Irish cricket team in England in 2019

Ahead of the one-off Test, James Anderson was ruled out of England's squad with a calf injury.{{cite web|url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/27242428/james-anderson-ruled-ireland-test-calf-injury |title=James Anderson ruled out of Ireland Test with calf injury |work=ESPN Cricinfo |access-date=23 July 2019}}

{{Two-innings cricket match

| date = 18–19 July 2019

| team1 = Middlesex 2nd XI

| team2 = {{cr|IRE}}

| score-team1-inns1 = 290/9d (76 overs)

| runs-team1-inns1 = Joe Cracknell 105* (128)

| wickets-team1-inns1 = Craig Young 4/29 (16 overs)

| score-team2-inns1 = 91/3 (28.1 overs)

| runs-team2-inns1 = James McCollum 41 (73)

| wickets-team2-inns1 = Andrew Rishton 1/31 (9 overs)

| score-team1-inns2 =

| runs-team1-inns2 =

| wickets-team1-inns2 =

| score-team2-inns2 =

| runs-team2-inns2 =

| wickets-team2-inns2 =

| result = Match drawn

| report = [https://www.middlesexccc.com/fixtures/results/2019/07/18/middlesex-second-xi-v-ireland Scorecard]

| venue = Merchant Taylors' School Ground, Northwood

| umpires = Nick Hall (Eng) and Vinoj Srinivasan (Eng)

| rain = Only 28.1 overs were possible on Day 2 due to rain.

| toss = Toss uncontested, Middlesex 2nd XI elected to bat first.

}}

{{Two-innings cricket match

| date = 24–27 July 2019While four days of play were scheduled for the one-off Test, the match reached a result in three days.

| team1 = {{cr-rt|ENG}}

| team2 = {{cr|IRE}}

| score-team1-inns1 = 85 (23.4 overs)

| runs-team1-inns1 = Joe Denly 23 (28)

| wickets-team1-inns1 = Tim Murtagh 5/13 (9 overs)

| score-team2-inns1 = 207 (58.2 overs)

| runs-team2-inns1 = Andrew Balbirnie 55 (69)

| wickets-team2-inns1 = Sam Curran 3/28 (10 overs)

| score-team1-inns2 = 303 (77.5 overs)

| runs-team1-inns2 = Jack Leach 92 (162)

| wickets-team1-inns2 = Stuart Thompson 3/44 (12.5 overs)

| score-team2-inns2 = 38 (15.4 overs)

| runs-team2-inns2 = James McCollum 11 (17)

| wickets-team2-inns2 = Chris Woakes 6/17 (7.4 overs)

| result = England won by 143 runs

| report = [http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/1152839.html Scorecard]

| venue = Lord's, London

| umpires = Aleem Dar (Pak) and Ruchira Palliyaguruge (SL)

| motm = Jack Leach (Eng)

| toss = England won the toss and elected to bat.

| notes = Jason Roy, Olly Stone (Eng) and Mark Adair (Ire) all made their Test debuts.

• Boyd Rankin (Ire) became the first cricketer since the Nawab of Pataudi in 1946 to play for and against England in Tests.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/jul/22/boyd-rankin-england-debut-ireland-test |title=Boyd Rankin says disastrous England Test debut should not have happened |work=The Guardian |date=22 July 2019 |access-date=24 July 2019 |last1=Stocks |first1=Chris }}
• Tim Murtagh took the first five-wicket haul by a bowler for Ireland in Tests.{{cite web|url=https://metro.co.uk/2019/07/24/tim-murtagh-sets-ireland-test-record-england-collapse-lords-10452080/ |title=Tim Murtagh sets Ireland Test record as England collapse at Lord's |work=Metro |date=24 July 2019 |access-date=24 July 2019}}
• England's first innings was their shortest in a Test match at home, in terms of overs.{{cite web|url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/27249517/england-worst-collapse-home-tests |title=England's worst collapse at home |work=ESPN Cricinfo |access-date=24 July 2019}}
• 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.{{cite web|url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/27262654/england-achieve-once-century-comeback-ireland-rolled-38 |title=England achieve once-a-century comeback as Ireland are rolled for 38 |work=ESPN Cricinfo |access-date=26 July 2019}}
• 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.{{cite web|url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/18774/report/1152839/day/3/england-vs-ireland-only-test-ireland-tour-of-england-2019 |title=Chris Woakes and Stuart Broad wreck Ireland dream in a session |work=ESPN Cricinfo |access-date=26 July 2019}}

}}

The Test match, which was seen as a warm-up for the upcoming Ashes for the England team, was an historical occasion for the Ireland team, played out at Lord's. For England, Test debutants Olly Stone and Jason Roy, the latter who was part of the World Cup winning team, were among the players looking to find a place in the lineup for the Ashes series.{{cite web |last1=Marks |first1=Vic |title=England's Ashes candidates to be put to the Test by Ireland at Lord's |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/jul/23/england-ashes-candidates-test-ireland-lords |website=The Guardian |access-date=25 July 2019 |date=23 July 2019}} Ireland's team, which was playing in just its third Test since achieving Test status in 2017, saw the debut of fast bowler Mark Adair.

