UK Edition
England in control against Ireland after Ollie Pope hits double century at Lord’s
By Nick Hoult at Lord’s
Australia limbered up for the Ashes with a training session in south east London on Friday while England had a net practice of their own out in the middle at Lord’s.
This is a game masquerading as a Test match, such is the one-sided nature of the cricket so far. England will win on Saturday with Ireland 97 for three (effectively four down with an injured opener James McCollom retired hurt) and 255 behind. England will head off on their golf trip in Scotland with confidence high and their averages boosted from mauling Ireland, but it has not told us much about their Ashes chances.
You cannot blame the players from either side. England were clinical and professional against a poor attack and entertained while doing so. There has been a healthy contingent of youngsters in the crowd over the last two days, this being half term and MCC, unlike last summer, offering concessions, and they will have loved seeing Ollie Pope score the fastest ever double hundred in England and Ben Duckett the quickest 150 at Lord’s. Who needs the Hundred?
Duckett did not care about the uneven contest. It was a big day for him – his first innings in a home Test seven years after his debut. “It feels pretty special to be honest. It hasn’t really sunk in yet. Batting with Popey today… it was a breeze really. I think Rooty’s put me on the honours board already because he asked me for my middle name!”
England batted at 6.33 an over before declaring at 524 for four from 82.4 overs, Joe Root making 56 off 59 balls going past 11,000 runs in the process and two players scored a 100 runs in a session on the same day (Duckett 101 before lunch, Pope 100 between lunch and tea) for only the second time in Test history.
Pope and Root scored the third fastest hundred stand for England but the most valuable development for the coaching staff was the performance of Josh Tongue with his first three wickets in Test cricket. He bowled better than in the first innings and justified McCullum’s punt on him after seeing him bowl just once in the nets. He will now keep his place in the squad for the first Ashes Test.
Duckett made a career best 182 and Pope 207, his Test highest score as well, as two players nurtured by McCullum and Ben Stokes took this golden opportunity on a flat pitch. They put on 173 in 29 overs in the first session, and 252 for the second wicket from 261 balls without ever being gung ho.
At least it was a quick beating for the Irish bowlers, England did not even bat a day’s play. Stokes declared when Pope was dismissed the ball after reaching his double hundred, instead of giving himself and Jonny Bairstow a bat and Harry Brook some time in the middle. The next time they face a ball will be in an Ashes Test but it is debatable how much they would have gained from smacking Ireland around anyway.
Ireland have been served up on a platter by the system. They cannot afford to host Test cricket at home – they have played just one in Dublin and lost a seven figure sum on the match – so their only games are on the road; in England or Asia which is a hiding to nothing.
They have not run a first-class competition since the pandemic. They had hoped to do so this year but cannot afford it. England have not helped by counting their players as overseas signings, preventing valuable experience in county cricket.
Duckett has always been strong on the off side but he has added to his game on the leg side and down the ground too. He is attacking but not reckless: he has left only one ball per 100 deliveries since coming back in the side but there are few hard swishes outside off stump a la Zak Crawley. He raced from his overnight 60 to 100 in only 35 balls. His next fifty required only another 44 deliveries, reaching his 150 at a run a ball. When Duckett played on for 182, England were close to a 200 run lead already.
Whacking the ball so hard comes at a cost and Ireland had the ball changed after 59 overs because it had gone out of shape and all of a sudden batting became tougher. Root must have been cursing his luck at going in when it had suddenly become a bit tougher. He saw it through well given this was his first innings outside the IPL since the end of February.
Pope was imperious at the start of what is a big summer for him personally. Now is the time to really establish himself in the Test game. He moved to 150 off 166 balls and was 197 at tea with England itching to declare. He brought up 200 with a six, naturally, off the spinner Andy McBrine and was bowled next ball trying another.
With 30 overs to the close, Stokes had a crack at a two day finish. Tongue bowled fuller and forced Ireland to play at more balls. His bouncer was better too, following the right handers down the slope and he bopped a couple of blows on the head. He had Peter Moore lbw with his first ball of the innings and Andy Balbirnie caught behind cutting in the same over. McCollom collapsed with an ankle injury and was carted off to hospital in an ambulance when he got in a tangle to Tongue’s short ball and Paul Stirling gloved a leg side catch as the leg theory worked again but it was all a bit too easy.
Josh Tongue shows his range – and why he could play in the Ashes
By Tim Wigmore at Lord’s
For English fast bowlers, the start of the summer of 2023 has felt a little like Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None. First, Olly Stone suffered a hamstring injury, ruling him out of the first couple of Ashes Tests. Then, Jofra Archer suffered a recurrence of the stress fracture in his right elbow, ruling him out of the entire series. Then, concerns about James Anderson and Ollie Robinson led to them both being absent for England’s Test against Ireland too.
And so Josh Tongue found himself unexpectedly elevated to England’s squad – and then, even more surprisingly, into the 11, leapfrogging Chris Woakes. In many ways, it was a curious pick: Woakes has an extraordinary record at Lord’s, while Tongue had taken only 11 wickets at 41.5 apiece for Worcestershire in Division Two so far this summer. Sam Cook, another 25-year-old seamer, is averaging 18.3 this season and has a far more impressive County Championship record than Tongue.
