England beat Ireland by 10 wickets, at Lord’s

England beat Ireland by 10 wickets, at Lord’s today, in the Only Test against Ireland.

Match Summary

England vs Ireland, Only Test, Ireland tour of England Only Test

England 524/4d (82.4 ov) & 12/0 (0.4)

Ireland 172/10 (56.2 ov) & 362/9 (86.2 ov)

Result – England won by 10 wickets

Match Day Report

Debutant fast bowler Josh Tongue marked his call-up into England's Ashes squad with a five-wicket haul as England beat a gutsy Ireland by 10 wickets at Lord's on Saturday. 

Ireland were bowled out for 358 in their second innings on the third day, and England chased the 11 runs required in 4 balls.

Fast bowler Tongue, included in the England squad for the first two Tests against Australia announced earlier Saturday, had taken 5-66.

Ireland had done well to take the four-day match this far after slumping to 162-6 before lunch.

But a record Ireland stand of 163 between the seventh-wicket duo of Andy McBrine (85 not out) and Mark Adair (88) kept England at bay.

And when Fionn Hand became Tongue's fifth wicket of the innings, Ireland were 340-8.

But they were effectively nine wickets down, with opener James McCollum unlikely to bat again having retired hurt Friday after twisting his right ankle trying to pull Tongue.

And that meant England were able to extend the session by 30 minutes in a bid to force victory before tea. 

England were denied an innings win, however, when tailender Graham Hume hit two fours off successive deliveries from part-time off-spinner Joe Root -- shots greeted by huge cheers from a sun-drenched crowd.

Ireland, in just their seventh Test and still searching for a first win at this level, resumed on 97-3. 

That left them 255 runs adrift after England's Ollie Pope (205) and Ben Duckett (150) had taken a toll of their attack.

Ireland lost just one wicket in Saturday's opening hour, with left-arm spinner Jack Leach removing Lorcan Tucker for an attractive 44 before two went down on 162.

Harry Tector, a delivery after completing an attractive 97-ball fifty, holed out to point off Tongue.

Curtis Campher then miscued a sweep off Root to short fine leg where England captain Ben Stokes, who has been battling a longstanding knee injury, hobbled after taking a simple catch.

The dismissal was Stokes's first direct involvement in a match where he has yet to bat or bowl. 

England want to protect the all-rounder's fitness ahead of the Ashes, while still benefitting from the leadership skills that have helped them win 10 of their 12 Tests since Stokes joined forces with coach Brendon McCullum last year.

But there was not much he could do tactically as McBrine and Adair played shots worthy of top-order batsmen on a placid pitch against an attack missing James Anderson and Ollie Robinson, both rested ahead of the first Test against Australia at Edgbaston which starts on June 16.

Adair took Ireland to 200 by hoisting Root for six.

And the fast bowler, whose previous highest Test score was 32 against Bangladesh in Mirpur in April, completed a 47-ball fifty with a ramped four off England great Stuart Broad.

Left-hander McBrine kept the runs coming with a fifty including 10 boundaries as England's bowlers struggled with a softening ball.

But Adair eventually fell when, trying to ramp Matthew Potts, he guided the ball instead to wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow.

Match Stats

Ireland 1st Innings Fall of wickets: 1-15 (Peter Moor - 4.2 ov), 2-19 (Andy Balbirnie - 6.1 ov), 3-19 (Harry Tector - 6.3 ov), 4-64 (Paul Stirling - 21.3 ov), 5-98 (James McCollum - 30.4 ov), 6-104 (Lorcan Tucker - 35.1 ov), 7-142 (Andy McBrine - 43.3 ov), 8-169 (Mark Adair - 53.5 ov), 9-172 (Curtis Campher - 55.3 ov), 10-172 (Fionn Hand - 56.2 ov)

England 1st  Innings Fall of wickets: 1-109 (Zak Crawley - 16.3 ov), 2-361 (Ben Duckett - 59.5 ov), 3-507 (Joe Root - 80.3 ov), 4-524 (Ollie Pope - 82.4 ov)

Ireland 2nd Innings Fall of wickets:  1-16 (Peter Moor - 6.1 ov), 2-18 (Andy Balbirnie - 6.6 ov), 3-63 (Paul Stirling - 16.3 ov), 4-126 (Lorcan Tucker - 33.2 ov), 5-162 (Harry Tector - 42.6 ov), 6-162 (Curtis Campher - 43.3 ov), 7-325 (Mark Adair - 70.6 ov), 8-340 (Fionn Hand - 79.1 ov), 9-362 (Graham Hume - 86.2 ov)

England 2nd Innings Fall of wickets:

Playing XIs

England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes(C), Jonny Bairstow(WK), Stuart Broad, Jack Leach, Matthew Potts, Josh Tongue

Ireland:, James McCollum, Peter Moor, Andy Balbirnie(C), Harry Tector, Paul Stirling, Lorcan Tucker(WK), Curtis Campher, Andy McBrine, Mark Adair, Fionn Hand, Graham Hume

Match Details:

Date: Thursday, June 1, 2023 11:00

Venue: Lord's, London

Toss: England elected to bowl