T20 World Cup: Weather not a concern for Buttler as England face Ireland in Melbourne

Forecast for rain on Wednesday and also during Three Lions' next game against Australia on Friday

England bowler Mark Wood reacts after dismissing Afghanistan batsman Rahmanullah Gurbaz during the T20 World Cup 2022 at the Optus Stadium in Perth on Saturday, October 22, 2022. EPA

Mark Wood of England bowled the fastest spell in T20 World Cup history on Saturday. Getty

Mark Wood of England picked up two wickets in a fiery spell on Saturday. Getty

England's Sam Curran picked up five wickets against Afghanistan in Perth. EPA

Sam Curran of England celebrates taking the wicket of Fazalhaq Farooqi. AFP

Mooen Ali and Liam Livingstone after England's win on Saturday. Getty

England batsman Ben Stokes is bowled by Afghanistan's Mohammad Nabi. EPA

England got their T20 World Cup campaign off to a perfect start as they beat Afghanistan by five wickets in Perth on Saturday, with their bowling and fielding in top form.

Left-arm seamer Sam Curran was the star with incredible figures of 5-10 - the first England bowler to take five wickets in a T20I.

Their next challenge is against Ireland and the weather in Melbourne on Wednesday.

The Australian east coast has been damper and cooler than usual because of the ongoing La Nina weather pattern, with downpours at Hobart on Monday forcing a no-result between South Africa and Zimbabwe.

The forecast for Melbourne is not good for Wednesday and Friday - when England face hosts Australia. There is 80 per cent chance of rain for the Ireland game and a similar probability for the next game two days later.

However, captain Jos Buttler believes England will be ready to adjust their gameplan if rain interferes.

"The big key is to be able to react quickly to those kinds of things," Buttler said. "You have a little idea of things you might do if those kinds of things happen.

"But I don't want to get too sort of preoccupied with what-ifs. I don't want to spend all night staying awake thinking about what might happen, just try and react to it when it does happen.

"What's great about the squad and our team is we've got lots of different options, and even in the same team you can ask people to fulfil different roles.

"That gives us a lot of options when situations change and change quickly - whether that's rain or something, and then we can try and change tack quickly and adapt."

While England will be buoyed by their effort against Afghanistan, Ireland enter the match on the back of a crushing nine-wicket defeat against Sri Lanka in Hobart.

However, Buttler said there is no chance of his players taking any game lightly as only the top two teams from the six-team group will progress to the semi-finals and net run rates are likely to be a factor.

"In such a short tournament, in must-win games pretty much every time, we try and get our best team on... the best team on the day due to conditions, opposition," he said.

"Any time you take things for granted or you don't respect the opposition is when you can get hurt.

"I think in T20 cricket especially, there's the one format where it's as level a playing field as any."

Meanwhile, New Zealand will look to maintain the devastating form they showed against defending champions Australia when they face Afghanistan.

The Black Caps stunned their trans-Tasman rivals in all departments in the tournament opener with an 89-run win at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Fast bowler Trent Boult said the challenge is now to start afresh.

"It is hard, but we quickly got on a plane the next day and moved into a new hotel and started preparing for a new game," Boult told reporters at the MCG.

"The boys spoke leading into this tournament, into that game, of what it means to be here and how exciting it is to be on this stage, and T20 cricket is about fun.

"It's about showing your skills and going out there and having a good time."