But England have long learned that assembling a Test side is not simply an exercise in picking the best County Championship players. The county game is profoundly different to Test cricket: Under one per cent of deliveries from pace bowlers in the Championship are over 87mph, compared to 17 per cent in Test cricket, as documented in the book Hitting Against the Spin.
A good Test attack does not just entail having the best bowlers, but assembling the best fit of bowlers. The question about Woakes or Tongue was not about ranking the two bowlers; it was about assessing who could best complement the rest of the attack, both against Ireland and in the Ashes. In Anderson, Robinson, Stuart Broad and Matthew Potts, England have an abundance of bowlers who can replicate Woakes’s essential qualities: Seam, swing and accuracy. With Archer and Stone injured, the supply of fit bowlers who can offer a point of difference is altogether less abundant, not stretching beyond Mark Wood.
Since he emerged in 2017, taking 47 first-class wickets, England have been aware of Tongue’s capabilities: 6ft 4in height, combined with sharp pace. In the Championship, these are not always gifts that are more effective than hammering out a good line and length and relying on seam movement to do the rest. But they are the traits that are coveted in Test cricket: An impression, for England, reinforced by Tongue taking 12 wickets in two Tests for England Lions in Sri Lanka earlier this year. While his first day as a Test cricketer had given a glimpse of his talents, Tongue’s second day showed a bowler with range.
Ireland’s second innings was only six overs old when Tongue replaced Stuart Broad. With the ball so new, there was no need for Tongue to revert to the short bowling that marked his first innings display. Instead, Tongue pitched the ball up: His very first delivery speared in, trapping Peter Moor on the front pad to win him his maiden Test wicket. By the over’s end, Tongue had his second: Andy Balbirnie wafted at a good-length ball outside off stump. His success with conventional new-ball bowling showed a bowler with more roundness than, say, Jamie Overton – who played a Test against New Zealand last year as the designated enforcer, but did not look at ease playing in a different key.
After this initial success, Tongue rapidly shifted to the approach for which he has been selected. The slip fielders were replaced by men on the leg side, telegraphing what was to come. One bouncer outside off stump led James McCollom to twist his ankle as he attempted to evade the ball; Harry Tector was fortunate to top-edge a six over the wicketkeeper for six.
In Tongue’s sixth over, by now bowling with no slips at all, a delivery followed Paul Stirling, like a particularly incessant mosquito, and got a thin sliver of glove en route to Jonny Bairstow. Lorcan Tucker was then hit on the helmet first ball.
It illustrated the threat that Tongue’s short ball can cause, to wicket and body alike. His pace has reached 90mph this Test, averaging 85mph. This is combined with his height and a slightly idiosyncratic action: He leans towards the off-side as he releases the ball, creating an angle that makes him hard to leave.
Tongue showed that he has stamina, too: There was the sense that his eight-over spell, and early shift from classical new-ball bowling to the bouncers that England normally revert to when the ball has gone soft, was only partly with Ireland in mind. It doubled as a way of testing Tongue’s suitability for later Tests this summer – and, with both elements of his bowling in sync, he could now well be seen against Australia too.
England v Ireland, day two: As it happened. . .
Ben Duckett (182 from 178 balls) speaks
It feels pretty special to be honest. It hasn’t really sunk in yet. Batting with Popey today… it was a breeze really, it was enjoyable to be at the other end watching him play. I think Rooty’s put me on the honours board because he asked me for my middle name!
It’s been a crazy journey for me. I’ve played all my international games abroad, so it was pretty special – even just being in the field and soaking up the atmosphere. And scoring a hundred is Lord’s is what I dreamed about as a kid.
Tonguey was exceptional today. I’ve seen him quite a bit playing against Worcestershire. He’s got a horrible action where, especially as right-hander, everything is coming at you. The first dismissal today, he’s got a lot of wickets like that: LBW, people stuck on the crease.
There’s work to do tomorrow. Stokesy’ll have some crazy fields and it’ll be enjoyable to be out there.
It’ll only get harder this summer. But runs is form and I can’t wait to take on the Aussies.
Stumps: Ireland trail by 255 runs
As Will said, you’d expect England to complete victory before the FA Cup final. But there was some joy for Ireland in that calm, classy partnership between Harry Tector and Lorcan Tucker, two of their brightest young talents. Whether they like it or not, they’ll be dreaming of the Lord’s honours board tonight.
Will Macpherson's verdict from Lord's
England’s day, you could say. They will play cricket, not golf, tomorrow, but with Ireland effectively four down already, you’d think they will be done in time for the cup final at 3pm. Terrific day for Ollie Pope and Ben Duckett, who took full advantage of a boot-filling exercise before the Ashes.
OVER 25: IRE 92/3 (Tector 30, Tucker 19)
Harry Tector survives an England review for caught behind. He fenced at a short ball on the hip from Broad and was taken down the leg side by Jonny Bairstow. England were very confident, having heard a noise, but replays showed that the ball hit the body rather than the glove.
Tucker waits for the field to come up for the final delivery and then hammers a pull for four. Shot!
Time for one more over from Jack Leach before the close.
OVER 23: IRE 84/3 (Tector 26 Tucker 15)
With just over 15 minutes remaining, Stuart Broad replaces the impressive Josh Tongue (8-1-27-3). Ben Stokes has kept the same field, with no slips, so it looks like the short stuff is going to continue.
Broad’s too old for this round-the-wicket enforcer lark. He bowls a couple of no-balls early in the over and is worked for three singles.
