Only Test: Let’s Savour This Occasion – But Don’t Expect A Gentle Warm-Up

England vs Ireland

As test cricket goes, this could easily be the forgotten encounter of 2019.

For it will all happen at Lord’s just 10 days after the most amazing match many cricketing fans have ever seen.

One which produced an array of emotions and such incredible shifts in momentum that two entire nations, and probably many more, were on the edge of their seats as England became world champions for the first time.

It will also happen on the eve of the 2019 Ashes, just a week before Australia travel to Edgbaston for the first test– a series which England will be desperate to regain.

All in all then, this encounter is no more than a glorified warm-up isn’t it SBOBET fans?

Talking Points

Well, actually that’s not the case at all.

For this is the ultimate test in Irish cricket odyssey and one which is set to create test cricket highlights.

Yes, Ireland travel to Lord’s for their first Test against England with victory highly unlikely.

Only last year did Ireland host its first ever test after being granted test status in 2017 so the Emerald Isle is very much a developing cricketing nation.

Yet this remains a momentous match in a magical arena, and the big prize after a long battle for Test status.

Indeed, the significance of the game far outweighs the outcome.

The fact it is a contest against the newly crowned world champions following a sensational climax is an added bonus.

The fact that an Irishman, Eoin Morgan, has just captained England to World Cup glory is actually a reason for inspiration.

Would Dubliner Morgan have even been playing in the thrilling final if Test cricket had been on offer in his native land as a youth?

We will never know.

One man who has no regrets about playing for Ireland is fast-medium paceman Boyd Rankin.

Rankin will go up against former international team-mates this week more than five years after making his solitary long-format appearance for England in a heavy fifth-Test defeat by Australia in Sydney in January 2014.

Can Ireland win against England in Only Test though Boyd Rankin? — Boyd Rankin and other Ireland players in training

It shows that times are changing in the sport in the country and this precursor to this summer’s Ashes will be an historic occasion for Rankin and his Ireland team-mates.

They look set to bring back Gary Wilson, the former Surrey wicket keeper, and give a Test debut to Mark Adair, whose zip and bounce have brought plenty of white-ball wickets.

Putting all the momentum and sentiment aside, of course England are actually facing what should be their easiest Test in years: a four-day game, at home, against Ireland.

One nation will draw on the accumulated know how of a thousand Tests; the other, only two.

From an England perspective, this is an ideal chance for Jason Roy to stake his claim.

Other than pride, England have nothing to lose, especially as a number of players have flattered at county cricket level and been poor at test level.

There is a genuine belief Roy can adapt and make the leap successfully, however.

Joe Root could do with runs from Roy and Moeen Ali, who is promoted to Joss Buttler’s slot at No 6, despite a difficult World Cup with the bat. And Rory Burns, charged with filling Cook’s shoes, needs to show that he can also fill his own boots.

Given Mark Wood and Jofra Archer are both nursing side strains, England are anxious to avoid further injuries and could even play five seamers – most likely Jimmy Anderson, Stuart Broad and Chris Woakes. Ireland’s batsmen could be facing the top two Test wicket-takers in Lord’s history (Anderson with 103, Broad with 83), plus a man whose Test bowling average there is 10.76 (Woakes).

So it’s all set for a gentle warm-up to the Ashes and a one-sided encounter isn’t it. A bit of an after-thought, after the Lord Mayor’s show and before the next big one.

Don’t be so sure!

History

This is a first ever test between the nations.

Ireland have already given England a scare once this summer, when Ben Foakes and Tom Curran had to mount a salvage operation in a one day international at Malahide.

Back in 2011, Ireland left England red-faced in the World Cup.

At Bengaluru, Andrew Strauss’s England batted perfectly well, making 327, only to let Kevin O’Brien turn a lost cause into the highest successful run chase in World Cup history – a quite astonishing victory.