Ali Martin’s day two report:
Emma John on Ireland’s fans:
Pope basks in the moment:
Ben Duckett is speaking to Sky. Interesting that they sent him out rather than Ollie Pope, although he’s a good talker. He goes out of his way to praise Pope, saying it was a pleasure to watch him from the other end. He confirms what everyone says about getting a Test hundred at Lord’s: “it’s what you dream about as a kid”. It felt like a pitch, he adds, where you could play the majority of the deliveries, and then “respect them” if they were right on the spot. He thinks Leach will be influential tomorrow as the ball has started to spin for him, “as far as I could see from deep cover”.
You can see why Stokes backed Duckett. He’s got something about him when he talks, as well as when he bats. He’s a team player, aware of the others, as he shows by mentioning Rooty and Stokesy as well as Leachy, Popey and Tonguey.
Time for me to sign off. Thanks for your company and some excellent correspondence. The OBO will be back tomorrow from around 10am. I’m down to reappear on Sunday, so I’m hoping Tector and Tucker add another 300.
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Between them the two teams have made 469 runs in the day. What is this, one-day cricket in the Eighties?
Stumps! England lead by 255
26th over: Ireland 97-3 (Tector 33, Tucker 21) Stokes brings some catchers in, but Leach again drifts too far to leg and both batters cash in, gently. They’ve done well, steadying the ship after those three quick wickets and McCollum’s enforced retirement. The day belongs, just about, to England, who rattled up 500 at a ridiculous rate. Ben Duckett made more than Ireland, and Ollie Pope made more than Duckett. Records were broken all over the shop. Pope made the fastest 200 ever seen in a Test in England, beating a record held for 40 years by Ian Botham. C’est magnifique, mais ce n’est pas la guerre.
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25th over: Ireland 92-3 (Tector 30, Tucker 19) Broad is convinced he’s nabbed Tector, caught down the leg side, but then he doesn’t take much convincing. Ireland review and they’re quite right – the ball, a cross-seam bouncer, brushed the shirt. Tector celebrates with a rasping pull.
Time for the last over of the day. For the sake of the game, I hope these two survive.
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24th over: Ireland 84-3 (Tector 27, Tucker 15) A single off Leach, and Tector’s score goes in the right direction again.
“Ireland have put up a bit more fight in the second innings,” says Colum Fordham, “and have not exactly enjoyed the luck of the Irish, most noticeably Stirling’s gloved dismissal and poor James McCollum’s twisted ankle. I think my near-namesake has put up more fight than most of the Irish batters, so his unfortunate pirouette and slip rubbed salt into the wounded pride of Ireland who have struggled so hard to have the opportunity to play Tests against the top teams. It’s just a shame the match is so one-sided, but that is partly the fault of the ICC and the rich Test-playing nations.”
23rd over: Ireland 84-3 (Tector 26, Tucker 15) Broad returns, bearing bouncers, but the batters aren’t too bothered. For the past 20 minutes the individual scores on Sky have been out of kilter with the ones on Cricinfo. This is a nightmare for the OBO writer: it’s like when your parents argue in front of you. Happily, they’ve now kissed and made up, which explains why Tector’s score on this page has gone down.
22nd over: Ireland 79-3 (Tector 27, Tucker 10) Leach continues and bounces back from that brief battering. He finds some turn from somewhere and beats Tucker, possibly brushing the off stump in the process. A maiden for Leach, who has 5-1-18-0.
“Might we give a shout-out,” says Andrew Benton, “to the people of Tongue on the northern coast of Scotland?” We might.
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21st over: Ireland 79-3 (Tector 27, Tucker 10) Stokes wants one more over from Tongue, which seems a bit out of character for Stokes and a bit harsh on Tongue. The batters see it off easily enough and take a single apiece.
“Evening Tim,” says Simon MacMahon. “In the era of year-round franchise cricket, is it too fanciful to suggest that teams like Ireland, Afghanistan, the Netherlands and maybe even Scotland might be the future of Test cricket? Won’t be easy, but with the ICC on board (admittedly a big ‘but’) they could at least be hopeful of getting closer to the established nations. It took New Zealand 26 years to win their first Test. Small acorns and all that.”
20th over: Ireland 77-3 (Tector 26, Tucker 9) Another classy clip to midwicket off Leach, this time from Tucker.
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19th over: Ireland 73-3 (Tector 26, Tucker 5) Nasser Hussain notices that Tongue is doing something he did in the first innings: starting by bowling full, then going short. This, his seventh over on the trot, goes for just a single.
“Will Zak Crawley have to go,” asks Rick Kirstie, “if any of the Irish batters better his score?” That seems fair as long as Joe Root, who also made 56, goes too.
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18th over: Ireland 72-3 (Tector 26, Tucker 5) That forthcoming onslaught on Jack Leach seems to be starting right now. Tucker tucks in with a glance for four and Tector takes the hint with a stylish on-drive.
“Can I just remind everyone,” says Kim Thonger, “that at close of play with two days to go at Headingley in 1981, England’s position was almost as bad as Ireland’s now? 6 for 1, following on, well over 200 runs behind. Worth a fiver* on an Irish victory? You’d get good odds.
* The usual get-out clauses regarding financial advice apply.”
