Niall O'Brien, the sturdy batting backbone during Irish cricket's meteoric rise, owes much of his World Cup success to the timely arrival of a pet dog.
Leg-spinner Rashid took five wickets to help bowl Ireland out for 126 before Hales struck 55 off 39 balls to lead England to their easy target.
Ireland qualified for its third successive ICC Cricket World Cup after its World Cricket League Championship match against Netherlands on Tuesday ended in a sensational tie in Amstelveen, on Tuesday.
The qualifying round match of World T20 between Bangladesh and Ireland was abandoned after eight overs were bowled into the game due to rains in Dharamsala on Friday.
The British group, which is now four, will continue their musical journey without him.
Images from the World Cup match between India and Ireland at Seddon Park, Hamilton, New Zealand.
Guess who takes up the top spot!
Get your low down on what's happening in the world of Hollywood, right here!
Germany have promised that their attack will pack a bigger punch when they face Northern Ireland on Tuesday after struggling up front in their first two Euro 2016 matches.
India took apart a diligent but limited Ireland attack to sweep to an untroubled eight-wicket victory at Seddon Park on Tuesday which confirmed they will top Pool B in the cricket World Cup.
"Personally I hate the term upsets from minnows or associates," Porterfield told reporters in Nelson. "I don't see it as an upset.
Statistical highlights on associate member countries defeating Test-playing nations at the 50-over World Cup after Ireland beat West Indies by four wickets in the Pool B match at Nelson, New Zealand on Monday.
Wonder Woman and its star Gal Gadot win big at the awards night.
Ireland captain William Porterfield drew consolation from posting the highest total against defending champions India in the cricket World Cup so far despite a crushing defeat on Tuesday.
The Ariana Grande's Sunday Manchester benefit gig was bold. And triumphant. She, and several of the world's top musicians, belted out an evening of song with the unstoppable message: Fight terrorism with music.
Debutants Oman dished out a resolute batting effort to register a nerve-wracking, two-wicket win over experienced Ireland in their Group A qualifying match of the ICC World Twenty20, in Dharamsala on Wednesday.
Despite all the hype, however, the match will do well to live up to some of the Manchester derby tussles down the years. Here are five of the most memorable:
Photos of the World Cup Pool B game between Pakistan and Ireland being played in Adelaide
Photos from the ICC World Cup match played between South Africa and Ireland on Tuesday.
Germany's Thomas Mueller struck twice as the nervy world champions kicked off their Euro 2016 qualifying campaign with a 2-1 victory over Scotland on Sunday.
IMAGES from the Euro 2020 qualifiers played on Thursday
'When war is thrust on you as in 1962 and 1965 or is tempting as in 1971, ensure that all other fronts are kept quiet, leaving your army free to deal with one,' says Shekhar Gupta.
Penpix on the Ireland team for the 2015 cricket World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni heaped praise on his bowlers.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni's boys have eclipsed the India record by winning nine straight games in the World Cup, including four matches in the previous edition. Saturday's match against Zimbabwe provides them the opportunity.
India will aim to crush a gutsy Ireland in their penultimate group encounter.
The world champions now have 19 points while Poland, 8-1 winners over Gibraltar, are on 17.
'For all practical purposes, the game ended at the break. The Irish bowlers had neither the pace nor the skill to compete against the Indian line-up; the lack of swing further blunted any edge they could have brought to the contest.'
Sangakkara, Dhoni, McCullum, de Villiers... Cricket has never had so many amazing wicketkeeper-batsmen in the same era...
Mitchell Starc was the Player of the Tournament, but he ranks only 5th on Rediff.com's Most Valuable Player ratings list, revealing how this World Cup was so much in the batsmen's favour.
A B de Villiers still heads Rediff.com's Most Valuable Players ratings for the World Cup.
A B de Villiers may have made some big mistakes in the semi-final: Choosing to bat first in spite of the rain threat, batting too low at No 5, not hogging the strike after David Miller departed, fielding badly, asking Dale Steyn to bowl the last over ... but he is still best placed to be adjudged the most valuable player of the 2015 World Cup.
It looks highly unlikely if anyone will catch the South African captain in Rediff.com's Most Valuable Players ratings for the World Cup.
After four centuries on the trot with a strike rate of nearly 120, Sri Lanka's run machine Kumar Sangakkara (MVPI: 686) has raced to the top of the most valuable player standing at the ICC World Cup.
Strangely, despite four wins on the trot, none of India's players have even figured in the top 20 of the MVPI table.
The West Indian has blasted his way to the top of Rediff.com's Most Valuable Players ratings for the World Cup with the South African skipper close on his heels.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji are back with Rediff.com's World Cup Most Valuable Players ratings.
Although A B de Villiers is still the front-runner for the MVP crown of the 2015 World Cup, a new and serious challenger has suddenly appeared out of the blue -- New Zealand opener Martin Guptill.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji figure out who are the most valuable players after the league phase of the World Cup intheir latest update.
