Adil Rashid the star as rampant England crush Ireland with seven-wicket win in first home international match

Ireland 126 (33 overs), England 127-3 (20 overs): England win by seven wickets. England won their first home international match against Ireland in style at The Brightside Ground

Adil Rashid was superb in the crushing England victory (Getty)

Adil Rashid at least ensured the opening act of England’s longest-ever home summer was over mercifully quickly even if this mismatch left those who had come to witness Ireland’s first match in this country feeling short-changed.

A target of 127 was never going to extend England’s power-packed batting line-up and so it proved as the hosts chased down their paltry target with 30 overs and seven wickets to spare.

This match would have finished at 6.45pm had there been a close finish. Yet it was over four hours earlier than that as Eoin Morgan’s team started their build-up for the Champions Trophy in ruthless fashion.

Rashid’s maiden five-wicket haul in one-day internationals, plus a half-century from Alex Hales and an unbeaten 49 from Joe Root, ensured this match was concluded before even a lunchtime innings break could be taken.

Test captain Root was in top form (Getty)

However, for Ireland, who collapsed from 81 for two in the 18th over of their innings to 126 all out at the end of the 33rd, this was frankly embarrassing.

Let’s hope they can avoid similar stage fright in their first appearance at Lord’s on Sunday and offer some semblance of competitiveness otherwise there may be some asking just why England granted them their first-ever series in this country.

This international summer might feel endless given England’s final game is on September 29. But Rashid will be hoping it doesn’t stop if he can continue bowling like he did here.

The Yorkshire leg-spinner has his critics. Yet he fully justified England’s faith in picking him as the sole specialist slow bowler here ahead of Moeen Ali by returning five for 27.

Rashid answered a number of his critics (Getty)

Those were the best figures by an English spinner in a home ODI and the second best overall behind the 5 for 20 Vic Marks took against New Zealand at Wellington in 1984.

It was a shrewd pick by England coach Trevor Bayliss, who would have noted the difficulty Ireland had against Afghanistan’s teenage leg-spinner Rashid Khan across seven matches earlier this year.

It was the googly that proved most profitable for Rashid and most destructive for the visitors, with the Englishman’s first three wickets – Gary Wilson, Kevin O’Brien and Stuart Thompson – falling to that delivery.

Rashid’s other two victims – Niall O’Brien trapped lbw and Tim Murtagh caught in the deep by Hales – were by orthodox leg-spinners and wrapped up the Irish innings emphatically.

William Porterfield plays to the legside (Getty)

Root also picked up two wickets with his part-time off-spin, William Porterfield, the third wicket to fall, caught by Liam Plunkett at mid-off and then George Dockrell trapped lbw.

Ireland were actually going quite well before Morgan introduced Rashid in the 19th over.

Mark Wood, the Durham fast bowler playing his first international in eight months following his third major ankle operation, had got the initial breakthrough when he bowled Paul Stirling with a delivery that touched 90 miles per hour.

David Willey, the left-arm seamer also returning from injury, then trapped Ed Joyce - who in a previous life played 17 ODIs for England - lbw to reduce the Irish to 46 for two in the seventh over of their innings.

Root picked up two wickets with his part-time off-spin (Getty)

When Jake Ball had Andy Balbirnie sharply caught behind by Sam Billings in the 18th over, Ireland were still competitive on 81 for three.

But the entrance of Rashid and then Root changed the course of this match dramatically.

Taunton, the most spin-friendly ground in the country and known as Cyderabad, may be 50 miles further west on the M5.

But spin took centre stage here once Root, shrewdly brought on by Morgan, dismissed Porterfield, Ireland’s captain.

Rashid then accounted for Kevin O’Brien as the man whose 50-ball century led his country to a memorable victory against England at the 2011 World Cup in Bangalore was trapped lbw. Thompson, playing back to a googly, followed as Ireland slumped to 108 for seven in the 27th over.

Root took his second wicket - Dockrell - four balls later and it did not take long for Root to wrap things up. The one consolation for Ireland is the fact this was not their lowest total against England, the 112 they were dismissed for in Belfast in 2009 remaining untouched.

Morgan leading his team out at Bristol (Getty)

This reinvigorated England have become used to posting totals in excess of 400 over the past two years. So the run chase was always going to be a formality even if they did lose Jason Roy, clipping seamer Peter Chase to midwicket, for a duck in the first over.

Alex Hales, who scored a restorative century on his return from a hand injury against West Indies in Barbados in February, followed up that performance with a fluent 55 from 39 balls.

The opener, who struck ten fours, eventually top-edged Chase to backward point to leave England on 78 for two – just 49 shy of their target.

And even the loss of Morgan, caught in the deep to hand Chase his third wicket, with England’s score on 99 was just a minor inconvenience as Root, stranded one run short of his half-century, saw Jonny Bairstow hit the winning run off the final ball of the 20th over.