Test Match Special - England fall short against West Indies on day of double Super Over

Episode Date: February 11, 2026

England lost by 30 runs to West Indies in Mumbai in their second match of the ICC T20 World Cup. Henry Moeran is joined by Steven Finn and Prakash Wakankar at the Wankhede stadium plus we hear from England's Jacob Bethell, player of the match Sherfane Rutherford and captains Harry Brook and Shai Hope. We also discuss the amazing match between South Africa and Afghanistan with two Super Overs and we hear from Daniel Norcross, Aatif Nawaz and Alex Hartley in Colombo as Ireland were comfortably defeated by Australia.

You're listening to the TMS podcast from BBC Radio 5 Live. Adel Rashid waits. We'll whip the ball into the leg side. Could be a chance of a catch. And there is the game for West Indies. A really good, low catch in the deep. Rosten Chase, tumbling forward. England all out for 166.

And West Indies flags are flying around the Wankady Stadium here in Mumbai. because they've beaten England by 30 runs. So England have lost this game and they've lost it by 30 runs. Set a target of 197, they were unable to chase it down though they got a quick start to their run chase. It was ultimately a chase that fell short and fell short by some distance as well

as West Indies celebrate and get a victory that sees them two from two. and England after a narrow victory over Nepal have been beaten by the two-time champions West Indies here on the test match special Stephen Finn still alongside me and also Prakash Wakanka joins us as well and we'll get reaction from the two camps shortly but Prakash what have you made of what we've seen in this game it's felt a pretty

chastening one for England perhaps Perhaps indeed, six for 94 of 12 overs of spin. I think that tells the story. When you're chasing something in excess of 180, obviously you want to be able to get there. And I think the way that Phil Salt started, we thought, at least I thought, that this might actually finish sooner than later. But they stuck to the task, the windies. They kept picking wickets. And the 3Bs, as Stephen Finn just mentioned.

Banton, Brooke and Bethel. The three Bs were the big wickets that Moti, diminutive Gadukesh Moti picked up and then of course backed up so well by Rostin Chase and indeed Hussein not to take anything away from Shepard and Joseph even though holder was expensive but he came back well in his second over. Really England, if I really think back in my view, Henry, it was a bit of an up and down thing on both halves of the game for England.

There were periods where they did exceedingly well and then sort of dropped off. Former England captain Owen Morgan is standing by to hand over the player of the match award. One left hand who liked hitting sixes to give it to another left hander who liked hitting sixes. Chafane Rutherford, many congratulations. Great win for your team tonight. First of all, how's the injury? First of all, you know, I want to thank God for this opportunity. you know, playing in the biggest stage.

But my finger is good. Hopefully we'll be better for the next game. Well, let's talk about your innings, first of all. What were the challenges that England's attack posed for you tonight? I think one of the biggest challenge was Adir Rashid. You know, in our meeting, we know that he's going to be the toughest bowler for us. So what was important for me is just to try and keep him out of the game, try and score and, you know, just keep rotating the strike and build a partnership.

And, you know, just back ourselves to make up in the end. Surface seemed a good one, slightly quicker than it was up in Kolkata against Scotland, but you looked in good touch there. Were you confident coming into this game? Yeah, definitely. For me, I've been putting in a lot of work coming into the World Cup. You know, for me, once I trust my process and read the situation, I think, you know, once I'm in, I can always score in the end. So it just was important for me, you know, to just have a clear mind and just play with more intent.

And were you confident that the score that you posted, 196, would be a lot of the score? enough? For me, I think we were like 10 runs behind. With England batting, we know they're very powerful. But I think the guys stood up well tonight and bowed well. So, you know, well done to them. And, you know, this will mean a lot for us. And the Guineas are powering West Indies in this competition. Shibron Hepmayr, getting player in the match in the first game and of course, Romario Shepherd as well. Yeah, you know, it's good for our country. You know, our country has been, you know, coming into the spotlight. But, you know, cricket is a team sport and, you know, moving forward. but hopefully the other guys can put their hands up.