OVER 21: IRE 78/3 (Tector 24 Tucker 13)
It’s been a long spell for Josh Tongue, seven overs before this one, but he’s going to continue. This is a perfect opportunity for Ben Stokes to assess every part of Tongue’s game, including his stamina.
Tongue is still bowling with commendable intent, but the two batsmen have got their eye in now and they are playing the short stuff pretty comfortably. One from the over.
OVER 20: IRE 77/3 (Tector 23 Tucker 13)
“Oh my goodness!” exclaims Jonny Bairstow when Tucker gets a late inside edge that saves him from being plumb LBW to Leach.
Tucker responds with a classy clip into the leg side for four. England know all about Tucker’s ability with the bat: he helped them win the T20 World Cup last year by wounding Australia’s net run-rate.
OVER 19: IRE 73/3 (Tector 23 Tucker 9)
Tongue ups the ante by switching round the wicket to pepper Tector with short stuff. His line isn’t quite right, though, and that allows Tector to move safely inside the line.
Even so this evening session has been a triumph for the debutant Tongue, who has figures of 7-2-25-3. It’s the way he has taken those wickets, mixing orthodoxy with a bit of rough stuff, that will really excite England.
OVER 18: IRE 72/3 (Tector 23 Tucker 8)
A poor ball from Leach is eased through square leg for four by Tucker. Leach then bowls a no-ball, which we’re contractually obliged to describe as the cardinal sin for a spinner, before Tucker flicks him for three more.
Maybe we should excuse Leach for being a bit loose. With the wicket and the concussion check, he’s been waiting so long to bowl his third over that it’s almost like he’s starting a new spell.
OVER 17: IRE 64/3 (Tector 23 Tucker 1)
Tongue greets Lorcan Tucker with a nasty bouncer that clonks him on the side of the helmet. Tucker seems fine, though he undertakes a lengthy concussion test before play can resume. He hooks Tongue calmly for a single to get off the mark.
Ireland have confirmed that James McCollum has a badly twisted ankle after that freak incident earlier in the innings. That means, as we suspected, that Ireland are effectively four wickets down.
Wicket! Stirling c Bairstow b Tongue 15
Stirling jumps inside a short ball from Tongue, who has been set to enforcer mode by his captain. He does it again two balls later - except this time England are convinced there was a tickle through to Jonny Bairstow. It’s given not out on the field but Ben Stokes reviews the decision with a fair bit of confidence.
And that’s why: replays show the ball just brushed the glove, and Stirling is on his way for 15. Josh Tongue, enforcer, has his third wicket! FOW: 63/3
OVER 16: IRE 63/2 (Tector 23 Stirling 15)
Stirling pushes around his front pad at Leach, who spins round in his follow through to throatily enquire about a possible LBW. Missing leg.
Later in the over Tector hacks the ball through square leg for four. He was aiming much straighter, so that’s a moral victory for Leach. He has started well.
OVER 15: IRE 58/2 (Tector 19 Stirling 14)
A lovely stroke from Tector, who stands tall to clip Tongue to the midwicket boundary. This lad is going to score plenty of runs in international cricket over the next decade.
There’s six more of them, top-edged over fine leg off Tongue. It was a good piece of bowling from Tongue, who smiles wryly as he walks back to his mark. Ben Stokes immediately moves Zak Crawley from slip to back stop, with three more men out on the hook.
OVER 14: IRE 48/2 (Tector 9 Stirling 14)
Jack Leach, who dismissed Stirling in the first innings, comes on in place of Matthew Potts. For now he’s bowling to Tector, who defends respectfully and then takes a single off the last delivery.
There are 16 overs remaining tonight, though we might not get them all in.
OVER 13: IRE 47/2 (Tector 8 Stirling 14)
Stirling moves into double figures with a cracking square drive for four, this time off Tongue. He tries to pull the next ball, is early on the stroke and wears it on the arm. Time for drinks.
OVER 12: IRE 40/2 (Tector 6 Stirling 9)
Potts continues to Stirling, who pings a majestic cover drive for four. That’s one of the shots of the match. Potts tightens his line as a result, with one delivery keeping low and taking a thick outside edge. Stirling needed to get something on that because it was homing on on off stump.
An eventful over concludes with Stirling slamming another boundary, this time through point. He times the ball so beautifully.
OVER 11: IRE 32/2 (Tector 6 Stirling 1)
Tector gets his first boundary, flicking Tongue wide of Stokes at leg gully. Tongue is bowling nicely, and hitting the bat hard, but these are essentially very good batting conditions. Easy to forget, given how quickly the game has progressed, that it’s a day-two pitch.
Tim Wigmore at Lord's
Conditions are much better for batting than in Ireland’s first innings, but that hasn’t stopped them slipping to 26/2, with James McCollom also having to retire hurt after seemingly twisting his ankle. Notable that there’s both a leg slip and leg gully for Harry Tector, with England trying to repeat his first-innings dismissal.
McCollum retires hurt on 12 (Ireland 25/2)
He is being helped off the field, unable to put any significant weight on his right leg. He could potentially return later in the innings, but it looks a nasty enough injury to preclude that.
The new batsman is Paul Stirling.
8.5 overs: IRE 25/2 (McCollum 12 Tector 0)
James McCollum is down and in a lot of pain. I’m not sure what happened there but it looks quite serious. He tried to pull Tongue, missed and then collapsed in agony. The England fielders immediately started waving for the physio to come onto the field.