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17th over: Ireland 64-3 (Tector 23, Tucker 1) In comes Lorcan Tucker, and Tongue greets him with a nasty piece of chin music. He ducks into it, taking it on the helmet, and there’s a delay while he is asked who the prime minister is. Not an easy question to answer, in either of these nations, in the 2020s. Tucker is able to continue and is clearly undaunted, as he hooks the next ball for a single. Meanwhile there’s been an update on James McCollum, who has a badly twisted ankle.
WICKET! Stirling c Bairstow b Tongue 15 (Ireland 63-3)
Another one! It’s a strangle down the leg side, not given on the field, but Tongue is convinced and the review proves him right. Stirling has to go, which is a blow for the crowd, and Tongue has three for 23.
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16th over: Ireland 58-2 (Tector 19, Stirling 14) Leach to Stirling, who got out to him in the first innings. Leach thinks he’s got an LBW, and Bairstow agrees, but the ump is unmoved and Stokes doesn’t review. Stirling takes a single. Tector goes for a big hit, England-style, and doesn’t middle it but still gets four.
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15th over: Ireland 58-2 (Tector 19, Stirling 14) It’s Tector v Tongue, and this is a good contest. Tector, standing on off stump, flicks for four off his hip. Tongue strikes back with a good yorker, now a rare sight in Tests, and Tector digs it out on off stump. Tongue bowls a bouncer, which Tector helps on its way for six. Stokes reacts instantly, removing the only slip (Crawley) and laying a trap for the hook. Anticipating the short ball, Tector decides that discretion is the better part of valour.
Say what you like about a mismatch, that over was proper Test cricket: a duel between two gifted young players with four Test caps between them.
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14th over: Ireland 48-2 (Tector 9, Stirling 14) Potts takes his sweater, which will please Tector, and Stokes turns to spin. On comes Jack Leach, who starts with a nice tight over, plenty of shape, just a single from it. As Mark Butcher notes, Leach is oozing confidence at the moment. Whether that survives the onslaught that the Aussies may have in mind for him, we shall see.
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Drinks! Ireland hanging in there
13th over: Ireland 47-2 (Tector 8, Stirling 14) Stirling, facing Tongue for the first time today, hits another classy four, stroked past point on the up.
Tom Callaghan has a question. “Is Tongue in the groove?” He is. And as Tongue puns go, that’s better than most.
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12th over: Ireland 40-2 (Tector 6, Stirling 9) Stirling isn’t going to die wondering. Facing Potts, he clumps a drive through the covers, then does it again. Of the 40 runs in the innings, 28 have come off Potts, and he hasn’t bowled at all badly.
“Just an idea,” says Richard Chorley, “but how about England v. a combined Counties team as a warm-up next time? Unless Andorra are already booked.” Ouch. Ireland need support! They’ve beaten England a few times playing with the white ball. They just need more funding, which may require the ICC to abandon its policy of bending over backwards to make the rich richer.
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11th over: Ireland 32-2 (Tector 6, Stirling 1) Tector comes with a reputation for being talented and now he shows why, easing Tongue away for four with an elegant leg glance.
10th over: Ireland 28-2 (Tector 2, Stirling 1) We wish James McCollum all the best and look forward to him coming in again, like Colin Cowdrey, to seal the draw. For a couple of minutes Ireland have two batters on nought, not that that will bother the seasoned Paul Stirling. Then Potts, who has two leg slips, goes a bit too straight and hands out three singles on the pads. Harry Tector has a word with Matt Potts, apparently complaining about the glare from something, maybe a bracelet. As Ian Ward almost remarks, it’s close to being a case of Jewellery stopped play.
“Lovely day for it!” says Theo Boardman-Pretty. “For all the talk of the Stokes & McCullum era being about entertaining the crowds, I wonder if they’ve forgotten about those coming on days 3, 4 & 5? Maybe they just want the weekenders reimbursed for this year’s criminally expensive Test match tickets.”
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Retired hurt! McCollum 12 (Ireland 25-2)
9th over: Ireland 25-2 (Tector 0, Stirling 0) There’s a delay as McCollum suddenly goes down after deciding not to play a shot at a short ball from Tongue. It didn’t hit him, but his right knee seemed to collapse under him and he was in obvious distress. After a couple of minutes, he’s well enough to stand up but not to continue. He leaves the field, to sympathetic applause, with his arms round the shoulders of two physios.
“Going to put it out there,” says Dominic Papineau, “that Stokes is slipping with his maverick captaincy genius. At tea he could have said to the team ‘we’ve got until this time tomorrow to break the innings record’. Means everyone more likely to have a bat still playing at the pace they were going. Ireland a better chance to take 10 wickets, and give them an outside chance of batting out for the draw, which then puts a little pressure on the England bowlers to winkle out the 10 wickets.”
8th over: Ireland 25-2 (McCollum 12, Tector 0) There’s nearly a third wicket in succession, as there was in the first innings – Potts lures McCollum into a flirtation outside off which would end in a catch to gully, had Stokes posted one. Instead the ball flies away for four. Steve Waugh would have at least two gullies here, plus seven slips, but maybe Stokes wants the bowlers to rehearse with the sort of field he has in mind for the Ashes.
7th over: Ireland 18-2 (McCollum 5, Tector 0) When the finger went up for the first wicket, Josh Tongue reacted by jumping for joy, literally. After the second one he has to take his place on the boundary, where he gets a big ovation, doesn’t quite know what to do, and ends up doing a tiny wave, like a very shy new member of the royal family. I hope he glances up at the scoreboard, which will be saying: Tongue 1-0-2-2.
