Sport Specsavers Test
Five with points to prove against Irish
By Giles Mole
Joe Denly
He is averaging 56 in the
championship this season for
Kent, with a highest score of
167 not out, so has form on his
side. He is also a bowling
option, which helps. But at 33
it is now or never if he is going
to play in an Ashes series.
Score runs against the Irish
and he is likely to be included.
Fail, and expect a call-up for
James Vince.Stuart Broad
England’s second-highest
wicket-taker but Jofra Archer
is threat. With Ben Stokes and
James Anderson first choices
for the Ashes, the two other
pace bowlers will be from
Broad, Archer, Chris Woakes,
Olly Stone and Sam Curran,
plus Mark Wood when fit.
Broad must prove there is no
substitute for experience.Do not sleepwalk –
play with passion and
pride, demands Root
Tim Wigmore
Ireland Test will set tone
for Ashes, warns captain
New opener Roy told to
play his natural game
Joe Root hopes that England can
ride the wave of their World Cup
triumph and transfer the form into
the Test arena.
The four-day Test against Ireland
starting today comes at the same
ground, Lord’s, which hosted the
dramatic World Cup final victory
over New Zealand.
Root, the Test captain, played in
that game and now switches focus
for a match that will be a useful
warm-up for the Ashes.
“We couldn’t be better placed in
many ways. There’s a huge amount
of confidence coming off the back
of that,” Root said of the super-over
victory.
“The most important thing for
me, the message that there has
been to the squad, is to play with a
huge amount of pride and passion
and intensity. The intensity this
week will set the tone for the rest of
the summer.”
Root hopes that the performance
against Ireland will lay down a
marker for the looming challenge
of the Ashes, which begins at Edg-
baston a week tomorrow.
“That’s definitely what we are
looking to do and that’s been the
message to the group,” he said. “We
don’t want to sleepwalk into this.
Any Lord’s Test match at the start is
a good chance to set a precedent for
the way we want to play for the rest
of the summer. I don’t want anyone
not being 100 per cent on it.”
James Anderson will be absent
from the inaugural Test against Ire-
land, as his return from a calf injury
is managed. But the Lancashire
bowler remains on course to play in
the first Ashes Test.
“Jimmy probably would have
been able to get through this Test
match,” Root said. “The last thing
we want is him carrying a niggle
going into a series so we tried to be
sensible about it and give him as
much time to be 100 per cent.”
In Anderson’s absence, Olly
Stone will make his Test debut,
with Stuart Broad and Chris
Woakes taking the new ball. Stone
may well have been selected
regardless, with England keen to
blood a bowler who has regularly
topped 90mph in county cricket,
especially with Jofra Archer likely
to miss the first Ashes Test and
Mark Wood ruled out of the first
three.
“He’s got good pace. That’s one
thing that he brings to this group –
an extra bit of pace, something dif-
ferent to turn to. It’ll be a good
opportunity to see him play.”
Stone’s debut follows the spec-
tacular emergence this year of
Archer and the success of Wood in
the World Cup, giving England a
trio of bowlers who can exceed
90mph.
“It is something, especially away
from home, I see as being a massive
advantage and long term it is great
to see those options give different
types of bowlers to turn to.”
As well as Stone, Jason Roy will
make his Test debut. Roy is among
the most feared openers in one-day
internationals, with nine centuries
in 81 innings, including three in 12
innings during a stellar 2019. His
captain hopes that Roy, who has
opened only 27 times in first-class
cricket, and in two championship
matches in the past five seasons,
bats in a similarly buccaneering
spirit.
“I hope he doesn’t try and play
differently,” Root said. “With Jason,
I want him to just go out and be
himself. I want him to express him-
self and just trust his instincts as
much as possible. He’s got very
good instincts, he reads the game
very well and he’ll bring something
different to our Test batting side.
“He’s a very exciting prospect
and a proven performer in interna-
tional cricket so fully capable of
going on and making big contribu-
tions at the top of the order. Only in
small pockets, but we’ve seen
throughout the World Cup that he
can soak up pressure and trust his
defence. It might be that he has todo that for longer in Test cricket.
But there are times when he can put
pressure back on to the opposition
and he’s one of the best in the world
at doing that.”
Moeen Ali will bat at six, allow-
ing England to select a six-man
bowling attack, with Jack Leach as
the second spinner.
“There are plenty of all-rounders
that follow and have shown they
can score plenty of runs in Test
cricket. It might not have a tradi-
tional look to a balanced Test team
but we feel there is plenty there
that covers all bases.”
The extra strength in bowling
will relieve the workload on the
attack during the baking heat,
especially important as there will
be 98 overs a day, rather than the
customary 90.
While Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler
are rested after their World Cup
exertions, Root and other senior
players, notably Jonny Bairstow,
rejected the possibility of having a
rest, preferring to have some red-
ball cricket before the Ashes.
“The question was posed to a
number of guys and the decision
was made on their behalf,” said
Root. “You have got to give players
responsibility, you have got to give
them the chance to prepare how
they want to for a huge back end of
the summer with six Test matches.
“You look at Jos and Ben, in par-
ticular, coming out of an Indian
Premier League at the front of this
summer as well. It is important that
they get a bit of time at home, get a
bit of normality and a chance to be
with their families.
“From a personal point of view, I
wanted to play this game to get
some red-ball cricket.”
The Test will also mark Joe Den-
ly’s first international game since
being dropped by England’s ODI
side for the World Cup. Denly has
made two hundreds in his past four
championship games for Kent, and
will bat at three.
“It probably hit him quite hard at
the start – you could probably tell
that by his performances – but it
shows strength of character to
come back and make two very big
hundreds,” said Root.
The England captain added that
Ireland had “absolutely” earned the
right to a Test at Lord’s.
“They have upset sides like Eng-
land in previous World Cups and
they ran us close in the one-day for-
mat at the start of the year – and the
Test match last summer against
Pakistan was a brilliant Test match.
I thought they played really well
and proved that they deserved Test
status. It is great for Test cricket. It
is great for the game that sides like
Ireland are getting a chance in this
format.”Lord’s, 11am. TV Sky Sports
England RJ Burns, JJ Roy,
JL Denly, JE Root (capt),
JM Bairstow (wkt), Moeen Ali,
CR Woakes, SM Curran,
SCJ Broad, MJ Leach, OP Stone.
Ireland (probable): WTS
Porterfield (capt), JA McCollum,
A Balbirnie, PR Stirling,
KJ O’Brien, GC Wilson (wkt),
MR Adair, SR Thompson,
AR McBrine, WB Rankin,
TJ Murtagh.
Umpires RSA Palliyaguruge (Sri
Lanka) and Aleem Dar (Pakistan).
Third umpire
P Wilson (Australia).
Match referee
AJ Pycroft (Zimbabwe).England v
IrelandGame zone
The Test
summer
ahead
Four-day
Test
v Ireland,
Today
Lord’sForecast
Today
Sunny
32CTomorrow
Sunny
37CFriday
Sunny spells
27CSaturday
Showers
23CAshes series
v Australia
First Test
Aug 1
Edgbaston
Second Test
Aug 14
Lord’s
Third Test
Aug 22
Headingley
Fourth Test
Sep 4
Old Trafford
Fifth Test
Sep 12
Kia Oval2 *** Wednesday 24 July 2019 The Daily Telegraph
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