by Akseli Pitkänen Irish cricket had not witnessed a brilliant Test match yet after 2 matches. Winning a few sessions altogether against Pakistan and Afghanistan in a year, had not made Irish cricket fans on their toes. Cheering with desire of beating a superior Test side in a Test just captivated the world in believing, lasting the way it lasted. Irish had already faced the English in a likewise one-off match, an ODI. Those were fine margins then and you seldom come across with fine margins in Tests. In the ODI Ireland tried to defend 198 and reduced England to 101/6. After a couple of overs, England could have been 7 down for 109. Ireland nearly pulled off a miracle at home against the futuristic WC winners. England had dominated the ODI circuit as they pleased for 4 years. They had won anything but not everything, the WC was still to raise. They did raise it after quantum mechanics calculations but that's a different story...England in Test matches had not been significant. They had lost a 3 match series against the West Indies comprehensively. They started to get an opener issue. No Alistair Cook since 2018 India. Top order problems and captain Root as a number 4 means scores of 30-3 haven't been rare at all. Test cricket is all about building partnerships and steadying the ship for bigger scores later to come as batting is concerned. England hasn't really dominated the Test batting world and even Root's average has decreased. With Ashes to come, England must find good solid batting to overcome Australia at some point. Bowlers cannot always compensate for bad batting. English seamers are swingers of the ball and that's why only favourable conditions can assist them into ripping spells. Now what comes to Ireland and the players' fortune. They also swing the ball. Their 70-80 mph pace doesn't deceive most international batsmen on a flat deck. The batsmen are below par Test level so far as are Afghans but as they learn, they pass it to the next Test generations to make up for the time spent at Test cricket crease. Old veterans Ed Joyce and Niall O'Brien have already retired and now William Porterfield with Paul Stirling and Andrew Balbirnie have the Irish colours to represent. Proud moments for Irish cricket but the Test win awaits. You could say the Irish side is very much beatable but also stable. For Ireland the Dublin ODI match was a way to start a campaign perhaps culminating to the Lord's Test. They had drawn an ODI series with Afghanistan, who unfortunately didn't win a single WC match out of 9. However, Ireland had swept Zimbabwe in the ODI arena, 3-0. They had their spirits high prior to the Test, motivated to give everything right from the 1st Lord's 5-minute bell. England had won the WC, alright. A few kept celebrating day after day and still played the Test 9 days following the WC final. If Irish had their motivation settled, you must wonder the English motivation. Considering this as a preparation for the Ashes with not a best squad for a 4-day Test, you'd feel Irish could exploit some of that flow, calmness feeling, into a proper Test. Though not all could have been predicted, what was to come. Ireland had been a small team in the ranks of mighty England. But day 1 approached and a Test match wait of over 4 months as well. Bring it on! I was sure before the match that this game would be remembered. If not remembered, then at least the emotions were going high both sides. Isn't that exactly what you hope a Test produces? Whoever won would have to do it in 4 or less days but that wasn't the issue since session 1. Ireland opened their account in people going cordial to them all around the world. If the WC final made the world go polarized, then this continued the loneliness of being an English supporter. For this Test went one direction, then the other. It started with the usual toss which the England cricket captain Joe Root won. He elected to bat what he described of getting through the early moisture and early hours of the Test. He thought spin might come into play later and that despite the greenish tinge, this could be dealt with by their top order. But as the balls started to go wildly, that was not the case. For it took no more than the 17th ball when the 1st wicket fell. 5 balls before the same batsman Roy would've been out had it not been a front foot no ball. Relative or not, English troubles were really yet to come. Joe Denly managed to hit a couple firm strokes but at 36-1 the game suddenly changed drastically. Denly was trapped in front by Mark Adair for 23. One became two as Tim Murtagh produced a beauty to win the outside edge of Rory Burns. At 36-3 it seemed like another