Action will now move to Nottingham for the second game of the series on Saturday. Let's hope the weather stays good there. We'll see you on the 23rd afternoon. For now, it's time for me, Rvel Zahid, to say goodbye on behalf of Andrew Miller and Chandan Duorah. Adios
Here you will find Matt Roller's match report
4.50pm: Match abandoned Unfortunately, the conditions remained soggy, and there's no wind to help dry the damp areas on the pitch. The two captains have shaken hands, so that's that
Oliver: "I hate to be the person to ask this question... but assuming there is a start at 17:00(ish), what is the weather forecast like through the evening? Even if we have a start, what are the chances of a result? The weather forecast for Leeds shows slim chances of rain after 5pm, but the issue lies with the outfield. We have a good chance of achieving a result if we can start the game before the cut-off time
Hari: "Why not throw the Afghans in to the mix :) Three gun spinners who can be decisive in Chennai and Lucknow (Ekana). If the likes of Gurbaz, Najib, Shahidi(proper orthodox Odi batter) turn up on batting tracks like Wankhede and Eden Gardens, they can definitely cause an upset "
Mustafa Moudi : "Hope one of South Africa or New Zealand wins the World Cup and end their World Cup Drought. I would give more preference to South Africa because they haven't won an ICC Trophy since last 25 years!"
Arunabh : "Ishan Kishan is my pick for POTM WC23"
Jenish: "Feels like this World Cup will be a lot fun. Australia - Always great a big World Cup teamEngland - White ball monstersIndia - HostNZ - Big tournament teamPakistan - No 1 ranked ODI teamSL/SA - Have looked absolute great in recent months." Pakistan have a few issues to address, and there's not much time. Shadab had a rather indifferent Asia Cup, while their ace pacer Naseem Shah is likely to miss the entire World Cup. However, how often have we seen them in chaos before mega events, only to somehow get things right when the World Cup arrives
Rahim Chagani: "It genuinely feels like the World Cup could be a proper Royal Rumble this year. If Mitch Marsh finds his radar, Australia could be out of sight in minutes. If Mo Siraj eats the same breakfast he had on the morning of the Asia Cup Final, India will be bowling out teams for roulette numbers. And we haven't mentioned Klaasen, Stokes, Trent Boult or Rashid Khan. Let the games begin.
There are still areas of concern that remain quite damp, and the groundstaff is putting sawdust on the run-ups
4.13pm: There is both good news and bad news. The good news is that the game is far from being called off. The bad news is that we have to wait for another inspection, scheduled for 4:45 pm
Umpires are out there chatting to ground staff. Ireland players are out on the balcony waiting for news. Couple of groundstaff heading out with pots of whitewash for the creases. Inspection is complete.
4.05pm: The moment we've been patiently waiting for has arrived. Gather around as I bring you the update from the inspection
Sonny: "While a lot of attention will be on SA and India choking frequently in big tournaments, England have somehow done the opposite since 2019. When it's a knockout game, they have raised their bar (Excluding the NZ loss in the UAE, which was a terrible toss to lose) it's worth remembering in both 2019 and 2022 they were staring down the barrel of elimination and came roaring back to win both tournaments"
Venkat: "Ben Stokes and SKY may be a different players in the coming World Cup tournament."
ShahSafeer: "@Tom I agree with most of what you've just said there accept for the last part. I feel England would take India down, the way England have been playing cricket for last 7 odd years, you can bet on them against any team in the final. Their fearless approach and two confidence booster final wins in last four years are what they could be benefitted with while India have been playing with massive burden of being home and chokers for last ten years!
Chiru: "Any guesses for Player of the Tournament in the coming world cup? My prediction is -Temba Bavuma"
3.50pm: Matt reports from the ground. "Lots of sawdust being brushed into a damp patch, just around the take-off area for seamers"
Tom: "SA are looking good atm but they always seem to find a way to be their best just before a world cup, then falter at the big stage. I think it's going to be England vs India in the final, with India lifting the trophy."
While we discuss World Cup favorites, you might want to take a look at the schedule of upcoming World Cup warm-ups: India begin against England; Pakistan take on NZ
3.40pm: Remember, the cut-off for a T20 game is 5:32pm. Currently, the umpires are concerned about some damp areas around the pitch square, but the good news is that the sun is shining brightly
Chiru: "This year world cup could be a game changer for South African team!! They have got solid team. My expectation is - Australia vs South Africa final this time, with South Africa lifting the trophy! SA beating India, Australia beating Srilanka in Semis!!"