And as a collective unit, we can continue to get better. Two wins out of two now. You must be filled with confidence going into the rest of the games. Yeah, definitely. You know, in this big stage, you want to make sure that you have that momentum. And, you know, it was very important for us to keep this momentum. And, you know, moving forward, it's just about getting better, try and add 10% to our game.

And hopefully we can keep going better. Many congratulations, well played. Thank you. That's the thoughts there as Shafin. Rutherford chatting to Michael Atherden on the boundary edge. He scored 76, not out from 42 balls. Was dropped by Adel Rashid, who was otherwise outstanding.

But in the end, it was his contribution that proved so significant. Prakash and Stephen still with me. We'll be hearing from the two captains shortly, as well as plenty more reaction across the rest of the day. But if you were to sort of change the narrative of the Nepal game, just briefly, You can either turn it. If England had won tonight, you'd be saying,

well, they got through a tricky encounter against Nepal, showed great resilience and then beat West Indies. Or suddenly they lost West Indies. Oh, they barely beat Nepal and then they lose to West Indies. Do you see what I mean? They're sort of alternate realities that you can have, and probably it's somewhere in between the two, whereby they did well in that game to handle themselves under pressure,

and they've fallen short against West Indies. Excellent way of answering the question you asked. You're absolutely right. I think you know you've got to take what it is and you've got to look look at it a win is a win A loss is a loss and I think that puts it in perspective fairly straightforward But yes England will will think about what they could have done better Which is what? Fiddy Well I think looking at the over comparison between the two teams

There were there were quite a few big overs that the West Indies got on on England when they were When they were bowling you'd probably consider a big over to be for 14 runs or more. England with the bat in hand had two overs out of the 19 that they ended up facing of 14 runs or more. And the West Indies had seven out of the 20 overs. That's a lot of overs to be conceding more than 14 runs. And in those ovens, quite frequently, the last ball of the over went for a boundary, either six or four. So as a bowler in particular in that situation, even though your over isn't going as you'd planned,

retaining the concentration and resetting almost. with the captain, however you do it, to try and get out of the over to make sure that it's a 10 runover, not a 14 or 16 runover with that last ball going for a 4 or 6 can create big swings in the game. And then just generally, between the two teams, we know West Indies are big six hitters anyway. I think they hit 13 sixes to England's six. And those are sometimes markers that you look between the two teams. and there can be a few things that can be attributed towards that. In this situation, I think the Westerns just bowled really well.

I think if you cast your mind back to the start of the windies innings, it really was that Will Jack Sover, wasn't it? That sort of set the momentum suddenly lifting up within the power play and they got to 55, 60, whatever they did during the power play. I think that that decision on hindsight, it's wonderful to, to be able to look at it and say it may not have worked. But was there an option for Harry Brooke at that time? Because of the left-hander at the crease,

I think, as Finney, you suggested, that Dawson was not bold. And yet, you know, these are the little things which one can look back now and say, what if this or what if that. On balance, I think the West Indies just came out there. And I think many of us, in fact, if memory serves, even Carlos said during commentary, that he was a little concerned about the bowling ability

of the Western Indies just came. but six bowlers used when they did well. Rosson Chase brought into the team for this game was outstanding wasn't he and his ability to be an all-rounder and balance the team as well is really important he made 34 with the bat and then took his two for 29 he can probably feel slightly aggrieved that he's not player at the match just for his ability to affect both innings steady the ship when the West Indies lost those couple of early wickets and it looked as though England were going to really grab the

game by the scruff of the neck he didn't let that happen and then the same with the ball in hand took a couple of really important wickets so he had a good day a little bit of a worry perhaps for England that there were plenty of starts without anyone going on in the way that chafane rutherford did with salt making 30 butler 21 Bethel 33 current did his bit with 43 not out but next higher score was then 17 from harry brook and so you do wonder a little bit if if just being able to get in and stay in is a concern Yeah, and be calculated in the way that you're trying to accumulate your runs. I think they were got out a few times today.

