What happened at the MCG?
England played Ireland in the Super 12 stage of the 2022 T20 World Cup at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 26 October. Rain delayed the start, and England chose to bowl. Ireland had another short break at 11 for 0, with no overs lost, and went on to make 157 all out in 19.2 overs, led by Andrew Balbirnie's 62.
England lost early wickets in the chase. At 6:42 pm they were 105 for 5 after 14.3 overs, needing 53 off 33 balls, when heavy rain came. The cut-off for a restart was 6:56 pm. The ground did not dry in time, and the result was declared at 6:54 pm.
Because the chase never restarted, there was no revised target. The result came from the DLS par score at the moment play stopped: 110. England were 5 runs short of it, so Ireland won by 5 runs.
How is the par of 110 worked out?
Ireland were bowled out, so they used all of their resources. A full 20-over innings is worth 56.6% on the DLS scale, and an all-out innings counts as the full 56.6% even though it ended four balls early.
When the rain came, England had 5.3 overs left with 5 wickets down, which is worth 16.6%. They lost all of it, so they used 56.6 − 16.6 = 40.0%.
Par = 157 × 40.0 ÷ 56.6 = 110.95, rounded down to 110
England needed 111 to win at that point and 110 to tie. On 105 they were behind. Our calculator gives exactly the same par as the official figure. You can check the par for every over and wicket of a chase like this in the DLS par score table.
Why does this match still matter?
It was one of the great upsets of T20 World Cups: Ireland beat the team that went on to win the tournament, at the biggest ground in the game. England beat Pakistan in the final at the same ground a few weeks later.
It also shows how the par moves with wickets. At 14.3 overs of this chase, the par for each number of wickets down was:
- 0 down: par 104
- 1 down: par 105
- 3 down: par 107
- 5 down: par 110
So England would have needed to be almost unbeaten to be ahead on 105. The real damage was the run rate: they were well behind the required rate when the rain came, and DLS only confirmed it.
What does our DLS calculator give for this match?
| Overs per side | 20 |
|---|---|
| Ireland | 157 all out in 19.2 overs (an all-out innings counts as its full 20 overs of resources) |
| Rain in the chase | At 14.3 overs, England 105 for 5; no more play |
| G50 | 245 |
| Our result (Standard Edition) | Par 110 at 14.3 overs |
| Par score on the day | Par 110 at 14.3 overs (Ireland won by 5 runs) |
| Difference | Same |
The working, step by step:
- Team 1 starts with 20 overs and 10 wickets: 56.6% of resources.
- Team 1 resources, R1 = 56.6%.
- Team 2 starts with 20 overs and 10 wickets: 56.6% of resources.
- Team 2 innings ended at 14.3 overs, 5 down, with 5.3 overs left = 16.6%. All of it is lost.
- Team 2 resources, R2 = 40.0%.
- R2 is not more than R1, so par = 157 × 40.0 ÷ 56.6 = 110.95, rounded down to 110. Team 2 wins if they scored more than 110 and the match is tied on 110.
Open these numbers in the calculator
Our calculator uses the published ICC Standard Edition table. International matches and big franchise leagues use the Professional Edition, which runs on ICC software and is not published, so a gap of a few runs is normal. The famous matches page compares every match side by side.
FAQ
Why did Ireland win by 5 runs?
When rain ended the match, England were 105 for 5 after 14.3 overs and the DLS par score was 110. The margin is the par minus England's score: 110 − 105 = 5 runs.
Does a team bowled out early lose resources?
No. Ireland were all out in 19.2 overs, but being bowled out means they used all of their resources, so DLS counts their innings as a full 100% of a 20-over innings, 56.6% on the 50-over scale.
Did England still win the 2022 T20 World Cup?
Yes. England recovered from the defeat and beat Pakistan in the final at the same ground.