English harmony situation. But before, a man called Root had steered his side. And when one man cannot change fortune, maybe no one can? Adair made the crowd jump in delight or moan in the bench because he took the 'big fish' early for 2 after a review. From there on, it was one business, taking wickets. With Jonny Bairstow huffing and puffing in his crease and ending castled many steps forward from stumps, the situation at 5-42 wasn't getting any better. Murtagh bowled like a legend. His pace wasn't vivid but his swing and line & length was. In those Lord's conditions he'd been used to play as a Middlesex player. He ran with a plan to trouble the batsman and those figures got better and better. He trapped Woakes lbw for a silver duck and sucked Moeen for an outside edge. At that point it was 43-7 after 14.2 overs. He ended up with figures of 9 overs, 2 maidens, 5 wickets for 13 runs. What a way to get to Lord's honours board! Sam Curran and Olly Stone counterattacked with brief cameos of 18 and 19 but that seemed rather tame amongst the happenings. But they did frustrate the Irish and they took the game on Ireland's Stuart Thompson who of the 4 seamers was the only one not having fun. Big, tall Boyd Rankin picked a couple. Adair had the last wicket to finish on 3. Ireland had bowled England out before lunch for 85. That was a huge innings for Ireland who now had the opportunity to build on further and boss the game. What it meant to England, is that they needed to bowl Ireland out with all their strength and they had to make a much better 2nd batting innings when they got the chance. It was a dream of a 1st session for Ireland. The ball was moving a fair bit. The lbw shouts were continuous. Irish players could all bat with time and patience. There was no hurry. The ball was moving a fair bit. The lbw shouts were continuous. Irish players could all bat with time and patience. There was no hurry...........After bowling out England for a low score of 85 before lunch, Ireland needed to drag the momentum in batting clothes. James McCollum started the boundary column with a square drive. Then William Porterfield hit a stunning off drive and after the 4th over Ireland had made a steady start to be 10-0. An innings worth 60 off 170 was now gold for Irish batsmen. William and James were really digging in, spending time at the crease to settle. Something no English batsman did. In the 8th over clipped to square leg for a boundary by McCollum off Woakes' ODI length. The opening bowlers were put off their spells at 20-0. Olly Stone started to trouble the batsmen. Stone got Porterfield's outside edge racing to the point boundary. Also Stone hit Porterfield on the helmet nastily with rapid 90 mph pace causing tension. But it was Sam Curran who picked up a wicket 1st ball. Short, harmless ball was pulled straight to midwicket. 14 off 40 for the Irish skipper. 32-1. That brought Andrew Balbirnie to the crease. The openers scarcely attacked the bowlers. However, Balbo was in no means of being patient but he kept the ball down along the ground. He drove Curran for a boundary through point to get off the mark. McCollum dragged on off Curran. Paul Stirling thick-edged to 3rd man and then edged in front of second slip. Next over Sam gets punished, Balbirnie drives in front of point and Stirling pulls through midwicket for a boundary. The current Irish score is 63-2 after Balbirnie edges between wicket keeper and 1st slip, Jonny and Joe, as Ireland trail by 22 runs with 8 wickets remaining in the 1st innings. 1st spinner of the day, Jack Leach to bowl slow left arm in the 23rd over. Striling sweeps to get a couple, a boundary and another couple. Ire 72-2, Root at 1st slip drops a catch off Stirling's bat and off Stuart Broad. Stirling dropped on 17. Lovely cover drive boundary for Balbirnie. Stirling hits Leach down the ground for four. Scores were then level 2 wickets down. Balbirnie drove through point to take the lead. Balbirnie reached 50 getting the ball through to mid-on. Ireland were batting like a top Test team through to be at tea on 127/2. They had won convincingly two sessions. Could they win the last and get to a winning position? Paul Stirling didn't have a long time after tea before he was trapped lbw by Broad. After Balbirnie's masterclass of 55 off 69, England came back hunting for wickets. Balbo had hit 10 boundaries, as many as the whole English team had hit in their morning-ending innings. The wicket-taking delivery: A peach by Stone to rattle the middle stump. The way Gary Wilson was forced for an error was not beautiful for any Irish supporter. He got a really nasty delivery followed up by a one doing