Think back to Bethel's dismissal, Motie bowling, a wrist spin that just scuttled through underneath the bat. Bethel misread the length, but it was good bowling to get that ball to skid through. And the way that Motie, wasn't it, that got Brooke, with the way he just held that delivery back. And Brooke, who's an excellent player of spin, was just through the shot slightly. too early and it looped back to the bowler for a court and bold. So where we can criticize those players for not going on and having more influence in the game, I think is correct, but also in those two instances in particular, two really important wickets. I thought that was good bowling.

You'd agree with that, Brockaj. Completely, completely. And I think sometimes that's what happens. You cast your mind again back to the way the English wickets fell. There weren't too many shots that you could actually say was poor shot selection. Thank you. England's Captain Harry Brook with Michael Atherton. Harry, your reflections overall on the game? Yeah, a little bit disappointing.

Obviously, it's never nice to lose a game, but West Indies played outstanding. Everybody knows how much power they've got. If you're slightly off your line or length, then they managed to hit it for six. 196 they scored when, having been put in by yourself. What did you feel at the halfway mark? Did you feel that was about par and you were very much in the game?

Yeah, we probably thought that we were, it was chascible for sure. It probably didn't do up as much as we were expecting. It didn't skid onto the bat as much as we were expecting. And yeah, we thought we'd had a chance, definitely. A word on Adil Rashida bowled outstandingly well tonight, two for 16 from his four after a difficult night against Nepal. Yeah, that's the ad all everybody knows and loves. He was awesome.

He really lobbed it up there and he gave them a chance to try and hit it for six. But with his skill and his now, so he managed to keep his figures down. And you got a couple of crucial wickets in there as well. Liam Dawson and Sam Coren didn't complete their allocation. Will Jaxball, a couple was quite expensive. Is that just kind of how you saw it in the moment or looking back, looking back? Do you think they could have completed their four?

No, it was just the way I played it. I don't have any regrets in that. I think that Jaxes is an amazing ball. Like I said, we just didn't quite execute as well as we usually can. And in the chase, the top order hasn't quite fired yet. Any explanation? No explanation. It's just such a fickle game, isn't it, T20 cricket? It can go one or the other way and Salty had an amazing start today and whenever he gets going to be awesome to watch. He's such a brutal player and then everybody knows what Joss is like. As soon as he gets going, it's going to be madness. You had success in Sri Lanka on some spinning pitches there against the spinners. Were you disappointed how you responded to the threat of the West Indian spinners tonight?

Not disappointed. Like I said, a minute ago, we thought it was going to do it. up a little bit and the spinners would slide on a little bit more and unfortunately that didn't happen tonight and yeah we'll go back and have a reflection on it and go again in a few days Kolkata now for you two games left confident still that you can progress and do well in this competition yeah definitely you have to be confident in this game um yeah we obviously thank god we we were won against Nepal the other night otherwise we'd be in a tricky situation but we obviously play Scotland and italy next and yeah we just got to go back do our homework on them and go back to the basics and see how we go.

Thanks for your time. Travel well to Kolkata. Thank you. Cheers, Athus. Shea Hope, West Indies captain, is here. Congratulations. That was a reminder of the glory days of 2016 when you were so successful

against England in this competition. Yeah, for sure. But just happy that the guys got over the line. We've been playing some good cricket and patches. Nice to see. We got more of a complete game today. And like we say, man, two games up. position that we want to be in this table.

You made one change today, Rostin, coming in, and he had an exceptional game for you, both with bat and ball, that change worked. Yeah, like I said, in the pre-match, he's a versatile player. He's one that you can come and depend on in very good, more situations. With the weather with his bat,

he can come in, stabilize the innings, and then with the ball, he can come and give you some crucial overs in the middle. It's great to see him there come in and get some crucial wickets there. Put the England batters under pressure and exactly what we require today to get ourselves over the line.