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WICKET!! Balbirnie c Bairstow b Tongue 2 (Ireland 18-2)
One brings two! Poor old Andy Balbirnie has spent most of the day trying to limit the carnage and now he comes in on a pair, plays one good shot, and then gets a nick on a ball that kept low.
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I do hope Peter Moor's nickname is O'Thello @TimdeLisle
— Gary Naylor (@garynaylor999) June 2, 2023
WICKET! Moor LBW b Tongue 11 (Ireland 16-1)
Josh Tongue bowled well yesterday with no reward. Today he comes on and gets some joy first ball! Angled down the slope, thudding into the pad. Moor reviews but there are four reds. The first of quite a few Test wickets for Tongue, I suspect.
6th over: Ireland 16-0 (Moor 11, McCollum 5) McCollum follows suit, stroking a length ball from Potts to the cover fence.
“I wonder,” says Niall Mullen, “where playing a new Test nation comes on the list of things that might damage Test cricket? Somewhere between the IPL hegemony and the climate crisis maybe. As for the honours board, I imagine they’ll be chopping it up for firewood this very evening.” Ha.
5th over: Ireland 12-0 (Moor 11, McCollum 1) No wickets yet, but Ireland could do with a boundary. Moor supplies it with a classy drive off Broad, taken on the up.
4th over: Ireland 8-0 (Moor 7, McCollum 1) Potts, warming to the task, bowls the best over of the day so far. First he delivers something that is six inches away from perfection, somehow beating both the edge of McCollum’s bat and the outside of the off stump. Then he brings the ball back in and has another decent LBW shout. This England seam attack is the B team, understudying Anderson, Robinson, Wood and possibly Woakes, but they’re doing very well so far.
“Tim,” says Kim Thonger, “may I submit a reverse jinx? England do not have enough runs on the board, Ireland will knock the 350 deficit off in no time and this will surely end in tears.” Ha.
3rd over: Ireland 8-0 (Moor 7, McCollum 1) Moor, facing Broad, calms down again and pushes into the covers for two.
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2nd over: Ireland 6-0 (Moor 5, McCollum 1) Matthew Potts takes the new ball and suddenly it’s all happening. A single by James McCollum to get Ireland off the mark. An LBW shout against Peter Moor, perhaps going down. A kamikaze run from Moor that should bring a run-out, but Stokes shies at the wrong end and concedes four overthrows to boot, so Moor gets five for the price of none.
“Hate to be that guy...,” says Matt Winter. “Have stopped watching. This is hugely damaging for Test cricket and the honours board rendered a bit worthless. The only team genuinely enjoying this is Australia. Ho hum.” I’d say mildly damaging at most, because of all the other nations that have gone through this stage. The only worry with Ireland is that it will take them longer to get out of it because they so seldom play with a red ball.
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1st over: Ireland 0-0 (Moor 0, McCollum 0) Broad, again choosing the Pavilion end as Anderson isn’t here to bag it, begins with a maiden.
England rattled along at more than a run a ball. Their 524 came off 82.4 overs, which, if my arithmetic adds up, is 496 balls, plus one no-ball and three wides.
“The more England score,” says Pete Salmon, “the worse Crawley’s 56 looks, am I right? (I don’t like Crawley.)” Oof. Two points to make there. First, Root got 56 too, and he wasn’t facing the new ball. Secondly, I interviewed Crawley for Wisden when he was one of their Five Cricketers of the Year, and a nicer guy you could not wish to quiz. He was polite, modest and interested in other people. Any of us can argue with the policy of picking him, but let’s not take it out on him personally.
England declare! On 524-4
The man in the bucket hat waves his arms, and England’s innings comes to an end. He may have been waiting for the lead to reach 350 as well as for Pope’s double hundred: it stands at 352, which should be enough. And the Ireland bowlers’ labours come to an end too, just as they were getting on top.
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Wicket! Pope st Tucker b McBrine 205 (England 524-4)
Gone next ball! Dancing down again, but McBrine saw him coming and speared the ball wide of off.
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200 to Pope! With a six
In style! Pope dances down the wicket to McBrine and hits a six to reach the fastest Test double hundred in England, by anyone. It’s taken him 207 balls. Some England No.3s would take that long to reach 42 not out.
82nd over: England 517-3 (Pope 199, Brook 8) Pope, who might quite like a two, can only get one as he runs the first ball of Adair’s over down to third man. Brook, who might want to play himself in, doesn’t bother. He inside-edges an attempted slog, then nails a pull for four off a not-very-short ball, and goes inside-out to chip over cover for three. “And the real dashers,” says Mark Butcher, “haven’t got in yet.”
81st over: England 509-3 (Pope 198, Brook 1) Brook, who collects a few ducks, has no trouble getting off the mark here, as he clips to leg and the man at midwicket misfields. Come on Ireland! This is your big chance.
WICKET! Root b McBrine 56 (England 507-3)
The breakthrough! Root goes down the track to McBrine, misses and hears a clink of timber. That’s good for the game, good for Ireland, and good for England, who can bring on Brook or Bairstow.
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Tea! England just about on top
Time for tea, with England 331 ahead, with eight wickets in hand. As mismatches go, it’s a big one.