too much to draw an edge off the bat. 3rd ball was down the leg side but the 4th one was spot on. Back of a length, 89 mph delivery coming a little back in line to be playable. Wilson reached for it only to gobbled up by Root at 1st slip. 5 down for 138 with only Kevin O'Brien providing resistance, the songs at Lord's by the crowd started to be sang. The atmosphere in favour of English and especially the comeback suiting England's wounds every possible way. Broad bowled Thompson for a duck after a horrible leave by the batsman. High on off stump, the perfect line and length just too good. Curran took his 3rd after Adair dragged on. In the midst O'Brien was at the non-strikers having to witness wicket after another but he did steadily progress some momentum of his own. He hit a boundary through 3rd man on his way to be stranded on 28* off 73 with a couple fours. But the wickets came coming, the last three after some resistance. McBrine was bowled for 11 off Broad with a little inside edge hitting the leg stump. Murtagh who produced Ireland's 1st Test 5 wicket-haul for a bowler, swung hard with the bat but was eventually caught deep in the leg side. Number 11 Rankin scored 7 with one boundary to make the Irish all out above 200, 207 in fact. After Moeen had his only wicket clean bowled Ireland had a healthy 1st innings lead of 122. Leach was sent out for as a nightwatchman for one over and he did survive Murtagh's 6 balls. England 2nd innings 0/0 after 20 wickets falling on day one.................Day 2 belonged heavily to England but it was a rather odd batsman to be the best batsman of the English team. He was a number 11 batsman in the 1st innings, a nightwatchman. This day is all about Jack Leach leading the way. Leach did plenty of cut shots annoying the bowlers. After 9 overs gone, 21-0. Really good batting from nightwatchman Leach. He's on 13 not out. Burns batting confidently, leaving the right balls. More importantly not a good start from Murtagh and Adair. Too much either harmless bouncers, too wide ones or on the pads. Too little on that 4th, 5th stump line. It's baking hot in London, already 33 degrees, and it is very crucial to knock out the other one soon. Seems like Murtagh is out of the attack, yes he is. Rankin in, the tall man. This could be fun. Burns gone for 6! Rankin with a peach, in the corridor of uncertainty, a little but clear edge to the wicketkeeper. He's a goner and Ireland have their first of the morning! Roy did hit a sweet cover drive. He was on an aggressive attitude on the whole, thus the word slashing. Leach played a masterclass. He did everything he could to irritate the bowlers. Once in, he started playing shots of his own such as cover drives. He was a treat to watch. He was batting the innings of his life and where?! At a Lord's Test! 1st maximum of the Test. Hit by Roy, over cow corner/deep midwicket. Getting to 50, Leach started to become edgy. Bright smile reaching the milestone but there were still runs to come from him. Soon the 100 was up and scores level. Roy's 50 too. 122-1 at lunch, identical scores except for that one wicket gone. There were still battles to win either side but you got the feeling England were the ones setting the tone of the match right now. Leach was dropped on 72 by wicket keeper Gary Wilson. Not a dolly but you'd usually take those, not to be...A life for Leach. Leach struck a few blows and moved into the 90s. But just before the 90s Roy was cleanly bowled through the gate by Thompson. Gone for 72 off 78, 10 fours and a six. After 3 and a half hours at the crease Leach's batting skills started to fade completely. He was dropped on 92 by Adair at 2nd slip. And only 3 balls later the same fielder got a simpler chance off Murtagh and he didn't make a mistake. Leach was gone for a standing applause. His innings worth gold and diamonds. He was out for 92 off 162 (221 minutes, 16 fours, 0 sixes). At 182-3 the match seemed to be a little in balance but it would take an effort bowling the rest of the 7 knowing that on a pitch like this 4th innings chase would be never easy. Irish boys made a big cuddle after the wicket and it set the spirits high. Even more when Denly was ran out for 10 off a brilliant piece of fielding and a miscommunication. As Adair trapped Jonny Bairstow for a pair, Ireland had somehow crawled back into the game. Tea at 209-5. Rankin bounced out Ali for 9. The lead was only 117 when the 7th wicket, Joe Root, was gone. It was an excellent grab by the wk. A couple overs later Woakes was gone. But then we saw what a long batting line up brings. It brings at its best fire power just when the 'enemy' is weakened. In other