At first it looked like cramp, but it seems to be a problem behind his right knee. His spikes got stuck and his twisted very awkwardly. I don’t think he’s going to be able to continue.
Will Macpherson at Lord's
Josh Tongue deserves that. Toiled away yesterday and strikes immediately, twice, today. England have picked him because he’s just that little bit quicker than most on the county circuit, which is what they are short of. Sam Cook has superb county numbers, but England are well covered in the medium-fast department.
OVER 8: IRE 25/2 (McCollum 12 Tector 0)
McCollum softens his hands to ensure an edge off Potts falls short of the slips. Later in the over he carves Potts wide of the slips at catchable height and away for four.
Later in the over, the new batsman Harry Tector, who is on a pair, plays and misses at his first delivery.
Wicket! Moor LBW b Tongue 11
Josh Tongue strikes with his first ball of the innings! It’s his first Test wicket, too, with Moor trapped plumb LBW. It was a really good delivery, which nipped back to hit Moor just below the kneeroll in front of off stump. Moor reviewed, more in hope than expectation, but replays confirmed it would have hit middle stump. FOW: 16/1
OVER 4: IRE 8/0 (Moor 7 McCollum 1)
There’s some new-ball movement. Potts beats McCollum with a spectacular delivery that straightens and lifts to beat the outside edge. The follow-up - fuller, straighter - brings a huge LBW appeal that is turned down by Paul Wilson. It was missing leg and Ben Stokes rightly decides not to review. In fact, replays show there was an inside-edge as well.
Another good over from Potts, whose role in the Ashes should not be underestimated given how tight the schedule is. If/when he plays, he’ll cause Australia plenty of problems.
OVER 2: IRE 6/0 (Moor 5 McCollum 1)
Matthew Potts shares the new ball, and McCollum shovels a single behind square to get off the mark.
Moor survives a biggish LBW appeal – just too high – and then gets off the mark with a dodgy single on the off side. I say ‘single’, he got five for it in the end. Stokes threw to the wrong end, missed the stumps and gave away four overthrows.
A good first over from Potts, who like Broad is making the batsmen play at almost every delivery.
All hail Wally Hammond (and Ollie Pope)
Ollie Pope is only the 14th man to score a double hundred batting at No3 for England. The last 13 - a list that includes Gooch, Gower, Root, Bell and Crawley - made a single double hundred each. The first, Wally Hammond, scored six.
Nick Hoult at Lord's
So no thought in Stokes’s mind of having a bat himself or for Jonny Bairstow. Declare, bowl them out and win quickly - that is all he cares about. There are 30 overs left today. The pitch is good for batting, and unless it swings early Ireland should have a chance to get in and restore some pride. Then again, Lord’s could be heading for its first two-day finish since 1888.
Wicket! ENG 524/4 dec (Pope st Tucker b McBrine 205)
Ollie Pope reaches his first Test double-hundred before falling next ball, and with that England have declared.
Where to start? Pope drove McBrine sweetly over mid-on for six to complete the fastest ever Test double-hundred in this country at just 207 balls. He was stumped next ball, when McBrine saw/sensed him coming and speared the ball wide of off stump, and Ben Stokes called Harry Brook in along with Pope.
No declaration from England
Ollie Pope and Joe Root are walking back onto the field for the evening session. There was some talk that they would try to win the game tonight, but that’s not going to happen now. I think that’s the right decision, certainly for the England middle order (and the ECB’s chief financial officer).
TEA – OVER 80: ENG 503/2 (Pope 197 Root 52)
Root tries another scoop but it can only take the leading edge. Or is that the side edge given the angle of the bat? Anyway, it runs down through the empty slip cordon and gets him a boundary. He follows that up a few balls that with another four, a quick swivel pull, off the fifth ball, which brings up his 50 and England’s 500.
He then takes a single to end the session which takes him to the landmark of 11,000 Test runs at an average of 50.38. Well done that man.
I’m handing back to Rob Smyth for the final session. Where will England end the day?
OVER 78: ENG 485/2 (Pope 195 Root 40)
England probably not “happy enough” exactly knocking the ball around for singles but that is what is happening. The new ball is due shortly, though, and that will change things one way or another you’d have thought. Three singles and one two off Campher’s 12th over.
OVER 76: ENG 480/2 (Pope 190 Root 36)
A single gets Pope back on strike as he approaches his 200. A four through extra cover takes him to 188 and a single next ball gets him to 189. A Root single brings him back on strike and it nearly ends next ball! He tries to pull but only splices it about 15 yards on the leg-side... gets away with that a bit.
OVER 75: ENG 472/2 (Pope 184 Root 34)
Fionn Hand continues. He, like many of Ireland’s bowlers, is going at more than six an over and with this over takes his total runs conceded to more than 100...
As it stands there have been two hundreds for England’s batsmen and two for Ireland’s bowlers. Six off his latest, too which, in the grand scheme of things is not too bad. Average, if you will.
Speaking of hundreds, England’s lead has also reached 300.
Some thoughts from Nick Hoult
Perhaps the most important innings of Ben Duckett’s career was for England Lions last summer against South Africa. He smacked 145 off 168 balls in front of Brendon McCullum, who had given the squad a pep talk before the game about how he wanted them to approach batting.