“If we’re counting,” says John Starbuck, “England’s score might have to have an asterisk appended, given that in the records the Ireland Test hardly counts. Unfair, but there you go.” I bow to John’s knowledge but I’m not sure I agree. Haven’t there been quite a few Test nations down the decades that went through this stage. We’ve seen mismatches involving Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, even India and New Zealand. We’ve even seen England being utterly hopeless. They all count, don’t they?
500 up! And a milestone for Root
80th over: England 503-2 (Pope 197, Root 52) Root, facing the persevering Campher, suddenly plays a false shot – a reverse poke that flies off the edge, and maybe the arm, for four. Then he makes up for it with a well-hit pull, for four more, which takes him to yet another Test fifty. The crowd are still going “Rooooot!” when he adds a single that takes him to 11,000 Test runs, the second Englishman to manage that after Alastair Cook. So, the second and the most watchable.
A hundred in a session for Pope
79th over: England 494-2 (Pope 197, Root 43) This morning Ben Duckett became the first man since the 1920s to get a hundred before lunch in a Lord’s Test. Now Ollie Pope has made a hundred between lunch and tea. He gets there with one of his least memorable shots, a nudge off the pads for a single.
Seemingly not much to play for, until you factor in remaining overs. With the session yesterday, and 3 full days, that's 300 overs at 6.5 an over... closing in on 2,000 runs! Could put the innings total record to bed for all time. Bat on, bat long, I say... @TimdeLisle #ENGIRE
— Ed Kay (@billypudcock) June 2, 2023
78th over: England 489-2 (Pope 195, Root 40) A flurry of singles off Campher.
I’m not absolutely certain that Mike Atherton is reading this while he commentates on Sky and begins to write his match report for The Times, but if he is, we have a message for him. “Sorry Mike,” says Jan Colley, “but your touching faith that ‘presumably’ everybody here at Lord’s will get a match programme as part of their entrance ticket is misplaced. Nope. Another £6 I believe on top of the (relatively) bargain £70 for my seat. It’s obviously been a while.”
77th over: England 485-2 (Pope 193, Root 38) Something must have happened in this over from Fionn Hand, but I can’t for the life of me remember what.
More interestingly, here’s Pete Salmon. “Given the number 9 batsman scored 92 last time these teams played, is it time to start talking about the highest innings in Tests?” he wonders. “As everyone knows it is currently 952-6 by Sri Lanka in 1997, but might this be the thirrd time in all first-class cricket that 1000 gets breached? And the first time without Bill Ponsford scoring at least 350 of them?” Nice punchline!
76th over: England 480-2 (Pope 190, Root 36) A few more for Pope, who spots a slower ball from Campher and off-drives it for four, then gets away with a miscued pull.
75th over: England 472-2 (Pope 184, Root 34) A few more singles and a two off the over from Hand. The landmarks are coming thick and fast: the lead is now 300, and a few minutes ago we had the hundred partnership. It’s the third in a row at the top of the order, something (Cricinfo tells me) England haven’t done since Chennai in 1984-85. That was Foxy Fowler’s finest hour, not that it did him much good when his place was handed to Graham Gooch, fresh from a three-year ban for going on a rebel tour to South Africa.
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74th over: England 466-2 (Pope 180, Root 32) Curtis Campher manages to get the plug in, conceding just two singles.
“In all the batting mayhem so far,” says Brian Withington, “I’ve yet to see any of the English team playing as well against Ireland as Robin Das did last week for Essex, with a superb maiden century on his first-class debut. He’s made a decent start to his T20 career this week, too. Remember the name.”
73rd over: England 464-2 (Pope 179, Root 31) McBrine gets a breather. I just hope he doesn’t look at the scoreboard, which reveals that he has none for 86 from 12 overs. On comes Hand, and Pope hooks him for six. England are right to be still batting, as the batters need some time in the middle, but wrong to be letting Pope go on and on.
His 150, by the way, is the joint second fastest in a Lord’s Test, level with someone called Bradman, behind someone called Duckett.
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72nd over: England 455-2 (Pope 172, Root 29) Another over, another pull for four from Pope. Ben Stokes is watching from the balcony in England’s new bucket hat, which makes him look as if he’s just popped in on his way to hear the Lightning Seeds on the Other Stage.
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71st over: England 448-2 (Pope 166, Root 28) A better over from McBrine: it only goes for ten. Pope picks up two from a reverse-lap and four from a hard-hit pull. Time to retire, surely.
150 to Pope!
70th over: England 438-2 (Pope 158, Root 26) A change of bowling, as Campher replaces Hume. No change of batting, as Pope plays a gorgeous dancing on-drive for four and a streaky nick for four more. That’s his first 150 in Tests. His previous best was 145 at Trent Bridge last summer against New Zealand, slightly more hard-earned than this.
69th over: England 427-2 (Pope 148, Root 25) McBrine is dishing up gentle offbreaks, so these two help themselves from the buffet. Pope goes down the track and hits a straight six, even though he didn’t quite get hold of it. Root then plays much the same shot, only better. After making 2 off 14 balls, he has 23 from his last 13.
“Hi Tim and welcome to the slugfest,” says John Starbuck. Thank you! “Mention of Bob Barber reminds me when I started watching Tests on TV. I well recall the sensation caused by seeing, for the very first time, Barber and Boycott walking out to open and Boycott didn’t have his sleeves buttoned down to the wrist! Another time.” That’s lovely.
