Ireland vs South Africa, 1st ODI at Dublin, IRE v SA, Jul 11 2021 - Match Result

5.12pm It's been officially called off, folks. A pity, because this match was so interestingly poised. Fifties from Porterfield and Balbirnie to set the platform, then Ireland scored 50 off 32 balls between rain interruptions to give themselves a genuine chance if we'd had some sort of shortened chase. It wasn't to be, unfortunately, but a good, competitive game for as long as it lasted.

Looks like we won't have a presentation ceremony. We'll update who the Player of the Match is, and so forth, when we get to know. But for today, that is all from Malahide. We hope you enjoyed our coverage. Until next time, it's goodbye from me, Hemant, Binoy and Ranjith.

5.05pm The umpires are out for what looks like an inspection, though the covers are still on and they're carrying umbrellas. Feels like the prelude to a calling-off, but we'll wait for official word.

4.57pm Just over half an hour to go for the 5:30 cut-off time. There's still a light drizzle on at Malahide, so I wonder if there's enough time to get the ground ready even if the rain were to stop immediately... but let's see.

Nicholas Fewste: "Good day so far for Ireland. Porterfield back in the runs and Balbirnie continuing his recent form improvement. I think Ireland would be happy defending 154 from 20, and a No Result would go well for any chance of automatic qualification from the super league. They'll still be kicking themselves after only taking 10 points out of 60 against Afghanistan and the Netherlands.Expect Josh Little to be the key man in the second innings for Ireland."

Anubhab Mukherjee: "They didn't take 40 off for 20 overs. Ireland's total would have been adjusted and given they had lost only 2 wickets at the first delay, would have been at least around 215-220 in 40. So they took around 60-65 off for 20 overs."

Azweer: "Hope England's Moeen Ali gets to know about the "Valimai update"" -- Drifting off-topic completely, but yes, I'm sure someone's told him by now.

4.40pm It's still raining at Malahide, though not too heavily by the looks of it. At Hove, meanwhile, England Women need 85 in 72, with eight wickets in hand, to win the second T20I against India.

Akash: "When is the cut-off time for the match?" -- It's 5.30pm, for a 20-overs chase.

No Name: "If it does become a T20 chase Quinton de Kock would've been very important. He got three 50s against Windies while every other Proteas batsman struggled. Not to mention that Verreynne hasn't played a T20I and Miller, Phehlukwayo and Bavuma aren't in a good form."

GBBG: "So they took off 40 runs for 20 overs??" -- Well, the DLS calculation takes into account that a team's approach with 10 wickets to spare over 50 overs would be very different compared to its approach with 10 wickets over 20 overs. As it should.

4.30pm A lot of you have been asking what South Africa's target will be if the chase is reduced to 20 overs. It'll be 154 according to DLS calculations, says Binoy George from our scoring team.

Steve: "Hi there. 154 from 50 overs...do you guys mean if its reduced to 20 overs? " -- 50? Who said 50? I did? When? Oh.

4.25pm A message from Justin Smyth, who follows Ireland cricket more closely than most, and who's at Malahide right now:

"According to the weather forecast, the rain should stop at Malahide around five. Just going to be dependent on how quickly they can dry off the ground to get the 20 overs in for South Africa to try and chase this down. Sun doesn't set till about 10pm, so as long as it stops raining, light shouldn't be an issue.

"Looks like they have to be out there again by 5:30pm to have a 20-over chase. Looks like they are only going to have about 30 minutes to get the ground ready. Although any further rain after that and the games going to be done."

David Cousins: "Would Ireland be happy with a No Result today?" -- They'd appreciate the points, but they'll feel they have a real chance of winning this if play resumes and South Africa come under the pressure of a T20-ish chase.

4.15pm Hello again. It's still raining at Malahide, so there's no chance of a resumption anytime soon. The light's a bit murky too, at the moment, so with no floodlights at the ground, that could become an issue too.

3.50pm It has been a start-stop kind of day because of rain interruptions. The toss itself was delayed by almost an hour. Asked to bat first, Ireland started slowly, with Paul Stirling looking off-colour. Once he was out, Porterfield and Balbirnie steered the innings together. Both batters reached their half-centuries amid rain breaks. A late flourish at the end means they finish with 195 for 4 in 40.2 overs. The covers are still on. A further update will be provided as soon as we have any to share.

And as expected, Ireland's innings is over. We will get to know South Africa's target once we know how many overs they will get.

3.40pm And the covers are coming on. I guess that might be the end of Ireland's innings but wait for the official word.

Looks like the drizzle is back. Dockrell to face his first ball

Ngidi

The umpire is sanitising the ball before handing it back to Rabada

Mark Adair has been sent in as Ireland look for quick runs

Last five overs. Can Ireland get another 50 runs here? Here's Rabada