number 3 role in England’s batting card having batted at 4 in Tests for several years now, but such is the composition of England’s inflated middle order in ODIs that the pure batsmen need to take more responsibility.

Despite this being a mixture of ‘reserves’, there is still some outstanding talent on display. Test openers Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley will likely feature, as well as the explosive Phil Salt and the versatile Will Jacks. It’s a testament to the immense white ball depth this England setup possesses, and they unsurprisingly begin as heavy 1/7 favourites to win Wednesday’s opener in Leeds.

Root will be desperate to recover some confidence and is the 11/4 favourite to score the most runs for the hosts, with Crawley (3/1), Salt (3/1) and Duckett (4/1) closely following him. From a bowling perspective, left-arm seamer Luke Wood (3/1) and leg spinner Rehan Ahmed (10/3) lead the way for taking the most wickets, though Matthew Potts (7/2) may be a more profitable shout with his experience at Test level at this ground.

Ireland are no pushovers

As they did in a one-off Test match at Lord’s in June, Ireland – 9/2 for a memorable victory in Leeds –  will look to demonstrate that they have improved across all formats of the game, and they have a couple of renowned white-ball players in their squad these days.

Paul Stirling is perhaps the most well-known name, with the charismatic opener enjoying successful stints with Southern Brave and Oval Invincibles in the Hundred over the past couple of years, but it’s 23-year-old Harry Tector who will pose the biggest threat to England over the course of the next week.

Tector finds himself 6th in the ICC Rankings for ODI batsmen (England’s highest is Jason Roy in 14th) and played a big part in Ireland’s second-innings resilience at Lord’s, scoring 51 runs as the visitors amassed 362. He is 7/2 to score the most runs for his side on Wednesday, with Stirling the current favourite at 3/1.

Another player to keep an eye on is left-arm seamer Josh Little, who this year became the first Irishman in history to play in the Indian Premier League when he was drafted by defending champions Gujarat Titans. Little picked up seven wickets in 10 innings, including that of Indian white-ball veteran Shikhar Dhawan, and is the 10/3 favourite to claim the most poles on Wednesday.

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