Cricket fans left fuming over 'terrible' scenes at T20 World Cup

Cricket fans are calling for change to rules around washouts and wet weather at the T20 World Cup after rain wreaked havoc at the MCG on Wednesday.

The notorious Melbourne weather had a major impact on Wednesday as England suffered a shock defeat to Ireland and New Zealand's clash with Afghanistan was washed out without a ball being bowled.

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Ireland marked their cricket debut at the MCG with a stunning five-run win over England, aided by the rain and Duckworth–Lewis–Stern system.

Chasing Ireland's total of 157, England reached 5-105 off 14.3 overs when rain ended play.

Because England were five runs behind on the DLS scoring method, Ireland secured a famous victory.

The rain stayed around for the rest of the night at the MCG, and after several attempts to start the second match of the double-header, New Zealand and Afghanistan had to settle for a point each.

The rain-affected matches leave New Zealand on top of a wide open Group 1 with three points after two rounds of matches.

Sri Lanka, England, Ireland and Australia are all locked together on two points, with Afghanistan bottom on one.

England and Australia will now face off in a do-or-die match on Friday night, with the loser set to be eliminated from contention.

Fans were quick to condemn the farcical scenes on social media, with many bemoaning the fact that both matches were scheduled for the same venue and were therefore left wide open to be affected by the weather.

Despite Ireland being on top, England fans were left fuming that they'd been denied the final five overs of their run chase, while New Zealand fans were furious after missing out on the chance to claim maximum points against Afghanistan.

After their thumping opening game win over Australia in the opening game, the Black Caps were expected to make light work of the underdog Afghanis.

But Melbourne's unpredictable weather ruined those plans, with Wednesday's match called off without a ball being bowled.

Ground staff took the covers off the MCG pitch twice, but both times rain returned within minutes to send the umpires back inside.

Some fans questioned why matches can't be rescheduled considering the numerous off days that teams have between games, while others wondered why there hasn't been more matches scheduled for stadiums that have roofs.

"(That England-Ireland game) showed there's no easy games and you have to be on your game the whole time," New Zealand coach Gary Stead told reporters.

"I think it's great for world cricket, I think the more teams that can come and be competitive probably gives hope to those that are still trying to get where Ireland are at."

Jos Buttler levels 'gamesmanship' claim against Ireland

Coach Jonathan Trott was disappointed Afghanistan took a point instead of playing the match.

"It would have been nice to play New Zealand and get the experience of playing at the MCG and hopefully get the win," Trott told reporters.

"To say it was a bullet dodged is doing a little bit of a disservice to the guys in my change room."

There was some controversy in England's loss, with captain Jos Buttler wondering whether there had been gamesmanship from the Irish, given they were two overs behind when the weather decided the match.

But Ireland captain and man of the match Andrew Balbirnie laughed off the suggestion, saying his players were simply slow moving around the field.

"There's certainly something, whether it's gamesmanship ... they knew the rain was coming and could slow the game up," Buttler said.

"We had lost the game before that point. We were a long way short of where we needed to be right throughout the game and Ireland deserved to win.

"You should let it hurt ... days like today are really, really disappointing and you have to feel that.

"There's no point saying let's sweep it under the carpet and move on, we have to reflect and do it quickly."

with AAP

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