Is he a bit of a floater for you, Did he come in because you lost two early wickets there? Yeah, yeah. In this situation, we wanted him to just stabilize a bit. We understand we got a lot of power in the depth and our batting. Today it was just a slightly different role for him, but it was good to see he can come in and stabilize any things for us. And the power came today from another left-handed guy,

and he's Sheffane Rutherford, outstanding. Yeah, for sure, these guys, they've been playing really well the last couple of months. I'm sure, Finn, he's been exceptional, especially in the last few series I've been playing in. Again, it's good to see one of the batterers putting their hands up today, and going big for the team. The opener is still not firing yet, but it's to come for sure.

We've got to put our hands up for the next few games. As captain, I'm sure you were delighted not to see the dew come with those three spinners turning the screw in the middle phase there. Yeah, it's something that happens quite a lot here, Warren, KD. I find the second inning is the ball tends to get very wet. It was a little bit wet, but not as crazy

it normally is here. But it goes to show that we still can defend some runs when we have to bat first. It's good stuff from the spinners. and hopefully we can continue going into tournament. And a word for Guri Keshmoti, because he had a period out of the side, he had to work on some technical aspects of his game, and obviously used that period as well to work on that wrist spin

in which he seems confident to bowl now. Yeah, when you get some time off, you've got to make sure you're trying to find ways to improve and elevate a game. He's one of the class bowlers that we've had for some time now. He's just showing his class once again on the world stage. He's brought something else to his game, and it's benefiting us a lot here in the middleovers. It's great to see that he's continuing to progress and, continue doing what he's doing best for us in this.

Many congratulations. Well play tonight. Thank you. That's the two captains chatting to Michael Atherton. You're listening to the TMS podcast from BBC Radio 5 Live. Let's get some more reaction from the England camp then. Jacob Bethel has been speaking to test match specials Adam Malford. Well, Jacob, you got over the line in the first game, not able to do so tonight. What are your sort of thoughts on that one?

Yeah, first of all, you know, disappointment. obviously after the loss but yeah kind of that you know middle period with a back there where we lost a few few too many wickets kind of just timing in our whole chase so yeah and was it just the case that you couldn't quite put together enough partnerships bowling and batting perhaps yeah definitely obviously we had a you know rash bowed unbelievably well I thought dorsball brilliantly as well but you know yeah it just seemed to you know we got those couple early wickets and then you know they got away again and it kind of

It went like that, a couple of wickets and then get away. So, you know, maybe could have been a bit better on that front. But yeah, same with the bat, you know, Salty got us off to a great start. And then, yeah, that kind of middle period just was a lot of wickets that did us. Were you confident at the halfway stage? Yeah, definitely.

I think this wicket was better than the wicket we played against Nepal on. We all found that. The bowler's kind of feedback to us was that it was a better wicket. So yeah, we were comfortable to chase, chase what we were chasing, but you know, that anything, close to 200 you got to get a lot of things right and we probably didn't get as many of those as

we need to from a personal point's view two decent contributions so far half century in the first match 30 got again tonight yeah you know both times kind of you know would have liked to have gone bigger you know look back to that Nepal game and if I go and get 80 or more you know we're probably looking at a score of over 200 which you know when we look at hindsight coming down to the last ball in that game and then yeah today I was disappointed to get out when I did, you know, kind of just left us in a bad spot. So yeah, a couple of good starts, but looking to go really big in the tournament, hopefully. We mentioned that in the pool game.

What were the sort of feelings coming into this match? Because it was such a, I suppose, emotionally draining affair in lots of ways. But you've got over the line, so was confidence pretty high coming into this one? Yeah, definitely confidence within the camp is really high. You know, we've been on a good streak of wins and confidence over in Sri Lanka kind of boosted us. And then, you know, to win the first game, it's always, it's always. Nice. So yeah, we were full of confidence coming in. But you know, I think West Indies just played a bit better than us today. Because it's a different sort of challenge in some ways. Nepal team you didn't know quite so well.