Alex Lees was struggling at the time to adjust to Bazball, and after that innings Duckett suddenly became a red ball option having only been seen by England as a one-day player since his first Test tour in 2016. Now he is inked in to the Test side, McCullum likes his unselfish approach, his natural attacking sense – he has left just eight balls since he came back into the team in Rawalpindi – and maturity off the field.
OVER 73: ENG 464/2 (Pope 179 Root 31)
A relatively quiet over (just three singles) before Pope pulls new bowler Hand over deep square leg for six! It was a bit short and that brings up the 100 partnership up off just 79 balls. By my calculations that means the second 50 of this stand came up in 30 balls.
That is a lot of pain and punishment for Ireland, but at least it is coming quickly?
OVER 72: ENG 455/2 (Pope 172 Root 29)
Curtis Campher continues and England continue their aggressive approach as, I guess, they have done for the last 12 months, not just the last 71 overs. Campher getting a bit crafty himself as Pope sets himself to reverse it... he sends it down well wide off Pope’s bat, but not quite a wide as Pope moved that way anyway.
You can’t keep Pope down for long, though. He shimmies down the pitch and hits through the line, in the air and gets four towards wide mid-on. A slow, low full toss is then patted back to the bowler.
England lead by 283.
OVER 71: ENG 448/2 (Pope 166 Root 28)
McBrine stays in the attack...
A single out to deep cover gets Pope a single and moves him onto 2,000 Test runs. It’s been fairly easy for him so far today, though. He’s getting inventive now... trying the reverse paddles and what not. One of those brings him two runs before a pull shot off the back foot gets him four more.
Hard yards for Ireland out there at the moment. And it has been since they stared the innings, really.
OVER 70: ENG 438/2 (Pope 158 Root 26)
Pope doesn’t waste any time in the nervous 140s... he thumps new man Curtis Campher back down the ground for a superbly-timed four. The next ball is a bit luckier, it’s a slash outside off that takes the outside edge and races down to the boundary past Stirling at gully. England going at nearly eight at over for the last 10 overs, for the loss of just Ben Duckett.
Just the 11 runs off that over...
OVER 69: ENG 427/2 (Pope 148 Root 25)
Andy McBrine returns for Ireland. He took a bit of tap from Duckett before he was removed from the attack, will Root and Pope do the same? It’s not quite a long-hop to start but Pope cannot fully capitalise, not really getting hold of it fully and it’s just two runs.
Pope skips down the wicket again and lofts McBrine back over his head... for six... just! A single then brings Root onto strike and Root does the same! Root goes more towards the leg side, sending him the ball over cow corner for six more runs! Well timed, that. Root has scampered onto 25 off 27 now and Pope is approaching his maiden 150.
Will McBrine last more than one over here?
OVER 68: ENG 411/2 (Pope 141 Root 16)
Root opens the face of the bat again and guides one down through backward point for four. He loves that shot and it is highly profitable for him.
Pope has a bit of a slap off a wide Hume delivery but can only find the fielder in the covers. Was a decent connection but straight to the man. A leg bye brings Root back onto strike and he continues his steady accumulation with three runs with a punch through point. Should have only been two but Mark Adair was a little slow to get to the ball on the boundary and they get three.
That brings up the 50 partnership at a little better than a run a ball.
50 off 49 in fact with Pope on 29 off 26 and Root on 16 off 23.
OVER 67: ENG 402/2 (Pope 141 Root 8)
Joe Root pushes towards the off side and brings up England’s 400 in very quick time. Not sure where that ranks among the teams who are the fastest to reach 400 in Tests, but I will try and consult CricInfo’s StatsGuru.
England now lead by 234 runs... I would imagine they might want to have a half-hour or so bowling tonight.
OVER 66: ENG 397/2 (Pope 139 Root 5)
Pope fully on the attack now. A dab behind point gets him four off the first ball, then it’s a drag behind square on the leg side for four, before beating beaten on the outside edge. He then gets down and lofts the ball over the keeper’s head for four! A reverse scoop, if you will. 10 runs in this over as the run rate creeps about six again: 6.01.
That’ll be drinks.
OVER 65: ENG 387/2 (Pope 129 Root 5)
Another miscue, this time from Pope. A leg-cutter which sits up a little and Pope can only inside edge it up in the air. It’s safe, though, wide of the non-striker. Root then practices his trademark dab/open face shot by running it down to wide third man, this time for three.
Pope then follows that up with a big, aggressive shot out towards midwicket. It’s in the air but he doesn’t get all that much on it. It’s picked up by the fielder and is only two. A single off the final ball means it’s nine runs from it but none of them boundaries.
OVER 64: ENG 378/2 (Pope 123 Root 2)
Root persists with the reverse scoop/sweep but it doesn’t come off either time. The second brings about a shout for lbw and Andrew Balbirnie says they are going to chance it. The umpire said no, but we’ll have a look... it’s very optimistic I’ll give him that.
Impact well outside the line so we stay with the on-field decision. Ireland have one review remaining.
We then have a delay as Lorcan Tucker, the Ireland keeper, has jogged off the field for a toilet break. He’s back and then Root defends off the front foot.
OVER 63: ENG 377/2 (Pope 122 Root 2)
A good drive off the front foot through the covers gets Pope four more. A few leg byes and Root is back on strike.