Faced with a flat, green pitch, which was expected to offer some assistance to the bowlers in the first few hours but then leave batting as a more straightforward affair, England won the toss and elected to bat.{{cite web |last1=Marks |first1=Vic |title=Ireland's Tim Murtagh stuns hungover England on Test day of 20 wickets |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/jul/24/england-ireland-test-match-report-tim-murtagh-lords-cricket |website=The Guardian |access-date=25 July 2019 |date=24 July 2019}} Things started to go wrong almost immediately, with Jason Roy out for five, caught on an edge to Paul Stirling at first slip, off a ball by Tim Murtagh, in the third over.{{cite web |title=Ball by Ball Commentary England 1st Innings |url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/18774/commentary/1152839/england-vs-ireland-only-test-ireland-tour-of-england-2019?innings=1 |website=ESPNcricinfo |access-date=25 July 2019 |language=en}} Incoming Joe Denly managed to hold on to score 23 runs before being dismissed leg before wicket to Mark Adair, bringing the England total to 36 for two. at which point England lost six wickets for seven runs to end up at 43 for seven, four batsmen falling to Tim Murtagh, who became the first Irish player to get a five-wicket haul in Test cricket. Sam Curran and Olly Stone added some runs to the total, but the latter was bowled out by Adair for the final wicket, with England all out for 85 before lunch in just 23.4 overs, beating the previous 19th century Lord's record and marking the fourth time in the last three years that England lost ten wickets in a single session.

Resuming after lunch, as the surface began to improve, Ireland's openers brought the total to 45 for two before the partnership of Paul Stirling and Andrew Balbirnie brought Ireland's lead to 42 at tea, thanks in part to a rapid half century by Balbirnie. Good spells by Stuart Broad and Olly Stone, who each took three wickets after the interval, allowed England to remain in the game, with Ireland losing five wickets for just 17 runs and falling to 149 for seven.{{cite web |last1=Dobell |first1=George |title=World Cup champions England pulled back down to earth by Ireland, thanks to Tim Murtagh |url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/18774/report/1152839/day/1/england-vs-ireland-only-test-ireland-tour-of-england-2019 |website=ESPNcricinfo |access-date=25 July 2019 |language=en}} After the end of the pace bowlers' spells, however, Ireland's tail managed to recover and extended the lead to over a hundred thanks to efforts by Kevin O'Brien and Murtagh, to bring a first-innings total of 207 for Ireland.

With one over left in the first day's play, Jack Leach opened England's batting as nightwatchman, surviving the uneventful final over in what was a "bizarre day of Test cricket", which witnessed the fall of 20 wickets. The following morning saw the wicket of Rory Burns fall early, but a 145-run second wicket partnership between Leach and Jason Roy suggested that England might be able to set an intimidating second innings total for Ireland.{{cite web |last1=Dobell |first1=George |title=Ireland battle back after Jack Leach falls short of nightwatchman hundred |url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/18774/report/1152839/day/2/england-vs-ireland-only-test-ireland-tour-of-england-2019 |website=ESPNcricinfo |access-date=26 July 2019 |language=en}} However, after the fall of Roy's wicket, the only batsmen beside Leach to reach a half-century, Leach ended up eight runs short of becoming the first England nightwatchman to score a century, falling prey to the nervous nineties after batting for more than four hours.{{cite web |last1=Marks |first1=Vic |title=England's Jack Leach cites 'weird thoughts' during nervous nineties |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/jul/25/nervous-nineties-jack-leach-england-lords-cricket |website=The Guardian |access-date=26 July 2019 |date=25 July 2019}}{{cite web |last1=Marks |first1=Vic |title=Jack Leach leads England fightback but Ireland remain in hunt for Test win |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/jul/25/england-ireland-test-day-two-match-report |website=The Guardian |access-date=26 July 2019 |date=25 July 2019}} He joined Alex Tudor, Harold Larwood, Eddie Hemmings and Jack Russell in getting within ten runs of the milestone. England lost a further seven wickets for 77 runs, before play was interrupted early in the evening because of thunder and lightning. This left England on 303 for nine at the close, with Ireland having a chance of achieving an upset going into the third day. England's last wicket fell on the first ball of the following morning, leaving a target of 182 to win for Ireland.