3.31pm: Matt is keeping a close watch with his binoculars, and you can't hide from him. He reports that Four England players - Duckett, Smith, Jacks and Wood - are out there with a rugby ball but wandering back into the dressing room now
3.24pm: Next inspection is at 4pm local.
Prashant: "Looking at the success kuldeep yadav has acheived in the recent times, Shamshi could be really handy in India too.
Dixy: "@Alex I'd throw SA into the mix - whilst Australia looked pretty clueless in the latter part of that series the Proteas have been going from strength to strength in the past couple of years. Just a shame that Imran Tahir isn't still around, they could do with a quality attacking spinner." Imran Tahir is still going strong in the twilight of his career and hasn't stopped his mad sprints to the boundary. He bowled a wonderful spell against the Royals recently in the ongoing CPL. Here are the match details
Alex: "Not wholly relevant for today, but as this is ostensibly a World Cup warm-up match... who's everyone got? For me it's India (home advantage could be massive), with England, Pakistan, Australia, and maybe New Zealand all on a pretty even level behind them."
Paul McIntyre: "Of course, if Root doesn't get a bat in the ODIs, he could play for Yorkshire in the championship next week (if Yorkshire members could try to forget his infamous golf holiday. with Piers Morgan, Vaughan etc last September whilst Yorkshire were slipping to relegation).
Badar: "Hi Rvel, just tuned in and really feel sorry for the Irish team here because they hardly get any games against top teams and whenever they do play, it is mostly affected by rain, both home and away. Even an ODI against a second string English side is huge for them." Indeed, they do get fewer games against top teams, and it's unfortunate that two of their last three games against India were also marred by rain. The rain has really put a damper on things, but let's hope we will get some action today
2.51pm: Matt has got a cheerful update for us, he pings "Covers are being peeled off at Headingley and a few players are lurking on the edge of the square. They've just taken the main cover off the strip and the pitch looks bright green...it's brightened up a lot, so decent chance that we'll get some good news at the inspection half an hour from now"
2.45pm: Thank you, Andrew. The steady plashing patter of rain continues. I'll keep you posted as formal updates land on my desk. Let's hope we could at least have a rain-truncated affair. Some cricket is better than no cricket
2.20pm There was going to be a further pitch inspection at 3.15pm, but unfortunately the brollies are going back up... that was scheduled to be fair. Hopefully it blows over quickly. In the meantime, over to the first of today's England debutants, Rvel Zahid, to keep an eye on the sky for the foreseeable.
2.07pm Not much happening yet, but the signs are promising. I suspect there might be another band of rain to come but better things lie beyond... in fact, the umpires are lurking on the outfield, which is promising.
KevH: "In Skipton, the rough direction weather usually comes from, there are some hints of tentative sunshine. " Hurrah!
Jon: "If the game does get reduced to 20 overs a side, is it reclassified as a T20I rather than an ODI?" Nope, still T20 rules and field placings etc. Daft sport.
1.52pm Matt is peering through the windows once more. "Clearing up a bit here. Looks brighter. Some groundstaff out there working hard..." You mean to say there's a chance? Don't say I didn't warn ya...
Jamie Dow: "Rain radars and best forecasts are spot on so far .... rain has eased here in Leeds, but there will be drizzle til about 2pm. Then the question is how the mop-up goes. Headingley can get stubborn wet patches in the outfield and run-ups. Still, not losing hope ... !"
Matt has an answer to that concern... "Sun bursting through the clouds… my best guess is a 30-over game at about 4.30pm..."
1.38pm "Not currently raining," says Matt Roller. "Josh Little and Barry McCarthy are peering out from the dressing room balcony." Always first with the big news, our Matt..
12.52pm Ooh look, it's now bucketing down, as the seaweed predicted (see below). 5.32pm is the cut-off for a T20 match, so we've got oodles of time to play with... but that's not going to happen just yet. Yeegads, it is minging out there!
In the meantime, here's Matt's take on Joe Root's involvement in this series... at least he's on home soil, so no great hardship if he's turned up for a washout!
12.47pm I have tea. That's the only good news I can offer you. Like the weather, it's damp. Humbug.
