England dominate day one against Ireland but Zak Crawley misses out on a much-needed century
There were three wobbly inside edges for four, a few classic, dreamy cover drives and a fast half-century. But especially for Zak Crawley, there was a big missed opportunity.
No one has had his standing in the English Revolution questioned more than Crawley and no other player needed an appearance here in this ‘Ashes warm-up’ test against Ireland more than an opener with an average of 27.60 after his first 33 tests.
Crawley was in the mid-century that would have gone a long way towards dampening the noise he claims to have shut out by shunning social media when he floated Irish debutant Fionn Hand back to him and saw his chance at the second attempt.
Yes, Crawley had made 56 off 45 balls with 11 fours and was in an opening position of 109 in just 16.3 overs with Ben Duckett, but with Ireland fielding as weak an attack as they have been in Test cricket it should have been many. much more.
England honestly won’t care. Their confidence in Crawley as a player perfectly suited to their all-action style was undiminished after the winter and would have remained that way even if he hadn’t run to Kent this season and fallen for a duck here.
Stuart Broad sealed a career 20th five wicket to put his name back on the honor board at Lord’s
Both Ben Duckett (left) and Zak Crawley (right) made half centuries as England started their first innings
Crawley made 56 from 45 balls with 11 fours, but was unable to capitalize on a modest attack and record a high score
It’s his impact rather than consistency that Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum crave and Crawley impressed on this first day of the Test summer. It just should have been bigger.
Duckett felt he missed many runs during a winter in which he earned a hundred and four and a half centuries, but he himself will have a golden opportunity to add three figures on Friday when he resumes at 60 with England 152 for one in reply to Ireland’s 172.
They rattled on again at six, Ollie Pope joining Duckett in a light-hearted, unbroken second wicket stand of 43, kicking off ‘Bazball Season Two’ with the same explosive storyline as the first blockbuster series.
This was just the kind of day England wanted to open their Test Summer when Ben Stokes won the toss and decided to bowl on a gray morning in St John’s Wood, but on a fairly flat Lord’s pitch.
At the center was the tireless figure of Stuart Broad, who was given a rare opportunity to lead England’s attack here and who, as he approaches his 37th birthday, proved he remains as important to their Ashes chances as ever.
Stokes said prior to this match that England would have launched a very different attack had Australia been the opposition at Lord’s, suggesting that Jimmy Anderson, Ollie Robinson and Mark Wood were all saved for the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston.
But that would be to overlook a man who simply refuses to be overlooked in Broad.
England would certainly be wise to find room for him in the big game on June 16, not least because Broad would love to make an opening statement from Ashes against David Warner.
Ireland struggled to get points on the board on the first day at Lord’s, scoring just 172 goals
Ben Stokes was impressive in the field, constantly moving the field to scare off the batters
Broad was a tireless figure at center for England, a rare occasion when he was asked to lead the attack
Broad has been in sparkling form off the field so far this season. He told Mail Sport that the final shaft should be void and then added a touch of Shane Warnes saying he invented a new delivery for Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne.
Now he was just as strong on it. Broad took the first three Irish wickets to fall in eight balls and would have added a fourth to his next delivery if his lbw had yelled at Paul Stirling, backed by umpire Paul Wilson, who had not been shown to miss a leg stump on judgement.
Ireland would have been 19 for four and threatened another very low score at Lord’s, but Stirling and James McCollum added 45 before Jack Leach, introduced for the 12th over by a Stokes captain who has given him confidence, took the first of his three wickets.
The perfect example of a bowler transformed by the Bazball revolution, Leach has played in every Test since Stokes and Brendon McCullum took over this time last year and it would be a huge surprise if he were now the one to make way for Broad in Edgbaston. .
The selection of Josh Tongue for Chris Woakes here was another example of positive thinking by England and the Worcestershire man didn’t hurt himself on his debut by filling the role of ‘enforcer’ left largely vacant due to injuries to Jofra Archer and Olly Stone.
Tong hit 91 miles per hour in his first spell, consistently maintained his speed in 13 aggressive overs and was unlucky not to have opened his test account.
Jack Leach came in after the 12th over to take three wickets on the first day of the Test
Josh Tongue didn’t hurt himself on his debut by filling the ‘enforcer’ role left largely vacant due to injuries to Jofra Archer and Olly Stone
No problem for Broad, who switched back to the Nursery End and found a decent swing after lunch to add the wickets of McCollum and Mark Adair to complete his first five-wicket haul at Lord’s in 10 years and his 20th overall.
He is now 19 casualties clear of Anderson at the magic 600 in Test cricket mark.
Broad insists he has no interest in that figure. He is simply determined to enjoy every second of this extraordinary England transformation after fearing his Test career was over when he was left out of the Caribbean tour last year.
That now seems a long way off and with England perfectly placed to beat Ireland perhaps as early as Friday, the anticipation for the Ashes can only grow and grow.