Stuart Broad and Chris Woakes then opened the bowling for England, with Woakes getting an early breakthrough by dismissing the Ireland captain William Porterfield on the last ball of the fourth over.{{cite web|url=https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/1294621 |title=England blow Ireland away for 38 to seal victory |work=International Cricket Council |access-date=26 July 2019}} Things went downhill for Ireland from there, Broad and Woakes combining to take all ten wickets between them, with Woakes finishing six wickets for seventeen runs, taking his third five-wicket haul at Lord's.{{cite web|url=https://www.outlookindia.com/website/story/sports-news-chris-woakes-and-stuart-broad-dominate-as-england-crush-ireland-at-lords/334954 |title=Chris Woakes And Stuart Broad Dominate As England Crush Ireland At Lord's |work=Outlook India |access-date=26 July 2019}} Despite interruptions due to the inclement weather,{{cite web |last1=Dobell |first1=George |title=Chris Woakes and Stuart Broad wreck Ireland dream in a session |url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/18774/report/1152839/day/3/england-vs-ireland-only-test-ireland-tour-of-england-2019 |website=ESPNcricinfo |access-date=26 July 2019 |language=en}} Ireland ended up being bowled out for 38 before the end of the morning session, lasting only 15.4 overs,{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/jul/26/england-beat-ireland-lords-test-match-cricket |title=England skittle Ireland for 38 to bounce back and win Test match at Lord's |work=The Guardian |date=26 July 2019 |access-date=26 July 2019 |last1=Marks |first1=Vic }} the seventh-lowest total in a Test match innings.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/49128689 |title=Ashes 2019: England captain Joe Root has 'no concerns' about team's batting before Australia series |work=BBC Sport |access-date=26 July 2019}} Jack Leach was named the man of the match, after his 92 runs in the second innings.{{cite web|url=https://www.somersetcountygazette.co.uk/sport/17797870.jack-leach-named-player-match-england-39-s-win-ireland/ |title=Jack Leach named player of the match in England's win over Ireland |work=Somerset County Gazette |date=26 July 2019 |access-date=26 July 2019}} Initially this was not enough to secure a spot in the first Test of the Ashes,{{cite web |title=No place for Irish foe Leach in England's Ashes squad |url=https://www.rte.ie/sport/cricket/2019/0727/1065558-no-place-for-irish-foe-leach-in-englands-ashes-squad/ |publisher=RTÉ Sport |access-date=28 July 2019 |language=en |date=27 July 2019}} however, he was named in the squad for the second Test, after Moeen Ali was dropped.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/49292631 |title=Ashes 2019: England drop Moeen Ali, Jack Leach recalled for second Test |work=BBC Sport |access-date=9 August 2019}}

Despite the victory, England captain Joe Root later lashed out at the "substandard pitch" which did not come "even close to a fair contest between bat and ball throughout the whole game",{{cite web |title=Joe Root critical of 'substandard' Lord's pitch after avoiding embarrassment against Ireland |url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/27262655/joe-root-critical-substandard-lord-pitch-avoiding-embarrassment-ireland |website=ESPNcricinfo |access-date=26 July 2019 |language=en |date=26 July 2019}} and might have been a contributing factor to the low scores achieved, combined with similarly substandard batting displays by both sides.{{cite web |last1=Bull |first1=Andy |title=Joe Root hits out at 'substandard' Lord's pitch after England's three-day Test win |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/jul/26/joe-root-substandard-lords-pitch-england-ireland-test |website=The Guardian |access-date=26 July 2019 |date=26 July 2019}} For his five-wicket haul in the first innings, Tim Murtagh's name was added to the Away Team Honours Board.{{cite web|url=https://www.cricketireland.ie/news/article/murtagh-makes-the-honours-board...officially |title=Murtagh makes the Honours Board... officially! |work=Cricket Ireland |access-date=31 July 2019}}

{{reflist|group="n"}}

{{reflist}}

• [http://www.espncricinfo.com/scores/series/1152835/ireland-tour-of-england Series home at ESPN Cricinfo]

{{2019 English cricket season}}

{{International cricket tours of England}}

{{International cricket in 2019}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Irish cricket team in England in 2019}}

Category:2019 in English cricket

Category:2019 in Irish cricket

Category:International cricket competitions in 2019

Category:Irish cricket tours of England