When England and Ireland met at the World Cup four years ago in Guyana, the highlight of the match was the seventh delivery.
Ed Joyce, who had left his mother country to try and make his name with England, shouldered arms to Boyd Rankin and watched the ball nip back to shatter his stumps.
Joyce is now back in the Irish fold, having played just one more game for England. In the interim though, Eoin Morgan, the most promising batsman from that 2007 squad, has moved in the opposite direction, though injury has prevented him from making the trip to the subcontinent with England.
That first Irish World Cup adventure is fondly remembered for their upset victory over Pakistan and for a comprehensive thrashing of Bangladesh in the Super Eights. But having started with a narrow defeat against the Tigers in Dhaka, the pressure is on to prove that 2007 was not just a case of luck.
If they are feeling the weight of expectation, Ireland are not showing it. William Porterfield, the captain, turned up at the pre-match press conference with purple hair, a response to the Irish Cancer Society's Shave or Dye campaign.
Rankin, the 6ft 6ins giant who should enjoy the conditions in Bangalore a great deal more than he did in Dhaka, has gone blue, a bizarre choice given that he is a Liverpool supporter and they play in red.
England's dramatic tie against India was possible largely because Andrew Strauss and Kevin Pietersen added 68 at seven an over. Having put on 105 against the Netherlands, they are now one of the opening combinations to watch for, and Porterfield will need Rankin to strike early as he did in Guyana if the Irish are to have any chance.
Ireland could go for the pace-spin bowling combination that several teams have favoured with the new ball in this World Cup.
George Dockrell already has an English county contract with Somerset and given Pietersen's travails against left-arm spin, he could be asked to try his luck at the start of the innings.
"It's definitely an option for us," Porterfield said. "He's bowled in the power plays for us before, and he's bowled in the first six overs in Twenty20s so that's nothing new to him. He knows how to bowl with the new ball."
England have a few bowling quandaries of their own after the pasting that they got from Sachin Tendulkar and the India batsmen. While Tim Bresnan was the standout bowler with five for 48, everyone else struggled. Questions are being asked about James Anderson, the attack leader who has figures of one for 163 for the tournament.
"There's not a lot of margin for error on these wickets," Bresnan said on the eve of the match. "The Holland pitch was a very good wicket and the one the other night was probably the best we've ever played on. Jimmy will be disappointed with his performance but he's a quality bowler and I know he'll bounce back from that."
After missing the India game with an upset stomach, Stuart Broad is back into contention. With conditions again expected to favour the batsmen, it will be the bowling that both sides focus on.
"Any Irish sports team playing an English team is always pretty special for them, and especially to people back home," said Porterfield when asked about the significance of the game.
"They always want to see us get one over on the English, so I'm sure there'll be plenty back home watching and hoping for a positive result from the Irish."
If he and his teammates can pull off what will be seen as one of the upsets of the tournament it will be St Patrick's Day a fortnight early for Irish fans.
sports@thenational.ae
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Company profile
Company: Verity
Date started: May 2021
Founders: Kamal Al-Samarrai, Dina Shoman and Omar Al Sharif
Based: Dubai
Sector: FinTech
Size: four team members
Stage: Intially bootstrapped but recently closed its first pre-seed round of $800,000
Investors: Wamda, VentureSouq, Beyond Capital and regional angel investors
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
FULL%20RESULTS
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The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Transmission: ten-speed
Power: 420bhp
Torque: 624Nm
Price: Dh325,125
On sale: Now
What is type-1 diabetes
Type 1 diabetes is a genetic and unavoidable condition, rather than the lifestyle-related type 2 diabetes.
It occurs mostly in people under 40 and a result of the pancreas failing to produce enough insulin to regulate blood sugars.
Too much or too little blood sugar can result in an attack where sufferers lose consciousness in serious cases.
Being overweight or obese increases the chances of developing the more common type 2 diabetes.
Tips to keep your car cool
- Place a sun reflector in your windshield when not driving
- Park in shaded or covered areas
- Add tint to windows
- Wrap your car to change the exterior colour
- Pick light interiors - choose colours such as beige and cream for seats and dashboard furniture
- Avoid leather interiors as these absorb more heat
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
The biog
Name: Fareed Lafta
Age: 40
From: Baghdad, Iraq
Mission: Promote world peace
Favourite poet: Al Mutanabbi
Role models: His parents
Company%20profile
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THE%20SPECS
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The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
Company%20Profile
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