Josh Tongue, an English seamer making his test debut, claimed his first three test wickets and an additional one after James McCollum had to withdraw due to injury.
Ireland lost three wickets in its attempt to postpone its inevitable loss in the one-off test at Lord’s on day two Friday, as England declared with a 352 run advantage.
Josh Tongue, an English seamer making his test debut, claimed his first three test wickets and an additional one after James McCollum had to withdraw due to injury. The four-day exam ought to be finished in three days.
After England declared after lunch and smashed out 524-4 at a run rate of 6.33, Ireland was 97-3 at stumps, 255 runs adrift.
When Ollie Pope was out for 205, recording his first double century, the call came. Joe Root added a sharp 56, while Ben Duckett drove the morning session and hit 182 at better than run a ball.
Ireland had trouble settling in after taking a beating from England’s top order on a favourable batting surface.
With his first delivery of the new inning, Tongue, who had previously threatened but failed in the first innings, bowled out starter Peter Moor for 11. Andy Balbirnie, the captain, was out for two on his sixth ball. McCollum attempted to pull during Tongue’s second over but instead fell as his right ankle was severely twisted. He was rushed to the hospital after retiring on 12th.
Ireland was 63-3 when Paul Stirling glanced Tongue to a leg-side catch on 15. Lorcan Tucker, on 21, and Harry Tector, 33 not out, batted out the final 10 overs.
Their adversity stood in stark contrast to England’s willful, daring, and prosperity.
With a score of 152-1 to start the day, England was only 20 runs behind Ireland.
Duckett hit 101 runs in the morning session while still on 60 and blasted to an impossible second test hundred off 106 balls. In the process, he beat Don Bradman in a test at Lord’s for the fastest time to 150. Duckett completed it in one ball and run. He continued to 161 for lunch.
Pope increased from 29 to 97 at lunchtime.
Pope only needed 126 balls to get his fourth test century, but Duckett was dismissed for 182 in the same over after Ireland had been given a new ball. Duckett dragged on after cutting Graham Hume.
Duckett’s 182 came from 178 balls, not long after he slog-swept the first six of the match. He also hit 24 boundaries and walked off to a standing ovation.
Duckett and Pope combined for 252 runs in 43.2 overs.
Pope was joined by Root, and they were quick to find their stride.
A driven boundary back past Curtis Campher took Pope past 150 in 166 balls, tying Bradman’s record from the 1930 Ashes for the fastest 150 in a Lord’s test.
Pope also matched Duckett’s feat in scoring 100 runs in a session to be 197 at tea.
Between lunch and tea, England scored 178 runs at an average of 6.85.
When Root surpassed 11,000 test runs, he was still in the game and ranked 11th all-time.
Three balls into the last session, he was knocked for 56 off 59 after moving towards offspinner Andy McBrine.
Pope then crushed McBrine for a six over his head two overs later, taking 207 balls to reach his quickest double century in England. Pope’s stumping off the following ball prompted the declaration.
