On the first day of the Ashes warm-up test between England and Ireland at Lord’s on Thursday, Ben Duckett’s blazing fifty not out brought England closer to taking a first-innings lead over Ireland than they had been previously.
In a test match that was only played over four days instead of the usual five, England’s score at stumps was 152-1 in response to Ireland’s total of 172 for all out.
Duckett, batting left-handed, was not out after 60 runs in his debut Test innings in England.
At a bright and sunny Lord’s, he made an opening stand of 109 with Zak Crawley (56), with whom he shared the score.
Crawley’s fifty contained 10 fours, demonstrating that England’s aggressive “Bazball” style of batting was on full display.
Earlier, England veteran Stuart Broad achieved a five-wicket haul in a Test match at Lord’s for the first time in ten years.
Broad brought Ireland’s score down to 19-3 by claiming a duck for both Andy Balbirnie, the captain of Ireland, and Harry Tector, an Irish batsman.
Broad concluded the game with a total of 5-51 from 17 overs, while left-arm spinner Jack Leach grabbed 3-35. On the other hand, rookie fast bowler Josh Tongue did not take any wickets.
To be “present in the moment”
“I was happy with how we bowled as a group,” Broad said in an interview with the BBC.
“Conditions were fantastic first thing this morning and that’s what you want at Lord’s because you have to make the new ball count,” continued Broad, who has now taken 581 wickets in Test matches. Broad is the all-time leader in Test wickets taken.
Paul Stirling’s quickfire 30 helped spark a rebound for Ireland, who were playing in only their seventh Test and still hunting for their first win at this level. Ireland are obliged to Paul Stirling for initiating a recovery for them. James McCollum, the opener for Obdurate, with the highest score of 36.
However, they had difficulty containing England since their top fast bowler Josh Little, who shines in the Twenty20 Indian Premier League, was getting some rest in preparation for their next 50-over World Cup qualifying event in Zimbabwe.
– ‘Soft dismissals’ –
At the second try to dismiss Crawley, though, rookie Fionn Hand was successful in securing a caught and bowled opportunity.
“If you look at some of our dismissals, a couple of soft dismissals, and obviously the way we bowled at the back end there, we didn’t necessarily cover ourselves in glory,” said Ireland coach Heinrich Malan. “If you look at some of our dismissals, a couple of soft dismissals,” added Heinrich Malan.
After winning the toss, England’s current captain, Ben Stokes, decided to bowl first in an effort to lead his team to their 11th victory in 13 tests since he was named captain a year ago.
It was decided to give England’s great James Anderson and Ollie Robinson a rest in preparation for the first Test match against Australia at Edgbaston, which will take place later this month. The cloudy circumstances promised to help a three-man speed assault.
Test novices When Broad had Peter Moor plumb lbw for 10, Ireland already had a 15-0 lead over Essex. Moor had just scored a hundred in a warm-up match against Essex.
After that, Balbirnie was out for a five-ball duck after edging Broad low enough for Crawley to catch it at second slip.
After two more balls, Ireland reached the score of 19-3 when Tector hit Broad straight to Matthew Potts, who was fielding at leg slip.
On the subsequent birth, Stirling was diagnosed with lbw.
On review, though, the veteran from Ireland was not given a duck.
Stirling counterattacked before his innings, which included 20 runs in boundaries, ended when he top-edged a sweep off Leach to wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow. Stirling’s innings featured a total of 20 runs.
After lunch, McCollum’s striking knock of 108 ballss came to an end when he edged Broad to Joe Root at first slip.
When Broad bowled Mark Adair with an inswinging ball, he achieved his 20th five-wicket haul in 162 career Test matches. Additionally, it was the first time he had accomplished the record at Lord’s since he had taken 7-44 against New Zealand in 2013.
After then, Campher’s tenure at the 79-ball came to an end when he charged at Leach.