The ball is nipping about a bit now and Root is finding it a little difficult. A play and miss off Adair, beating the outside edge. Then a miscue off the outside edge to gulley...
OVER 61: ENG 366/2 (Pope 117 Root 0)
Pope pulls handsomely off the front foot for four through mid-wicket. Going pretty well for him at three so far this summer...
Adair then has a big shout for LBW on Root. He gets across, comes down the track too. Andy Balbirnie isn’t too interested though he considered it. A possible inside edge. I don’t know. I might have gone for it in Ireland’s position. Not that it’s going to make much difference as they trail by 194 already...
WICKET! Duckett b Hume 182
The ball has gone out of shape after all that thwacking, so it is changed. We have a bowling change as well. Andy McBrine has been hit out of the action by Duckett and Graham Hume takes his place.
New bowler, same Duckett, who flays one through the covers for four before clipping one off his pads for a single. Pope dabs one down towards the third man boundary and the quick running means he takes three, which brings up the 250 partnership.
That’s the end of it, though! As Duckett inside edges onto his stumps and departs for 182 off 178.
It moved back down the slope and that, combined with the new ball, maybe just did the trick.
FOW 361/2
Duckett now on 176 off 172
So here’s a list of the fastest Test 200s by balls faced...
- NJ Astle, 153 balls
- BA Stokes, 163 balls
- V Sehwag, 168 balls
- V Sehwag, 182 balls
- BB McCullum, 186 balls
- V Sehwag, 194 balls
An outside chance of getting into the top five here. Would need 24 off his next 13 balls to get into the top five.
OVER 58: ENG 347/1 (Duckett 176 Pope 104)
Duckett gets on one knee and slog-sweeps McBrine out towards the midwicket boundary for four! Duckett probably aiming for a run-a-ball 200 here. He then gets out the reverse sweep and finds the gap on the other side. He then heaves a full-blooded sweep over deep midwicket for four!
McBrine coming in for a bit of punishment here. 14 runs from the over.
OVER 57: ENG 333/1 (Duckett 162 Pope 104)
Adair bowling okay here. Almost gets Pope to play onto his stumps. He then skips down the track and punches the ball right back past the bowler along the ground all the way, showing the maker’s name as it were. Not too much force in the stroke, but superbly timed. The next shot is a big heave across the line and whacks into his pads. Adair has a bit of a shout but there is no way the umpire can give that. He was so far down the pitch and likely hitting outside off too. Ireland do not review, either.
England lead by 161 runs.
In case you missed it, Nick Hoult's lunchtime verdict
By Nick Hoult, at Lord’s
Ben Duckett will never have an easier chance to make a double hundred in Test cricket but does it tell us anything? This is such a one-sided match, that it is becoming pretty irrelevant for the first Ashes Test. At least it is time in the middle.
In fairness, Duckett is taking his chance, unlike Crawley who made 56 and gave it away on Thursday evening. The McCullum era has revitalised Duckett’s career. He was left on the naughty step for too long by the previous regime because of a perceived lack of professionalism and a failure to knuckle down.
This management could not care less about what has happened in the past and Duckett, on his part, has matured too. He is not as easily led, has settled down off the field and is a phlegmatic character who seems to accept success and failure with the same attitude.
He thought his Test career was over so is determined to make the most of this opportunity. He admitted he left runs out on the field when he played in Pakistan despite a hundred so is being greedy here. He has a much better first-class record than Crawley (an average of 42) and is tighter defensively.
Ireland have given him too much width and Australia, with more pace, will threaten the outside edge and bring gully, slips into play. That will be his challenge. At least he will have some confidence now, but not much more of an idea of what is waiting for him.
OVER 56: ENG 329/1 (Duckett 162 Pope 100)
Andy McBrine continues with his off-breaks at the other end. Pope gets a single to move to 99. The field moves up as Duckett takes a single to move Pope back onto strike. He skips down the pitch and plays around a quicker one from McBrine... a bit of tension there? Why wouldn’t you be keen to get a ton?
Pope tries the same next ball, clipping through the leg side to bring up his hundred! His fourth Test hundred off 126 balls with 12 fours. His first at Lord’s, too. Well done. He also keeps the strike.
OVER 55: ENG 326/1 (Duckett 161 Pope 98)
Mark Adair goes to a slower ball to Ben Duckett and it foxes him; he plays and misses. Another play and miss shortly after before a standard block. Another slower ball takes the edge high up on the bat (or even glove?) but it falls well short of the keeper. Just the single to Ollie Pope in the over, who moves to 98 not out.
An update from Will Macpherson
England are in an interesting position here. It is not impossible that they already have enough of a lead to win the game. Duckett and Pope have earned the right to charge on to massive, confidence-boosting scores. But their middle order all need a hit. Joe Root has batted once since February. Harry Brook was up and down, in and out at the IPL. Ben Stokes did very little. Jonny Bairstow has just come back from that injury. I would like to see England be remorseless here, but my instinct is they like golf rather too much for that.
LUNCH. OVER 54: ENG 325/1 (Duckett 161 Pope 97)
A couple of singles from McBrine’s over. It’s a quiet end to a rampant session in which England scored 173 from 29 overs at almost a run a ball. Ben Duckett hit a punishing 161 not out from just 160 balls, an innings full of businesslike boundaries, and Ollie Pope will resume needing three runs for his fourth Test century.