68th over: England 411-2 (Pope 141, Root 16) Roooooot is in the groooooove now. He plays his signature shot, the no-force force past gully for four, off the first and last balls off this over from Hume. The first foes for four, the last for three, and that’s the 50 partnership off 49 balls.
Pope, in his new role as vice-captain, needs to get out now to give Harry Brook a go.
67th over: England 402-2 (Pope 141, Root 8) Adair continues, the ball keeps swinging, and Joe Root, thankfully, remembers that he’s Joe Root and glides to third man for two. There’s playing Bazball, as Duckett did, and there’s playing silly buggers, as Root was a few minutes ago when, with two runs to his name, he tried to reverse-shovel two balls in a row and missed them both. By reverting to his own game, he brings up the 400.
Thanks Jim and hello everyone. It’s the first big cricket event of the summer: the Lord’s Test mismatch.
66th over: England 397-2 (Pope 129, Root 5) A brace of boundaries to Pope take England to within a whisper of 400. Their lead stands at 225. With an afternoon of shenanigans still to come I’m going to take my leave and welcome Tim de Lisle into the OBO armchair (leather, just the right amount of give).
Thanks for your comments and emails, goodbye.
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65th over: England 387-2 (Pope 129, Root 5) England loosen whatever flimsy shackles they were under, nine runs picked off Adair’s over with ease.
A good shout this from Peter Wyatt:
“Back in the 1960s England had an opener called Bob Barber, who at Sydney in January 1966 scored 185 out of an opening stand of 234 with Geoff Boycott by tea on the first day. So battered were the Aussies they went on to lose the Test by an innings. And yet he didn’t play much (28 tests, not all opening) as the selectors preferred the more sedate but reliable Boycott and John Edrich. I rather think the current regime would have taken a different view”
64th over: England 378-2 (Pope 123, Root 2) Root is trying to negate the movement by batting well out of his crease. Hume keeps him tied down and there’s just a single off the over. Well played Ireland for halting England’s rapid progress, for the time being at least.
63rd over: England 377-2 (Pope 122, Root 2) Pope drives on the up for four but is then hit on the pads and is lucky to survive. A leg-bye brings Root on strike and he is beaten on the outside edge by one that moves up the slope.
62nd over: England 369-2 (Pope 118, Root 2) Root gets off the mark with a push into the covers for two. This ball is nibbling about, Root hasn’t played a red ball innings since New Zealand in February, all of a sudden it looks a bit tricksy out in the middle.
61st over: England 366-2 (Pope 117, Root 0) Pope pulls Adair for four but the bowler responds well, this ball is moving around a bit and giving the batters a bit more to think about. Adair nearly pins Joe Root in front but a slight inside edge saves him.
60th over: England 361-2 (Pope 109, Root 0) Ireland had just had the Dukes ball changed and the replays of the wicket suggest that there’s a bit more life in the replacement – it definitely hooped back further than anything else we’ve seen so far.
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Summary
Graham Hume is driven for four through the covers by Duckett but responds by nipping one back down the hill which uproots the off stump! A wicket! Duckett takes the warm applause and departs, Joe Root is the new batter.
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59th over: England 353-1 (Duckett 177, Pope 109) England lead by 181 runs. Ireland look to be out of ideas but they are plugging along gamely. The sun is beating down, it can be a cruel game.
Ben Duckett returned to the Test team with an average of 15.7 in December. It will be at least 46.7 at the end of this innings.
— Will Macpherson (@willis_macp) June 2, 2023
58th over: England 347-1 (Duckett 176, Pope 104) Duckett shows his sweeping skills, regular, reverse and a huge slog into the Mound Stand for England’s first six of the innings. Fourteen off the over.
57th over: England 333-1 (Duckett 162, Pope 104) A freshly tonned Pope nearly chops an off-cutter from Adair back onto his stump and decides against the back foot method. Next ball he dances down and imperiously drives Adair through mid-on for four. Shot of the day I reckon. There I said it. Adair pins him with a nip-backer off the last and there’s a strangled appeal but the Irish sagely don’t review.
56th over: England 329-1 (Duckett 162, Pope 100) Pope clips to leg and dashes a single to bring up his 100 off just 126 balls! A fourth century and a first at Lord’s.
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55th over: England 326-1 (Duckett 161, Pope 98) Righto, here we go. Is Ollie Pope going to get his name on the board at HQ? Not this over he’s not. A single takes him to 98 and Duckett, uncharacteristically faces five dots. Too many cumber sarnies, Ben?
The players are heading back out after taking on some sustenance. I had cucumber sandwiches in the media centre at Lord’s yesterday. For the first time in my life. Promise.
Here’s a link to to a list of names that Ben Duckett has now joined in scoring 100 runs before lunch. Thanks to Romeo for sharing.
“The last time someone hit 100 before lunch in a test match in England was the Sledghammer of Eternal Justice* against Bangladesh in 2005.”
*Ian Ronald Bell
https://www.espncricinfo.com/records/hundred-runs-before-lunch-283003
The wonderfully named Ettiene Terblanche suggests “Gilbert Jessop, Percy Fender, Charlie Nicholas, David Niven, Malcolm McLaren, Elvis Presley… sorry, I was channeling Sick Boy for a second there”
Choose Life, Ettiene.