words, England were not hanging around, they knew the importance of every run here. The tailenders were going to bat themselves to decent scores and put Ireland on misery. Curran, the bailout boss, was having his fun. This time with Broad. The pair rescued England with delicate hits like cover drive, straight down the ground, over fine leg's head for a maximum, another maximum straight down the ground this time. These were Curran's shots. Curran was eventually out for 37 off 29 and with number 11, Stone, Broad carried the momentum. Broad hit a six over deep square leg with a pull. Then the stumps were called after thunder leaving one wicket for Ireland to get next morning. The 3rd morning at Lord's unfolded pretty quickly. It was easily a bowler's morning. With one single wicket to get for the Irish, they needed exactly one ball for the innings to end. Thompson bowled a swinging ball that went on to hit leg stump, which went cartwheeling. Ireland now needed 182 to win in 2 days. But as the last innings progressed there really was only one winner...England. Broad and Woakes shared the cherry. After surviving 17 balls and on 7-0, Ireland even got the innings going with a boundary by McCollum off Broad. That was the rare boundary. 6 balls later the English magic started. Woakes drawed the edge of Porterfield and Bairstow took a catch diving to his left in front of slips. Soon Balbirnie nicked to Root at 1st slip off Broad for 5. Woakes clean bowled Stirling for a silver duck with a beauty. Right at the top of the stumps he bowled. Stumps didn't bugger off but the bails flew off. A big mountain of pressure carried all the way the Irish balcony when opener McCollum edged to Root for 11. The scorecard read 24-4 and 9.1 overs. You got the feeling this morning was going to be a disaster and it was, from the Irish point of view. Those were the only double figures for any of the XI players. Woakes got his 4th when he trapped Gary for a 2nd ball duck and a pair. It set up a stat: Jonny Bairstow (Eng) and Gary Wilson (Ire) failed to score any runs in the match. It was the first instance of both designated wicket-keepers being dismissed for a pair in a completed Test. Broad got amongst the wickets with a lbw shout gone his side trapping O'Brien for 4. 24/6 off 10.1 and the top 6 had Ireland in a slump. Adair had a little game of his own. He was struck on the helmet grille on 2. Next ball he pulled for a maximum only for next ball after that to be clean bowled by Broad. 3 balls, lots of happening. But in the end, the English roar taking most of the minds home. Next over Woakes got his 5th as Root, yet again, caught. Root caught one more off Broad to dismiss McBrine 2nd ball. It was Broad's 4th. In the 16th over the innings ended. Woakes took his 6th demolishing leg stump off a wild whack gone horribly wrong for Murtagh. Woakes ended with figures of 7.4 overs, 2 maidens, 6 runs for 17 runs. He got help from Broad's figures of 8 overs, 3 maidens, 4-19. Ireland's second innings total was the lowest in Tests at Lord's, the seventh-lowest in Test cricket, and the lowest since South Africa were dismissed for 36 runs in the first innings of the fifth Test in Melbourne in 1932. That was quite something! Ireland after bossing the 1st day thoroughly (at least until tea) had ended up losing 5 sessions on the trot in the circumstances of a 7 session game. It was appalling for me to say the least. The credits must go to Murtagh though. Without him England could've danced around a day and a half. But so were the conditions that the bowlers never got tired of getting wickets. There was no wicketless session. We got all 40 wickets in 175.3 overs. What we could've seen on a flat pitch is 392 accumulated overs in 4 days and no fun. England ended up clear winning. Their big thanks must go to Jack Leach who was awarded the Man of the Match. Not many will remember his 2 dropped catches on the process. Even those happened at the back end of that innings, worth 92 priceless runs. English bowlers shared wickets pretty evenly and I'd wager Broad's wicket hauls were the most important. Not by a far margin though. On the whole, it was a treat. Something for everyone but not quite. As Ashes went on to being at (rainy) Lord's, the appetite of Lord's as home of cricket begins to proceed especially after the Lord's WC final. The English have settled down at home, and so has cricket. But will the Irish ever in near future settle for a win? It was till some point at grabs here in this match. We shall see. Nonetheless, this was a big boost to the steady development of Irish cricket nonetheless.
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