12.32pm No news is no news. Still damp, still lots of covers in situ. Still no movement from the groundstaff. I feel the need for a brew. Talk among yourselves!
Matthew: "Time for somebody to develop a fully fledged cricket video game, whereby the two batters control themselves, and the 11 fielders control themselves, and we can pass the time watching something more interesting than the covers and the clouds! "
Charlie: "No play for at least an hour, yeah?" That's what it's feeling like, yes...
12.12pm It's just manky out there, grey and spitting, but not too damp to prevent Will Jacks from speaking to Sky on the outfield, about the rarity of the 50-over format. "You have to remember the rules, I barely play - two games in the last five years, which is a little bit weird. It's like T20 cricket, but you've just got more time." Easy.
Ben: "No international cricket held in Essex, Suffolk or Norfolk, the driest parts of UK. Where I live in Suffolk I don't think there would have been a single rain delay in any England match this year - all formats." Time for a switch to Ipswich? It's an option.
Martin: "There are some beautiful cricket grounds in Suffolk - but one or two might need to have the rabbit holes filled before they are quite ready for international cricket" Would give the Tractor Boys something to do in the off-season...
12pm As expected, the toss is not going to be on time. Full covers on for now. We sit and wait.
ShahSafeer: "If Joe Root doesn't get a chance to bat properly in the middle, he should go on to request ECB to add him for one more ODI. England's best batter needs some runs under his belt! " The only problem with that is that he has a flight to catch! He'll be alright, but I agree, his form is a worry, and rather confirms the difficulty of such a short turnaround to 50-over cricket after such a long focus on Tests. It's a topic we delved into in this week's Switch Hit podcast
Oldmonk: "Absolutely tired of the English weather. What is the point of scheduling cricket matches in a place where 7 out of 10 games are interrupted or washed out? Disappointing for the game and fans. " Did you watch the Asia Cup? We are blessed in this country, I tell you!
11.56am More eyes on the skies, or at least the rain radar...
Jamie Dow: "I feel Ed's Yorkshire curmudgeon should be balanced with a bit of Yorkshire "It'll be reet" Optimism. Weather looks clear from 2pm, maybe even a bit earlier. T20, eh? Don't be daft - 'll be reet."
You know what, my seaweed concurs...
11.45am So, we're about 15 minutes away from the toss... in theory. I suspect the heavens have other ideas. But, as promised, let's try to focus on the matter at hand. Here's the match preview, with changes aplenty on both teams - personnel for the most part from England, and positional for Ireland.
Heinrich Malan, Ireland's coach, has said he's already throwing his team's thoughts forward to 2027, after their failure to reach the 2023 World Cup. Here's what he had to say in the build-up.
And let's not forget, there could be a slew of England debutants over the coming days, which clearly adds plenty personal relevance to the events that are about to unfold. Matt Roller has a run-down of the new names in the frame.
11.39am Matt is in situ and reports thusly: "It's spitting at the moment, nothing heavy but enough to keep them off..." Bah.
Ed: "Forecast is for heavy rain on and off until about 5pm. No chance of a 50-over game, so will they delay the start and try a 20/20 later?" Nope, they will plough on and reduce accordingly. No room for foresight in cricket planning!
11.36am Now, we will get round to talking about the actual contest at hand, I promise. But Jos Buttler has been talking this morning about Jason Roy's axing from the World Cup squad ... which is of tangential relevance to this series, seeing as Roy could yet be added to the squad for the second and third ODIs (but I'm not holding my breath).
And in similarly tangential topics, I was down at Lord's yesterday, watching an Ireland legend keep Middlesex alive in their County Championship relegation fight. He's since claimed his five-wicket haul, at the age of 42. What Ireland would give for Tim Murtagh in his prime?
11.30am Good morning, and welcome to ESPNcricinfo's coverage of the final international series of the English summer. It's the first ODI between England and Ireland at Headingley, and while most of the attention has already shifted to the forthcoming World Cup in India, there's still plenty to keep an eye on today (including the weather...). Perhaps most pressingly, the form of Joe Root as he takes his chance for one final net before jetting off to defend that world title.
Matt Roller, our man in Leeds, has been keeping his eyes on the skies, amid threats of weather warnings across Yorkshire.
"Early outlook in Leeds is not quite as grim as expected but there's full cloud cover and on-and-off rain," he says, and is already bracing for the day's first 'thundery shower'. Oh joy.