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Mark Allen toots the horn for Allan Lamb, I’m all for it.
Chris Lintott emails in: “Much more fun, surely, to come up with players who would have hated Stokes’ way of doing things. Can you imagine Boycott in the dressing room being gently encouraged to express himself? He’d have exploded.”
Al Camino wants to see Colin Milburn and Richard O’Hagan isn’t afraid to mix it up a bit:
“A controversial selection, but how about Chris Tavare? A free scoring batsman in county cricket, his good technique meant that he was often assigned the anchor role in Tests. He was a very good and attacking player of spin, who loved to hit slow bowlers back over their heads. His Test average is almost seven runs below his first class one as a result of all of this but I’m sure he would’ve thrived if he could’ve played the way that England do now”
That's Lunch
54th over: England 325-1 (Duckett 161, Pope 97) England head off for a sarnie having added 173 runs without loss in 29 overs. They’ve been motoring at a tick under a run a ball. It’s all been too easy - which does take away from the enjoyment a little.
Pope needs three runs for a fourth Test century. Duckett has nailed his place down for The Ashes, if it was ever in doubt. Back soon to discuss your time travelling BazBallers.
England reach lunch on the second day against Ireland at Lord's on 325 for 1 from 54 overs. Duckett has 161 off 160, Pope 97 off 120. The lead is 153. It's not been hugely exciting.
— Lawrence Booth (@BoothCricket) June 2, 2023
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53rd over: England 323-1 (Duckett 160, Pope 96) Ben Duckett has now scored 100 runs in the morning session.
52nd over: England 315-1 (Duckett 157, Pope 92)
Ireland’s five-man attack has 146 first-class matches between them (with Graham Hume contributing 102 of these).
— Henry Moeran (@henrymoeranBBC) June 2, 2023
England’s four-man attack 481 FC games between them.
Whilst England have been excellent, the difference in experience between the sides is vast.
51st over: England 312-1 (Duckett 155, Pope 91) Duckett crunches Hand through mid-wicket for a couple and that takes him to 150! Kumar Sangakkara reckons that is the fastest Test 150 at Lord’s! The previous holder? Sir Donald Bradman. That’s not confirmed but in Sanga we trust.
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50th over: England 301-1 (Duckett 148, Pope 87) Three hundred up. Duckett crunches two fours off McBrine, Pope rotates the strike easily and England rack up 14 from the over. Duckett is now on the brink of a very fast Test 150.
@Jimbo_Cricket surely Glenn Hoddle would go well in this team?
— Matt Cawsey (@docmjc) June 2, 2023
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49th over: England 287-1 (Duckett 135, Pope 86) Fionn Hand, Ireland’s sole man in the wicket column, continues to plug away. Three runs off it, Pope might have eyes on three figures before lunch, we’ve got about ten mins to go til then.
48th over: England 284-1 (Duckett 133, Pope 85) Pope and Duckett finally get their act together and each peels off a boundary off McBrine. We haven’t yet seen a six so far in this innings – I have a feeling that could change this afternoon.
47th over: England 273-1 (Duckett 127, Pope 80) Four overs without a boundary. A disgrace, that’s what that is.
46th over: England 269-1 (Duckett 126, Pope 78) McBrine fires down another over, four runs off it for England.
A few suggestions for time-travelling BazBallers, I’m getting plenty of Graeme Hicks.
Peter Bellew chirps up: “Obvious but imagine KP… ”
Lordy.
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45th over: England 265-1 (Duckett 124, Pope 76) A lesser spotted maiden! A probing over from Fionn Hand, including a DRS review for LBW agaisnt the Papal one but ball tracking showed the ball to be skimming over the stumps. No dice for the Irish.
44th over: England 265-1 (Duckett 124, Pope 76) England lead by 93, McBrine is nurdled away for three runs. Nasser Hussain asks Eoin Morgan on commentary how much he would have liked to have played in this Test side. Morgan positively purrs at the prospect, the freedom, the vibes.
Thoughts turn to other England cricketers over the years who would have been a scary prospect if their time came under the current regime. Answers on a postcard/email/tweet please.
43rd over: England 262-1 (Duckett 123, Pope 74) Eight off the over, another slapped four through point for Duckett off the beleaguered Campher.
Hello to Martin Wright:
“Hi Jim, lots of talk on TMS about Stokes wanting to win in two days... Understandable maybe, but isn’t there any pressure to take the game into Saturday and allow all those wanting to come to Lord’s to enjoy at least some of a day at the cricket. (Not to mention the ECB enjoying filling its coffers.) Or don’t they think like that these days...”
I really don’t think they do Mart. I bet there are a few twitchy ‘suits’ at Lord’s right now though.
42nd over: England 254-1 (Duckett 116, Pope 73) England pick up four more from the over, Stokes sits on the balcony and stares down at all he’s created, he’s got a bucket hat and round shades on. Very much reminding me of this:
Madforit.
41st over: England 250-1 (Duckett 116, Pope 69) 250 up for England. Debate swirls about a declaration, are Stokes and co really going to try and win this today?! Can anyone love golf that much?!
40th over: England 246-1 (Duckett 114, Pope 67) I found a rich tea biscuit thaT had been exposed to the elements. Bit soft. Slim pickings at our gaff today. The same can’t be said of England who are feasting on Ireland’s bowlers in the Lord’s sunshine. Andy McBrine comes on to bowl some spin and is patted away for a couple off the first over back after drinks.
