Section:GDN 1N PaGe:43 Edition Date:190724 Edition:01 Zone: Sent at 23/7/2019 20:36 cYanmaGentaYellowb
Wednesday 24 July 2019 The Guardian •
43executive, has outlined the benefi ts of
putting the best quality cricket outside
the paywall and he has suggested that
one Lord’s Test should be free-to-air
every summer. This is not a brand new
idea. Last year in these pages Ali Mar-
tin put forward that same suggestion.
It is obviously a n excellent idea,
which would raise everyone’s esti-
mation of both the England and Wales
Cricket Board and the executives of
Sky TV. The fans would welcome
such a scheme. But this is no guar-
antee that either body will embrace
such a beautifully simple plan. Instead
grim and earnest explanations may be
expected of why this is not possible- for contractual/political/fi nancial
reasons. Moreover, it might detract
from The Hundred, on which £200m
is being invested by the ECB.
In this instance the old argument
that mankind managed to pop a man
on the moon 50 years ago may have
some traction. They will fi nd plenty of
reasons why this plan is not possible.
The chances of an Irish victory here are
far greater than a free-to-air Lord’s Test
being enjoyed by the wider cricketing
community in the foreseeable future.
As England return to where they
won the World Cup 10 days ago, Ben
Stokes yesterday responded to his
nomination as New Zealander of the
Year in a short statement:
“I am fl attered to be nominated
for New Zealander of the Year. I am
proud of my New Zealand and Maori
heritage but it would not sit right
with me to be nominated for this
prestigious award. There are people
who deserve this recognition more
and have done a lot more for the
country of New Zealand.
“I have helped England lift a
World Cup and my life is fi rmly
established in the UK – it has been
since I was 12 years old.
“I feel the whole country should
align their support to New Zealand
captain Kane Williamson. He should
be revered as a kiwi legend. He led
his team in this World Cup with
distinction and honour. He was
the player of the tournament and
an inspirational leader of men. He
shows humility and empathy to
every situation and is an all-round
good bloke. He typifi es what it is to
be a New Zealander. He would be a
worthy recipient of this accolade.
New Zealand, fully support him. He
deserves it and gets my vote.”Four - day Test
smacks of casual
disdain by ECB
Page 35 Andy Bull
Sri Lanka last winter, where he made
his one-day international debut. This
summer, after recovering from a back
problem, he has played only two fi rst-
class matches for Warwickshire so his
inclusion, ahead of Somerset’s Lewis
Gregory, is a bit of a punt as well as
a fact-fi nding expedition. Truly fast
bowers excite, as Root acknowledged:
“He [Stone] brings an extra bit of pace
to this group, something diff erent to
turn to. It’ll be a good opportunity to
see him play this week.”
There will be one other England
debutant, though that has long been
foreshadowed. Jason Roy, after his
dazzling exploits in the World Cup,
makes his Test debut and his captaindoes not want him suddenly to batten
down the hatches. “I just want him to
be himself, to express himself and to
trust his instincts.” Roy’s presence at
the top of the order is a good reason to
turn up on time.
Another is to witness a bit of
cricketing history as Ireland play their
fi rst ever Test against England. “They
have absolutely earn ed the right to
play Tests,” said Root.
Meanwhile his opposite number,
William Porterfi eld, who was once on
the groundstaff at Lord’s, said leading
his team out on to the hallowed turf
would be “a special moment”, rather
more so than handing out match pro-
grammes to spectators almost two
decades ago. And yes, the Irish squad
had been watching and cheering Shane
Lowry on the big screen in the team
room at their hotel.since the Trent Bridge match last
August , will share the new ball with
Stuart Broad, another who would like
to remind the selectors of his worth.
There is no excuse for any England
player to be underwhelmed by the
prospect of this Test.
The challenge for the Irish team – led
by their captain for the past decade,
William Porterfi eld – is not to be over-
whelmed by the occasion. But they
have plenty of experience in the form
of Porterfi eld, Murtagh and another
Middlesex stalwart, Paul Stirling, as
well as Gary Wilson and Kevin O’Brien,
who tormented England so brilliantly
in Bangalore. Meanwhile Boyd Rankin,
if selected, becomes the fi rst cricketer
since the Nawab of Pataudi in 1946 to
play for and against England in Tests.
It should not be so diffi cult for Rankin
to enjoy his third Test rather more than
his fi rst in Sydney in 2014 , the fi nal
game in England’s 5-0 Ashes defeat.
So another historic event at Lord’s is
here. It is not quite on the scale of the
World Cup fi nal and therefore there is
no imperative to have it on free-to-air
television. However, in the wake of
that fi nal Guy Lavender, MCC’s chief Continued from back pageOnly Australia,
in cricket’s
fi rst ever Test
match, have
won their fi rst
against EnglandAustralia
Melbourne 1877
Aus won by 45
runs
All Tests: P346
E108 A144 D94
Bangladesh
Dhaka 2003
Eng won by
seven wkts
P10 E9 B1 D0
India Lord’s
1932 Eng won
by 158 runs
P122 E47 I26
D49
N Zealand
Christchurch
1930First Tests v England
‘I’m fl attered ... but Williamson should get it’
Stokes rules out becoming New Zealander of the YearStone steps up
to provide pace
against Ireland
▼ Olly Stone gets a feel for Lord’s
in practice yesterday
ANDREW BOYERS/ACTION IMAGES VIA REUTERSEng won by eight
wkts
P103 E48 N10 D45
Pakistan
Lord’s 1 954
Drawn
P83 E25 P21 D37
South Africa
P Elizabeth 1889
Eng won by
eight wkts
P149 E61 S33 D55
Sri Lanka
Colombo 1982
Eng won by
seven wkts
P34 E15 SL8 D11
West Indies
Lord’s 1928
Eng won by an
inns & 58 runs
P157 E49 W57 D51
Zimbabwe
Bulawayo 1996
Drawn
P6 E3 Z0 D3Ben
is
ftheed
am
aori
t
s
ople
orenuld
nd
ould
edd
Hend
to
e a
e.
HeRoy hoping
to carry
form into
long gameJason Roy
plays a cover
drive in the
nets at Lord’s,
the Surrey
batsman will
make his Test
debut against
Ireland today
ANDREW FOSKER/
BPI/SHUTTERSTOCKBen Stokes moved
to England with his
family aged 12РЕЛИЗ ПОДГОТОВИЛА ГРУППА "What's News" VK.COM/WSNWS