England dominate day one against Ireland but Zak Crawley misses out on a much-needed century

There were three shaky inside edges for four, a couple of classical, dreamy cover drives and a rapid half-century. But above all for Zak Crawley there was a big missed opportunity.

No-one has had their position in the England revolution more regularly questioned than Crawley and no other player needed a performance here in this ‘Ashes warm-up’ Test against Ireland more than an opener averaging 27.60 after his first 33 Tests.

Crawley was halfway towards the century that would have gone a long way towards silencing the noise he insists he has shut out by eschewing social media when he drove Irish debutant Fionn Hand back towards him and saw the chance grabbed at the second attempt.

Yes, Crawley had made 56 off 45 balls with 11 fours and featured in an opening stand of 109 in just 16.3 overs with Ben Duckett but, with Ireland fielding as weak an attack as can be found in Test cricket, it should have been many, many more.

England, frankly, will not care. Their faith in Crawley as a player perfectly suited to their all-action style was undimmed after the winter and would have remained so even if he had failed to make a run for Kent this season and fallen for a duck here.

Stuart Broad sealed a 20th career five-wicket haul to put his name on the honours board at Lord’s once again

Ben Duckett made a fluent half century on day one at Lord's

Zak Crawley reached 56 before he was caught and bowled by Fionn Hand

Both Ben Duckett (left) and Zak Crawley (right) made half centuries as England began their first innings

Crawley made 56 off 45 balls with 11 fours but was unable to capitalise on a modest attack and register a big score

Crawley made 56 off 45 balls with 11 fours but was unable to capitalise on a modest attack and register a big score

It is his impact more than consistency that Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum crave and Crawley did make an impact on this first day of the Test summer. It is just it should have been a bigger one.

Duckett felt he left plenty of runs in the middle during a winter where he made one hundred and four half centuries but he will have a golden opportunity of his own to add three figures on Friday when he resumes on 60 with England 152 for one in reply to Ireland’s 172.

They rattled along at six an over again, Ollie Pope joining Duckett in a breezy unbroken second-wicket stand of 43, beginning ‘Bazball Season Two’ with the same explosive storyline as the first blockbuster series.

This was just the type of day England wanted to open their Test summer when Ben Stokes won the toss and decided to bowl on a grey St John’s Wood morning but on a pretty flat Lord’s pitch.

At the centre of it was the indefatigable figure of Stuart Broad, given a rare opportunity to lead the England attack here and proving, as he approaches his 37th birthday, that he remains as important to their Ashes chances as ever.

Stokes said ahead of this game England would have fielded a very different attack had Australia been the opposition at Lord’s, intimating that Jimmy Anderson, Ollie Robinson and Mark Wood were all being saved for the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston.

Yet that would be to overlook a man who simply refuses to be overlooked in Broad. 

Certainly, England would be wise to find room for him in the big one on June 16, not least because Broad would relish making an opening Ashes statement against David Warner.

Ireland struggled to get runs on the board on day one at Lord's and were skittled for just 172

Ireland struggled to get runs on the board on day one at Lord’s and were skittled for just 172

Ben Stokes was impressive in the field constantly moving the field around to put off the batters

Ben Stokes was impressive in the field constantly moving the field around to put off the batters

Broad was an indefatigable figure in the middle for England on a rare occasion he is asked to lead the attack

Broad was an indefatigable figure in the middle for England on a rare occasion he is asked to lead the attack

Broad has been in sparkling form off the pitch so far this season, telling Mail Sport the last Ashes should be void and then adding a touch of the Shane Warnes by saying he had invented a new delivery for Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne.

Now he was equally potent on it. Broad took the first three Ireland wickets to fall in eight balls and would have added a fourth off his next delivery had his lbw shout against Paul Stirling, upheld by umpire Paul Wilson, not been shown to be missing leg stump by a centimetre on review.

Ireland would have been 19 for four and in danger of another very low score at Lord’s but Stirling and James McCollum added 45 before Jack Leach, introduced for the 12th over by a captain in Stokes who has infused him with confidence, took the first of his three wickets.

Leach, the perfect example of a bowler transformed by the Bazball revolution, has played in every Test since Stokes and Brendon McCullum took over this time last year and it would be a huge surprise if he was the one to make way for Broad at Edgbaston now.

The selection of Josh Tongue ahead of Chris Woakes here was another example of positive thinking by England and the Worcestershire man did himself no harm on debut by fulfilling the ‘enforcer’ role left largely vacant by injuries to Jofra Archer and Olly Stone.

Tongue hit 91 miles per hour in his first spell, consistently maintained his speed in 13 aggressive overs and was unlucky not to have opened his Test account.

Jack Leach came in after the 12th over and took three wickets on the first day of the Test

Jack Leach came in after the 12th over and took three wickets on the first day of the Test

Josh Tongue did himself no harm on debut by fulfilling the ‘enforcer’ role left largely vacant by injuries to Jofra Archer and Olly Stone

Josh Tongue did himself no harm on debut by fulfilling the ‘enforcer’ role left largely vacant by injuries to Jofra Archer and Olly Stone

No such problem for Broad who switched back to the Nursery End and found considerable swing after lunch to add the wickets of McCollum and Mark Adair to complete his first five-wicket haul at Lord’s in 10 years and his 20th overall. 

He now stands 19 victims away from joining Anderson at the magical 600 in Test cricket mark.

Broad insists he has no interest in that figure. He is just determined to enjoy every second of this extraordinary England transformation after fearing his Test career was over when he was left out of last year’s tour of the Caribbean.

That seems a world away now and, with England perfectly placed to perhaps defeat Ireland even as early as Friday, anticipation for the Ashes can only grow and grow.

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