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39th over: England 244-1 (Duckett 113, Pope 66) A bruising first hour for Ireland, England reach drinks with a lead of 72 runs, Pope and Duckett motoring.
I’m off to boil the kettle and hunt down a biscuit.
"Eight leaves in 605 balls as an opener."
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) June 2, 2023
An extraordinary stat from @BBCSport on Ben Duckett's run as an England opener!#ENGvIRE pic.twitter.com/QcbqqjNxEg
38th over: England 236-1 (Duckett 107, Pope 64) More runs for Pope, they are coming in floods now. The lead climbs to 64. Root, Brook and Stokes all still to come. Gulp.
They’ll have a 10am tee time in mind tomorrow in order to be in front of a telly with a pint somewhere nice for the FA Cup Final at 3pm. #ENGvIRE
— Adam Collins (@collinsadam) June 2, 2023
37th over: England 228-1 (Duckett 104, Pope 59) Curtis Campher is picked off for consecutive boundaries by Pope, a flick through mid-wicket and an off-drive, the Surrey lad looks in good touch.
@Jimbo_Cricket off topic, but whilst I love the Ireland sweaters- proper cricket- I'm slightly disappointed they haven't gone for their own version of the Baggy Green cap. Boggy green, perhaps?
— Gareth Wilson (@garethclw) June 2, 2023
36th over: England 219-1 (Duckett 104, Pope 50) Ollie Pope also brings up his fifty. Ten runs come off the over, the sun beats down at Lord’s and England are in clover.
Ben Duckett gets his 1️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ pic.twitter.com/mWI4MTdHFJ
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) June 2, 2023
Here’s the moment
100 for Ben Duckett!
Yes he can! A flick into the leg side and a misfield allows the opener to scamper the single he needs. The England players stand and applaud their man, that’s Duckett’s second Test century and his first on home turf.
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35th over: England 209-1 (Duckett 99, Pope 44) Duckett picks up two boundaries and all of a sudden he is on 99! I’m now feeling bad that I posted the Athers 99 run out below. A Pope single brings up the 100 partnership for this pair off just 112 balls. England cruising. Can Duckett make it to a century…
34th over: England 196-1 (Duckett 88, Pope 43) Pope opens the face to glide away for four runs. A tad lucky but he’ll take ‘em.
33rd over: England 191-1 (Duckett 88, Pope 39) That is more convincing from Duckett, a half volley from Adair is caressed back past the non-striker for four.
Sam Glover sends in his thesis on Crawley:
“Height mismatches in opening pairs is really useful for the reasons you (and Athers) state and as originally demonstrated by Haydn and Langer. The perfect solution at this point for England would appear to be a return to Alex Hales who is vastly more secure technically than Crawley. Unfortunately we all know that’s never going to happen given the calendar, but it’s nice to dream.
Incidentally, (in my view) Crawley’s technical problems mean he’s always going to be a walking wicket any time a decent bowler is using a ball that’s moving. Tall batters have a big advantage given their longer levers and the fact that they can get further forward. However, they also have the problem that their head is further away from the ball unless they develop their technique to bat like short batters. The further away from the ball the head is the more vulnerable the batter is to the moving ball. Best example I can think of is KP who had unbelievable technique, because he was very tall but kept his head amazingly close to the ball. Crawley is the opposite, he stands tall. While he’s going well it looks great because he has all the advantages of his height, but his inability to get his head close to it means he will always be susceptible to a moving ball, especially in the hands of a bowler who can hit the right length for the amount of movement. He wouldn’t last two min against Anderson and won’t last two min against Cummins with a Dukes ball.”
32nd over: England 186-1 (Duckett 84, Pope 38) Yeeesh. Duckett plinks one in the air juuust over the extra-cover fielder, he gets four runs for it but it was dicey dicey.
Good morning to an ill at ease Aidan McCarthy:
“As an Irishman who is lucky enough to have tickets for tomorrow, I’m increasingly concerned that England are going to try and win this thing today while I’m in the office. As well as sparing a thought for Ireland’s seriously outclassed bowling attack, won’t someone spare a thought for tomorrow’s crowd, who may have to find something else to do at short notice?”
I think you might be safe for some action tomorrow Aidan… I’m not making any promises though.
31st over: England 179-1 (Duckett 78, Pope 37) A tidier over from Adair, Duckett cue ends one uppishly as he tries to create summat from nowt. The opener has just started to look a bit jittery, perhaps too eager to get on with things. He’ll want to get three figures and a Test ton at Lord’s* under his belt (in his first home Test).
*Plenty of decent players haven’t of course.
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30th over: England 177-1 (Duckett 76, Pope 37) Shot! Duckett drives back down the ground to pick up four and take England into the lead. The camera lingers on Giles Coren sat in the crowd. I’m saying nothing.
Careful!
"I thought you said 'yeah'"
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) June 2, 2023
A close escape for Ben Duckett after some miscommunication almost sees him collide with Ollie Pope! ⚠️ pic.twitter.com/Pvy9SkG6BF
29th over: England 172-1 (Duckett 71, Pope 37) Five pocketed off the over including a bit of mid-pitch jiggery-pokery that sees Duckett out of his ground when Harry Tector has a shy at the stumps, but the throw missed.