But actually England had played against this West Indies team in Whiteball cricket quite a lot over the last few years, including yourselves plays some games. Yeah, definitely. I think probably since I've been in the England side, West Indies is probably the team we've played against the most. You know, doing a tour over there and then them come into England last summer. Yeah, so it's disappointing to not get over the line against a team that you know well. But, you know, obviously it goes the other way. They know us well as well. So I think they just got the better of us today. And from a personal point of view,

you've had quite an introduction into international cricket, that amazing 100 of course in Sydney. And now you're playing in a World Cup. I mean, in terms of your own personal experience, how much you're enjoying being part of this England side in these big occasions? Yeah, I'm loving it. You know, I love the big occasions

and hopefully can contribute a bit more than I have up to this point. But yeah, I really enjoy. enjoyed my experience over in Australia. I was happy to get a go at the end and thankfully, you know, made a bit of an impact there. And yeah, I'm loving the World Cup so far, you know, just the vibe around tournament cricket. I haven't played in a tournament per se,

you know, for at international level since, you know, the under 19 World Cup. So it's got that feel about it, obviously on a different level. But yeah, it's a cool experience and hopefully it's a successful one for us. And you say you've played the West Indies quite a lot. And of course, in this England team, you've got a few players with some Western

connections Phil Salt, Joffar Archer, of course, yourself. Is this something extra special playing this side? Yeah, this game always has a weird feeling about it, you know. Even the national anthem kind of rally around the West Indies to also knowing a few of their players from Barbados. You know, so it does have a cool feel about it, but it definitely hurts slightly more when we don't come on the right side. right side. And now you head to Calcutta different conditions and a chance to play Scotland and

Italy. Again, different challenges. How are you sort of feeling about going over to that part of the world now? Yeah, feeling confident still. You know, this should just be a little speed bump in the road. But yeah, you know, again, like you said, different conditions. A few of our guys have actually played in the IPL at Calcutta quite a lot, so we'll be looking to pick their brains and see what works best over there and yeah against probably two two teams that we don't know as well again so we're going to have to make sure to do do a lot of research on them and make sure we hit the ground running when we get I think we got one training day and then straight into it against Scotland because you know Scotland wants a win weren't they they another rivalry there you played against Australia

you're playing the West Indies and Scotland they'll be desperate to win yeah definitely I think you know I've seen been watching Scotland on TV and seeing some of the send-offs and celebrations you know they're playing with their heart on their sleeves so yeah hopefully we can over there full of confidence and get the job done. And just one last question. Were you watching the earlier game today, the double super over? I mean, this tournament's had some amazing moments already. Yeah, I was watching, watching all of it, to be honest.

Yeah, this tournament's been great so far. You know, all the kind of games that, you know, you think are going to be slightly one-sided or have been down to the wire. And then, yeah, again today, you know, too super, I don't think I've ever seen that, to be honest. And, you know, the way that kind of momentum ebbed and flowed between the two teams It was incredible to watch and I hope the viewers enjoyed it. Thanks, Jacob.

Cheers. Thoughts there. Jacob Bethel chatting to Adam Mountford there on the boundary edge. Having scored 33 off 23. Delivery's got a 50 in the first game in England's win over Nepal, but a defeat in the second. England all out for 166. West Indies winning by 30 runs.

We'll get on to that amazing game referenced by Jacob Bethel shortly, but there's plenty of time. for England to ensure they've got everything they need in order for what should in theory be more straightforward fixtures to come, Stephen, with Scotland on Saturday in Calcutta, followed on Monday by Italy. Two matches they really should be winning. Well, yes, they absolutely should be winning them and they need to win them now, having lost this one, in order to progress through to the next stage. But cast your mind back 18 months to the previous T20 World Cup and England were arguably saved by rain.

there in that game against Scotland that we watched in Barbados. So they're going to have to be on it. And I think the match against Nepal and the way that they found themselves in good positions here and then didn't quite make the most of them serves as a reminder that in tournament cricket, you have to be on it all the time. So they have to start well, they have to impose themselves.

And if they do that, they'll be absolutely fine. Prakash, from the neutral point of view without... Because when I ask you questions about how India are going, Understandably, sometimes the analysis doesn't come from a position of entire positivity. It is the way it sometimes goes with everybody watching a team they know very well because you lose sight of reality at times. But from an objective point of view, what you've seen from England over the course of the first two matches, what have you made for them?