It’s a mismatch, as most people expected. Even so, England have performed with intimidating certainty. So far, this Test has been the perfect tune-up fight for the Ashes.
I’m going to hand over to Luke Slater for the afternoon session. See you after tea, when England could even be chasing a two-day victory.
OVER 53: ENG 323/1 (Duckett 160 Pope 96)
Duckett has gone up a gear in the last 15 minutes or so. He pulls Hand for three to become only the third player - and the first since Jack Hobbs in 1924 - to score 100 runs before lunch in a Lord’s Test. And I thought we’d be talking about Gilbert Jessop today.
Hand keeps Pope on 96 with a sharp short ball to end the over. We’ll have time for one more before lunch.
OVER 51: ENG 312/1 (Duckett 155 Pope 91)
Duckett cuffs Hand into the leg side to bring up his 150 at exactly a run a ball, then smashes the next delivery through extra cover for four to bring up the 200 partnership. This is both remarkable and entirely predictable.
It’s rare for an England opener to make a daddy hundred. The last to score 150 in a Test was Sir Alastair Cook at Melbourne in December 2017.
OVER 50: ENG 301/1 (Duckett 148 Pope 87)
Duckett hammers McBrine through extra cover for four, scoops jauntily to fine leg for a couple and then savages a pull to the boundary at deep midwicket. That’s the 20th four of a ruthless innings.
It’s fair to say there has been a change of approach against the offspin of McBrine. His first four overs cost 13; the last two have disappeared for 25.
OVER 47: ENG 273/1 (Duckett 127 Pope 80)
Ireland’s bowlers have stuck to a thankless task pretty well. There have been fewer loose deliveries than yesterday evening, although they have also looked less likely to take wickets.
We’ve had only one boundary in eight overs since the drinks break, which is all a bit 2021-22. Pope tries to change that but misses an attempted pull down the leg side.
Scyld Berry on Ben Duckett
A stunning stat from Sky just now: that Duckett leaves on average one ball per Test since his return!
Yes, the Sky team played it down a bit but I thought that was extraordinary: he’s only left something like eight balls out of 670. Most England openers in my lifetime would leave that many before the first drinks break on day one.
OVER 45: ENG 265/1 (Duckett 124 Pope 76)
Hand replaces Campher and has an LBW appeal against Pope turned down by Paul Wilson. It looked high, with the ball hitting the flap of the pad, but Ireland are desperate so they go for a review.
Replays confirm that it would have bounced over middle stump, so Ireland lose a review. One down, two to go.
OVER 43: ENG 262/1 (Duckett 121 Pope 74)
A fine shot from Duckett, who belts Campher between short extra cover and mid-off for four. Superb placement. He has scored 123 from 128 balls without really unsheathing the long handle.
Could this be a two-day Test?
Don’t rule it out. Here’s Tim Wigmore at Lord’s.
Word at Lord’s is that England are planning to declare early enough today to give themselves enough time to try and force a win tonight. 76 overs left today; England could bat for 30 or so, try and lift themselves to a 250-run lead and then have another crack at Ireland.
OVER 38: ENG 236/1 (Duckett 107 Pope 64)
I suppose the Bangladesh series that Scyld mentioned is a cautionary tale for these England batsmen. In that series a young Ian Bell made 227 runs at almost a run a ball without being dismissed, but that was followed by a painful Ashes series in which he was worked over by Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne. For all the justified optimism at the moment, there’s every chance one of the England batsmen will struggle against Australia.
That’s for the future. Today is about runs and fun, and Pope gets four more of the former - dear me, what a mess this sentence has become - with an edge along the ground.
Tim Wigmore at Lord's
Curiously this is Ben Duckett’s 28th game for England but his first in England. He’s marked it in the perfect way, with his second Test hundred, brought up through a flick to midwicket and a scampered single. Duckett punched the air, though not particularly demonstratively.
Now, with the sun out and Ireland sorely missing Josh Little, their point of difference, he will have designs on a double. His straight driving has been particularly pleasing. Ireland have not had the tools to test Duckett with the short ball; against Australia here later this month, of course, it will be very different.
OVER 37: ENG 228/1 (Duckett 104 Pope 58)
A change of bowling - but still no sign of spin. Curtis Campher is on for Mark Adair, and he soon beats Pope with a wider delivery that keeps a bit low. Pope responds with consecutive boundaries, a pristine cover-drive followed by a sweet clip through midwicket. This is quietly brutal stuff from England, who have scored 76 runs in 12 overs this mornning.
“Not since Bangladesh’s first tour in 2005 has an England batsman been able to score runs with such ease at Lord’s...” writes Scyld Berry at Lord’s, “but still a fine and efficient hundred by Ben Duckett.”
OVER 36: ENG 219/1 (Duckett 104 Pope 50)
A century for Ben Duckett! He works Hand for a single, then takes off his helmet to reveal a broad, proud smile. It’s been a typical Duckett innings, full of unobtrusive but ruthless strokeplay. He takes bowlers to the cleaners without them realising. The century came in just 106 balls, with 14 fours, most through mid-off or point.
A leading edge later in the over takes Pope to fifty from just 64 balls. I doubt it’ll be the last milestone today.
OVER 35: ENG 209/1 (Duckett 99 Pope 45)
Duckett crunches Adair through mid-off for four, then tickles a poor delivery to the fine-leg boundary. A single takes to him to within one of a century in his first home Test.
