Joy in the rain and hope that burns bright

Just after half past 6PM in Melbourne, when Moeen Ali was racing away with a 6,2 and a 4, Ireland would have been beginning to feel the heat, the weather notwithstanding. Only 5 runs separated the teams according to DLS when the rain began to come on heavily. For a few moments Andrew Balbirnie and Co. were only too happy to get into the shade of the dugout. Minutes later as the result became official, and after the formalities of the handshakes were done the entire crew was out on the MCG once again. The rain had only become harder but that didn't stop the team from rushing from one end of the ground to the other to celebrate with their now well-known travelling group of supporters consisting of mainly family and friends of the players.

The official crowd count for the night was just over 11000, a majority of whom were supporting England through the game, with their more organised fan following outnumbering the Irish. It wasn't quite like what the MCG was a few days ago with