“Hi Jim”
Hello to you Peter Salmon.
“Crawley. What is to be done? My feeling is he will average 8.4 in the first couple of Tests against Aus, then make 64 when they stick with him for the Third. Then 12 and 8 in the Fourth, and dropped. Prove me wrong!”
Only one man can do that Peter… What would be interesting is if Crawley gets ‘game affecting’ runs early in the Ashes series, whether all the chatter dies away? Or not. He got a breathtaking ton on the tour of Pakistan remember? But you get the feeling that his feast or famine returns mean that the big knocks buy him more time rather than cement his place.
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28th over: England 160-1 (Duckett 66, Pope 37) Delightful from Ollie Pope, a classical cover drive zings across the carpet for four runs. High elbow, hold the pose. Class.
G’morning to a slightly wistful Ian Cuff.
“Hi Jim
Yesterday just reiterated for about the 100th time that when time finally catches up with Sir Stuart and Sir James it’ll have the same effect that McGrath and Warnie’s retirement did on Oz.
Jimmy can be unplayable but the look Broad gets when he gets a couple of quick wickets is just like a Great White with blood in the water.
Boy we’ll miss them... can I put in a vote now to keep them on board as bowling coaches (if they want to that is!)"
27th over: England 160-1 (Duckett 65, Pope 31) A solitary leg bye off Mark Adair’s first over, sun beginning to burn off the cloud in North London.
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26th over: England 159-1 (Duckett 65, Pope 31) Graham Hume bustles in for the first over of the day and his first delivery is cut away for four by the diminuitive Duckett! A tad short and rasped to the fence. A single brings Pope on strike and England’s Vice Captain opens his account for the day with a flick through square-leg for a couple. Seven off the first over. Could be a few hours of hard toil for Ireland in the offing here.
Right, the players take to the field at a slightly gloomy looking Lord’s. Let’s have some play.
Good morning to you Tom Van Der Gucht
“Morning Jim,
Feeling your pain regarding the early rise: my 4-year-old rises with the lark and it’s my responsibility to get up with him and keep him entertained... You know it’s early when you find yourself watching pre-Milkshake Channel 5 cartoons with bleary eyes and a strong espresso for company.
Watching the highlights on BBC2, I was struck by the discrepancy in height between lordly Crawley and the Ewokian Duckett when batting together. I imagine that’s another reason they’re sticking with Crawley as it might disrupt the bowlers’ lengths having to adjust between the two of them.”
Sending solidarity on your first point Tom, and you are right on the second. Mike Atherton was explaining yesterday (far more articulately than I’m about to) that the ‘little and large’ opening pair of Crawley and Duckett does disrupt bowling lengths. Crawley’s long levers and stride makes a bolwer push their length back a bit and that is meat and drink to Duckett who is deft on the cut and nurdle. Just like a left-right hand combo is annoying too, it makes sense.
A bucket-hatted Broad talks us through the different grips for his outswinger and inswinger. Here was me thinking his “new” outswinger was all part of the phoney/baloney war.
Stuart Broad demonstrates the difference in grip and aim for his outswinger and inswinger deliveries 🏏👇 pic.twitter.com/sc2CU8P4Sn
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) June 2, 2023
This did make me chuckle:
Ben Duckett seeing the funny side of his unfortunate placement in the anthems 😂#ENGvIRE pic.twitter.com/MSDASnzN2r
— England's Barmy Army 🏴🎺 (@TheBarmyArmy) June 2, 2023
The England players are talking about their Ashes memories in a Sky VT. It’s making me feel very old… Zak Crawley can’t even remember the 2005 series, 2009 is where it all began for him. Time waits for no man.
Preamble
Hello and welcome to Day Two of England v Ireland from Lord’s.
Jim here to tentatively take your hand through the first session and a bit - think something slightly more affectionate than Tom and Shiv in the back of the blacked out SUV in the Succession finale. Palms lightly brushing, air thick with unspoken feelings. Like I say, slightly more affectionate than that.
I’ve been up since 5am y’see thanks to a belligerently carpe diem espousing two year old. So, jacked up on three coffees already, let’s kick off with Some Things That We Learnt Yesterday (That We Probably Already Knew)
(STTWLY(TWPAK) for short, obviously)
1. Stuart Broad knows when to turn it on. With his place in a fully fit and firing starting Test XI not secured, Marmite’s freshly yeasted brand ambassador and self anointed Aussie goader-in-chief strapped on his bandana and did his thing - prising out five wickets for 51, racking up his 20th five-wicket haul in Tests and his first at Lord’s for more than a decade.
2. Ireland are undercooked and struggled to get a foothold in the game. Andy Bull’s excellent piece digs into the myriad reasons why. “I don’t know much about red ball cricket,” Lorcan Tucker said before this game began - “I’ve hardly played any in four years.”
3. Zak Crawley is a flighty and flawed opening bat. A skittish innings comprising of plays and misses and spawny inside edges but also majestic strokeplay - eleven boundaries and a strike rate of over 124 put the pressure on Ireland’s bowlers immediately. The debate will rumble.
There are plenty of other things to discuss too but we can get into them as the day unfolds. It’ll be fun. Play gets underway in about 40 minutes time.
Do drop me a line on email or tweet @Jimbo_Cricket
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