Ireland v England: first men’s T20 cricket international – live

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England win the toss and bowl

They’ve only gone and picked Rehan Ahmed – and he’s carded to come in at No4! Rehan and Jamie Overton replace Harry Brook and Jofra Archer, the only changes to the side that marmalised South Africa at Old Trafford last FRiday.

If I may borrow a phrase from Michael Holding, pace is pace. And this is a cracking piece from Jim Wallace on what it’s like when bowling 90mph+ feels like the easiest thing in the world.

Preamble

It’s 23 October 2003 – no, really, it is! – and England’s inaugural Test match against Bangladesh is becoming a bit of struggle. After dominating the first two days, they slip from 137 for 0 to 295 all out, with Marcus Trescothick thwacking 111 and Graham Thorpe* batting almost four hours for a skilful 64. “A pretty sorry first-innings effort” is the verdict of Dan Rookwood on the Guardian OBO.

Bangladesh finished the day on 12 for 1 in their second innings, a deficit of 80, and England hit the hay with a slippery fourth-innings chase on their mind. (Spoiler alert: England eventually cantered to a target of 164 inside 40 overs to win by seven wickets.)

On the same day, a Bajan couple welcomed their first child into the world. Graham and Giselle Bethell christened him Jacob Graham, and they will be among the proudest people on earth today when he captains England in the first T20 international against Malahide.

Feeling old? Don’t worry you are. When Bethell was born, Sugababes were top of the hit parade with Hole in the Head, England were a month away from winning the men’s rugby World Cup, Twenty20 cricket was barely four months old and nobody was suffering death by a thousand notifications.

At 21 years 329 days, Bethell will demolish the record for England’s youngest-ever captain, set unknowingly by Montague Bowden (23y 144d) in 1888-89. Scheduling a match in Malahide in mid-September comes with certain meteorological risks, but the weather is fine and there’s no danger of a washout. Ireland’s aim is turn Bethell’s big day into a damp squib.

The match starts at 1.30pm

* If you love Thorpey as much as the rest of us, this interview with the great Don McRae before that Bangladesh series is a fascinating and poignant read. I don’t know whether it needs a trigger warning or not but, if it counts for anything, I had a lump in my throat when I read it