There is a hundred in the over - the hundred partnership, brought up by Pope off the final delivery. England are flying.
OVER 34: ENG 196/1 (Duckett 88 Pope 43)
Pope edges the new bowler Fionn Hand along the ground for four. He’s been nowhere near as fluent as Duckett this morning and looks increasingly frustrated by his inability to locate the middle of the bat. But he still has 43 from 60 balls, so it could be worse.
OVER 33: ENG 191/1 (Duckett 88 Pope 39)
Adair produces a jaffa that straightens to beat Pope, who nods respectfully down the pitch. A single brings Duckett on strike, and he forces another boundary straight down the ground. Excellent, businesslike batting.
England are scoring at 5.78 runs per over. Absurdly, that’s only their fifth fastest team innings since Ben Stokes took over.
OVER 31: ENG 179/1 (Duckett 78 Pope 37)
Adair is bowling around the wicket to Duckett, attempting to cramp him for room, but a bit of width allows Duckett to slap a couple of runs through extra cover.
Duckett then tries to drag a short, wide delivery through the leg side, possibly out of boredom, but it’s so wide that all he can do is bottom-edge it short of the keeper.
OVER 29: ENG 172/1 (Duckett 71 Pope 37)
There’s almost a run-out chance for Ireland when Duckett and Pope meet mid-pitch, but they have time to turn back and make their ground.
Another efficient cut for three moves Duckett brings the scores level and moves him into the seventies. He is ruthless with anything even slightly wide of off stump. It’s going to be fascinating to see how he copes against the Australian quicks.
OVER 28: ENG 167/1 (Duckett 66 Pope 37)
Since making his first Test hundred in December, Duckett has had four scores between 63 and 84, so he’ll be keen to reach three figures today. Personal milestones aren’t the be-all and end-all with this team – “I want 10 selfless cricketers” was one of the first things Ben Stokes said when he took over as captain – but that doesn’t mean they aren’t important.
Pope crunches Hume for two and then waves a gorgeous, extravagant drive through extra cover for four.
OVER 26: ENG 159/1 (Duckett 65 Pope 31)
Ben Duckett picks up where he left off, back-cutting Hume’s first ball brusquely for four. That was slightly reminiscent of Michael Slater and Phil DeFreitas at the Gabba in 1994-95, an intimidating statement of intent.
There’s a lovely efficiency to Duckett’s boundary-hitting. Nothing personal, just business (and pleasure). He works a single to leg later in the over, then Ollie Pope flicks two through midwicket.
Our Chief Cricket Correspondent Nick Hoult is at Lord's
Being an Irish bowler this morning must be like sitting in the dentist’s waiting room contemplating a root canal. England will blast their way to a good lead and pull out as quickly as they can. It could be a bruising time.
England will not be that interested in time in the middle – just winning the game as quickly as they can. Is Gilbert Jessop’s 120-year record for the fastest England Test ton in danger (again)?
Crawley proves critics wrong
Will Macpherson has written about Zak Crawley, who rode his luck to slam 56 off 45 balls yesterday evening. Read it here...
Stuart Broad talks to Sky Sports
Taking early wickets was so important. We know that when you get a bit of cloud at Lord’s you have to strike, but when the sun came out it felt like the pitch got a bit slower and the ball a bit softer. Setting the tone was a big thing for me, especially with a relatively inexperienced bowling attack. We had a really good first two hours.
I love bowling at the Pavilion End [usually Jimmy Anderson’s end]. I find a good rhythm at both ends, but there’s something about the Pavilion End – you feel like you can bring the stumps into play a lot more.
Playing for Notts earlier in the season gave me the chance to compete in Division One but also work on a few things – I’ve been trying to move the ball away from the bat more than I have in recent years. As a player I have a philosophy that I have to continuously improve; I need to have something that I’m working on in training to get me excited. The body feels fantastic, I felt in great rhythm. I’m someone who wants to play more than bowl in the nets.
Good morning
Welcome to Telegraph Sport’s live, over-by-over coverage of day two at Lord’s. England will resume on 152/1, just 20 runs behind Ireland after a predictably dominant performance on the first day. Look, we know how this story ends, but that never stopped us watching the new James Bond. The interest lies not in whether England will win, but how they will do so.
Stuart Broad has already muddied the selection for the first Ashes Test by taking a five-for yesterday, and now it’s the turn of the batsmen. The top seven all know they will be playing against Australia at Edgbaston on 16 June, barring injury, so they can bat with total freedom. This makes them exceedingly dangerous. Never mind troubling the scorers; you’d fancy at least one of them to trouble the Lord’s engravers today.
In the past we’d have described this as a great opportunity for the batsmen to massage their averages, but this England team don’t think like that. It’s a chance to have fun, to feel bat on ball and, most importantly, to get back in the Bazball groove ahead of the ultimate Test of the new-age philosophy that has made the last 12 months so glorious.
First up are Ben Duckett, who breezed to 60 not out from 71 balls last night, and Ollie Pope (29 from 35). Ireland missed Josh Little, who is unavailable due to the small matter of playing in the IPL final the other day, and struggled to cope with the pressure applied by England’s batters. No shame in that – it’s happened to some of the best attacks in the world in the past 12 months.
Ireland are learning the hard way. In Test cricket, as the England players know from past experience, it’s the only way.