Well, I'll be honest, I thought England's batting was so, so powerful without even going to the bowling, that I would have thought they would have got 20, 30. he runs more in each of the two games and they would have chased this 196 down. Somehow I think Joss Butler, not yet getting into the mix of things, getting a big score, has been one of the factors,

at least from my point of view, because we've seen so much of Butler doing such amazing batting and such damage to the opposition. So that's been one factor. I think maybe, and this is just my guess, when you get on a winning streak and when you come up against Nepal

was there a little bit of complacency there was there I don't know I'm not suggesting players do it but sometimes that creeps into the game I thought they would have been woken up after that and I thought really that till that last burst particularly when Jason Holder came in and hit those sixes England had the game under control and if they had to get 170, 180 I think they would have done it easily

but those are ifs and buts I think England a far better aside than we've seen on display here in Mumbai. Hopefully from their point of view, going to Calcutta, change of scene, slightly bigger ground, Eden Gardens. Maybe it'll change in fortune as well in terms of quality of performance. Well, we shall wait and see that game against Scotland on Saturday. You'll hear it on Test Match Special as you will hear every single game across this tournament. And we heard from Jacob Bethel mentioning it there.

Come on then. Let's get stuck into what we were debating on our... on our group chat as being potentially the greatest game of T20 cricket ever played with South Africa taking on Afghanistan earlier on today. It was remarkable. Let me set the scene. 187 plays 187. So we go to the Superover and the first Superover sees the scores level once again

with two sides both reaching that total of 17. With a six off the last ball of the second superover. Indeed, Tristan Stubbs hitting six, needing to hit six and getting six to take us to a second super over. Then we saw South Africa, surely, thanks to the batting of David Miller, with 23 runs from their six balls. That would be enough,

particularly when Keshev Maharaj bowed two balls, a dot and then a wicket to put Afghanistan right on the brink. Out comes Gerbas, 6, 6, 6.6. then a wide, four would have taken us to another superover. Instead, he was out and caught by that man Miller for 18 or four balls and Afghanistan out. They needed 24 from four and they very nearly got there. It was the most extraordinary drama.

I was actually following a lot of the game walking around Crawford Market here in Mumbai. Everyone, it felt like in the world of cricket was just tuned in to this game. Unbelievable. It was, wasn't it, in more ways than one? But let's not forget, just for a moment. You know, Finney will, I think, agree with me. The basics of cricket and cricket between the years. I mean, for a person of the caliber, the experience, and the quality of Kahiso Rabada,

two no balls, it would never have come to the Super Over. I thought the game was done and dusted. I thought South Africa had won it in regular time. But those two no balls resulting in then a free hit which went for six and then a wide and all of that brought Afghanistan back into the game. But then the runout? Yeah, I mean there were so many movements but if we just go sequentially, Finney, it would never have got there. And yet, I think from a cricketing perspective, tournament perspective, neutral perspective, fantastic performance. I just wonder when Afghanistan will get to the point where they will start converting.

these very narrow defeats into victory because that I think will really signal that they have not just arrived They're beginning to stamp their authority what a side it was an extraordinary game They got to the semi-finals and wilted under the pressure in the last tournament Afghanistan, but what we are seeing is So many exciting matches I mean that was excitement on another level, but this tournament has barely had a dud Agreed and I just think it's a great advocate at for having all of these teams involved, the narratives, the stories about how people have got here, the close calls, the more that you people, you watch people play, you have more affinity

with the country, then you find out more about their domestic system and how they're finding their players. It's, yeah, it's been amazing, it's been enlightening, and yeah, I love World Cups that have loads of teams in, I think it provides a really great spectacle. And it's a spectacle that is, so far as a tournament, in terms of closeness of, match. It surpassed the 2020-350 of a World Cup already, I think. We've had many better matches than that tournament practice.

