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Roger Vaughan

Irish post stunning T20 win over England

Ireland celebrate the wicket of Jos Buttler in their upset five-run WT20 win over England. (Scott Barbour/AAP PHOTOS) (AAP)

Arch-rivals Australia and England face a sudden-death showdown after Ireland's stunning T20 World Cup triumph.

The Irish marked their cricket debut at the MCG on Wednesday with a shock five-run win over England.

It means the loser of Friday night's Australia-England blockbuster at the same venue will most likely be eliminated from title contention, with the teams on 1-1 records.

There was some controversy with England captain Jos Buttler wondering whether there had been gamesmanship from the Irish, given they were two overs behind when the weather decided the match.

But Ireland captain and man of the match Andrew Balbirnie laughed off the suggestion, saying his players were simply slow moving around the field.

Buttler was also quick to heap praise on Ireland and offered no excuses for his team's poor performance.

England, the No.2 team in T20 rankings, were simply outplayed by the No.12 Irish.

"There's certainly something, whether it's gamesmanship ... they knew the rain was coming and could slow the game up," Buttler said.

"We had lost the game before that point."

Ireland's Paul Stirling goes on the attack before rain stopped play against England at the MCG. (Scott Barbour/AAP PHOTOS) (AAP)

Buttler said Ireland had put them under pressure immediately after England won the toss.

"We were a long way short of where we needed to be right throughout the game and Ireland deserved to win," he said.

"You should let it hurt ... days like today are really, really disappointing and you have to feel that.

"There's no point saying let's sweep it under the carpet and move on, we have to reflect and do it quickly."

Balbirnie (62 from 47 balls) and Lorcan Tucker (34) took Ireland to 1-92 off 10 overs and while England fought back, they were on the back foot.

Buttler started the England innings with a second-ball duck and they were 3-29 before it became a race between their hitting and the weather.

Melbourne's notoriously fickle weather won - with dry conditions only a few kilometres away from the MCG when the game was called.

Buttler said England would respond and backed the character of his team.

"No doubt, I expect a reaction," he said.

Ireland skipper Andrew Balbirnie has made 62 off 47 balls to help Ireland reach 157 against England. (Scott Barbour/AAP PHOTOS) (AAP)

"Friday is already a big occasion. It takes on that extra bit now."

Chasing Ireland's 157 from 19.2 overs, England were 5-105 off 14.3 overs when Melbourne's sodden spring intervened.

Moeen Ali hit a six, a four and a two in Gareth Delany's over and if he'd faced one more ball and hit another six that would have been enough for England to win.

Instead, the match was called 15 minutes after the players were forced from the field.

Emotional Irish players celebrated probably the greatest moment in their country's cricket history with a small pocket of fans.

"The way Moeen was playing, I was probably worried if they got another ball in," Balbirnie said.

"I've seen a lot of rain in my time playing cricket and I've never been happier to see that rain come down when it did."

Balbirnie hailed the win as a massive moment for Irish cricket.

"T20 cricket - it's probably the best (win)," he said.

"I've played in this team for a number of years and we've never had a result like this."

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