England vs Ireland, Lords Test - Preview, Probable XI, Ground Stats And Pitch Report

England vs Ireland, Lords Test (Image Source: Google)

The highly-anticipated only test match of the Ireland-England series is set to take place at the iconic Lord's Stadium in London. England will be the hosts for this thrilling encounter, scheduled to commence on Thursday, June 1st, 2023, with a start time of 3:30 p.m. IST.

Team England

Home team England will kickstart the new cycle of the World Test Championship from 2023–2025. England missed out on finishing in the top two spots for two World Test Championship cycles. A huge challenge lies ahead for head coach Brendon McCullum and co. as they look to dominate against the visitors, Ireland, in the only test match of the series. Easy 12 points up for grabs for England.

Right-arm medium-fast bowler Josh Tongue is set to make his international debut for England. James Anderson is set to miss the test match as he is preparing for the upcoming Ashes series against Australia. England have gone with their regular playing XI against Ireland.

England Players to watch out for 

Harry Brook has scored 809 runs in his last six outings, averaging 80.90. Joe Root has scored 754 runs in the last ten matches of test cricket, averaging 53.85. In the bowling department, comeback man Stuart Broad will be the key to England’s success. Broad has a phenomenal record at Lord’s. Broad has picked up 576 wickets in his test career and is closing in on 600 test wickets. A perfect game for Stuart Broad to add wickets to his tally and get back to his usual best before the upcoming Ashes Series.

Team Ireland

Ireland has played six test matches in international cricket and is yet to win a test match. The Irish will have to show tremendous resilience to pull off an upset against the giants of Test cricket. If Ireland ever imagined and backed their strengths to win the match at Lord's, a lot will depend on how Ireland’s captain Andrew Balbirnie, Harry Tector, Paul Stirling, George Dockrell, and Andy McBrine perform.

Ireland won the 3-day practice against Essex by 10 wickets. Paul Stirling scored 107 runs in the first inning, and Lorcan Tucker scored 97 runs. In the 4th inning, chasing down a target of 232 runs, Ireland openers Jame McCollum and Peter Moor scored 100 and 118, respectively. Thomas Mayes was the star performer on the field. Mayes ended with match figures of 7/123.

Ireland Players to watch out 

Andrew Balbirnie has scored 316 runs in his short test career. Lorcan Tucker has racked up 289 runs in three matches, averaging 48.16. In the bowling department, Andy McBrine has picked up 12 wickets in five matches.

England vs Ireland Head-to-Head Record 

Both England and Ireland clashed once in the longest format. England won the match by 143 runs. Ireland were bowled out for 38 runs in the fourth innings of the match. Stuart Broad picked up seven wickets in the match.

Pitch Report & Ground Stats Lords Cricket Stadium, London 

Traditionally, Lord's has been known for assisting swing and seam bowlers due to the overcast and damp English conditions. However, in recent years, the pitch has also been known to offer good batting conditions, allowing for high-scoring matches. The team winning the toss chooses to bowl first and get assistance from the surface early in the match. 

Matches Played: 143 matches 

Teams won batting 1st: 51 matches 

Teams won bowling 1st: 41 matches 

Average 1st innings score: 310 runs

Average 2nd innings score: 298 runs

Average 3rd innings score: 298 runs

Average 4th innings score: 156 runs 

England vs Ireland Probable Playing XI

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

Ireland Playing XI: James McCollum, Peter Moor, Andrew Balbirnie (c), Harry Tector, Paul Stirling, Lorcan Tucker (wk), Andy McBrine, Fionn Hand, Graham Hume, Craig Young, Thomas Mayes

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Vishnu