I think it's also got to do with the format, isn't it? Henry, fundamentally T20 cricket just brings teams closer. Gaps are not that exposed, if you will, without being negative about any team. I think it just allows for a greater degree

of competition, more competitive games, closer games, and we're beginning to see all that. In fact, I don't know how they're going to choose the qualification for the Olympics. But going forward, if Olympics does then become a regular sport, 20 over cricket, I think it's the T20 World Cup, which in a way should really be the qualification route if they're going to limit teams. But it is just fantastic to see so many different countries

now beginning to play cricket more and more and compete at the highest level. I just hope that the people who control cricket continue to do everything they can to grow the sport around. the world and support the countries that need that support to allow them to come and play even better cricket and entertain fans all over the world wherever they play. It was thrilling. It really was. And you can see the best of the action on the BBC Sport website and app as indeed you can

for every fixture of this tournament. We will bring you commentary of every game as well and so much more to come over the coming days. Three matches a day and that means that there's cricket for you to enjoy right through the rest of the Sri Lanka, Raman, Nepal, Italy, Indian Namibia taking place on Thursday before Friday. We'll see, actually, real bumper fixtures as we head towards the back end of the group stages and teams needing to start to jost off a position, Australia, Canada, USA, all in action in fixtures before England and that crucial game against Scotland on Saturday.

England against Scotland from Eden Gardens, 9.30 UK time. is where to look out for that one. Ireland's next game, by the way, is the early match on Saturday morning against Amman from Colombo. So lots to look forward to in the coming days. England beaten then by West Indies here in Mumbai. Stephen Finn, thank you very much indeed.

Prakash Wakanka, thank you to you. So do have a look out for the highlights of that amazing game between South Africa and Afghanistan on the BBC Sport website and app. There was another fixture today. It wasn't quite as close. with Australia beating Ireland by 67 runs at the Primadasa Stadium in Colombo. And we can cross over to Sri Lanka where we'll find Daniel Norcross.

Daniel Norcross here in the cab on the way back from the Arpamadasa Stadium. And alongside Alex Hartley, the World Cup winner and Artif Noirs. As we look back on that disappointing game for Ireland. But some ominous signs for Australia, they looked in pretty decent neck there, aside that a lot of people haven't exactly written off but think is one of the weaker Australian sites to come to a T20 World Cup but Alex they did what they so often do as they won with great ease and comfort yeah they did it was all too easy for Australia today and look there has been a bit of chat on are they a strong team can they compete but they're a team after especially after

that three-nil loss against Pakistan just before the World Cup but they're always a team that compete in World Cup you know they always have people stand up and I think what impresses is impresses about Australia's different people standing up at different times, but all too easy for them today. It was. They were put into bat, and they stumbled a little bit, 88 for four, but a fine partnership between Marcus Stoynes and Matt Renshaw, albeit quite a slow one,

got them to within that sort of area where they knew they were going to bat an island out of their game, 182. It always felt like it's going to be too many for the Irish, Artif. Yeah, it really did. It felt like they had a score in mind, Australia, when they were setting that target. They didn't really need to go particularly hard. They just needed to just go along at enough of a rate to get to 1AE.

And as you say, it was always looked like it was going to be a tall order for the Irish. What I find really impressive about this Australian team is how slickly they just sort of move on. Because, I mean, there was the big news about Mitch Marsh missing out, not going to be captain and Travis Head had to step up. And he did so, so casually, okay, didn't get very many runs today. But he just sort of stepped into it. No nonsense. Business as usual is the Australian team that looks ominously.

like its most pragmatic self. And eight wickets between two very experienced campaigners, Nathan Ellis, who may not have played that much T20 international cricket, but he's played a heck of a lot of domestic T20 cricket. And Adam Zampa, who we always knew was going to kind of be the linchpin of their bowling attack in a subcontinental T20 World Cup, Alex. Yeah, Nathan Ellis, with the player of the match, actually said, we need to not take exams for granted because he just does what he normally does.

