Southampton:Opener Jonny Bairstow smashed 82 off 41 balls as England beat Ireland by four wickets in the second one-day international to take an unassailable 2-0 series lead.
England overcame a middle-order wobble to finish on 216-6 in 32.3 overs in reply to Ireland’s 212-9 at the Rose Bowl on Saturday. After Adil Rashid had taken 3-34 to reach 150 ODI wickets, Bairstow equaled the record for the fastest 50 in this format by an Englishman off 21 balls. Bairstow, Eoin Morgan and Moeen Ali were dismissed as England lurched from 131-3 to 137-6, before an unbroken 79-run stand between Sam Billings and David Willey helped the hosts to their target with more than 17 overs to spare.
The pair had been the standout performers in Thursday’s opener and came to the rescue here, Billings finishing on 46 not out while Willey followed up his 2-48 with an unbeaten 47 in the evening sunshine. Earlier, Ireland overcame another poor start after winning the toss and being reduced to 91-6 before Curtis Campher led the recovery.
Campher, in only his second ODI, scored an 87-ball 68 with eight fours before being dismissed by seamer Saqib Mahmood (2-45). Campher shared two key partnerships late in the innings — a seventh-wicket 60-run stand with Simi Singh (25) and 56 runs for the eighth wicket with Andy McBrine (24).
Players again took a knee to support Black Lives Matter before the game. (AP)