And, you know, he consistently picks up wickets. He is one of the world's best. Zampa was brilliant today, but Nathan Ellis in the second innings really set the tone. That back of the hand slower ball that he bowled to Ross Adair, really outfoxed him. To get that seam position perfect, so it looks like a seam-up delivery, he's really mastered that skill and able to bowl those variations in the power play. Yeah, he was great today. It's early days, but if there is one area of concern, if you're Australian, it might be that lack of firepower.

And part of that was because Mitchell Marsh was missing today. He took a blow to the groin in training, which, which looks serious enough for them to have called up Steve Smith as cover. He's not in the squad, but he's cover. And that might just prove to be a bit of an issue for Australia going forward, because Matt Wrenshaw played a fine role, didn't he, in the middle order there, but he doesn't look like the sort of guy is going to take a game away from you. Now, let's focus, though, on Ireland, because that's played to, lost to,

and in very different circumstances, Artive, they will have felt gutted at losing to Sri Lanka because they had such an opportunity to win that game of just tiny fragments of the match that did for them. Today, they just looked completely outclassed. They really did. There were moments every time a batter would get set, or play a really nice shot,

and sort of Curtis Canford comes to mind. He played this lovely ramp shot to the boundary for four, and the next one just pulled it straight down short midwickers' throw. There were a few moments like that where they were frustrating dismissals for the Irish batters. The partnerships in the middle, again, they couldn't really push on. George Dockrell, though, I think a rare positive for

Ireland in this tournament. He's found his form again after a lean period with bat and ball and actually in the field as well but it is the field that will concern Ireland the most because I think traditionally we think of Ireland as a very good fielding side but they've already put down something like 10 catches in their first two matches

so it's been not the best as suboptimal performance in the field from Ireland something they'll have to rectify very quickly if they're to go further in this tournament. They absolutely do need to because they've got three pretty good spinners there in Delaney and Dogg who are or a bit of tecta today as well as Humphreys.

But the seam department is letting them down a little bit and the fielding really is. Yeah, I mean, the fielding's been abysmal, hasn't it? And, you know, they hadn't dropped catching five T20 internationals leading into this World Cup and they're dropping five a game at the minute. You know, it's just been, it's not been great for the Irish and it's really let them down.

It's where they lost a game against Sri Lanka. It's not where they lost the game today, but they, you know, they drop simple chances again today. But the Seamus in particular, you know, They have been expensive. They've got Josh Little on the side with so much T20 experience. He's played IPL. He's played franchise circuit.

He played for Middlesex last year. Is it time for Ireland to bring him back in place of, it probably have to be Barry McCarthy? They've got two other teams left to play in this group, and they're ones that they would really not expect to beat, but would fancy their chances. Zimbabwe and Nomarn who themselves played each other the other day. That is their route to going through.

if they can win those last two games and then rely on Zimbabwe to do them a favour. Artif, what's the chance of that happening? Well, it's going to be tough because Zimbabwe have a really good net run rate already after that big win against Oman. They could hope for a favour from other teams. That's the position they're already in. I don't think there's high hopes for Ireland going through at this stage. But strange things happen in World Cup.

So if they do just concentrate on the two games they have, put in the best possible performances they can. Who knows? Look, it's been a tough World Cup so far for Ireland. but if they could come out of this with those two wins, they will have done themselves a pride of some kind, you know, finishing third in a group with two test-playing nations, other test-playing nations. It's not that they would take that,

but it would mean that, you know, it's not a disastrous World Cup. Let's see how they get on their next game comes up in a few days' time, and then they likely finish off their campaign next week in Candy. I urge you to watch the highlights and the best of the action from particularly the South Africa-Afghanistan match. on the BBC Sport website and app and don't forget to subscribe on BBC Sounds the Test Match Special podcast

to make sure that you miss absolutely nothing from not just here at the World Cup but also our full suite of podcast no balls to cricket podcast loads of interviews and analysis as well so much for you to enjoy thank you for listening from here at the Wankady Stadium in Mumbai we'll speak to you again soon

the TMS podcast from BBC Radio 5 Live Live.