Before the very important Ashes 2023, England will play a one-off Test match against Ireland starting June 1 at Lord’s in London. Before the four-day Test match, the home team got a huge setback when star fast bowler Jofra Archer was ruled out for the summer.
Ollie Robinson and veteran pacer James Anderson, on the other hand, are said to be getting better from their injuries but are still expected to be able to play in the game.
But the team led by Ben Stokes might sit Anderson to keep him fresh and ready for the big series against Australia. The captain himself was injured during the IPL 2023, so all eyes will be on him to see how he does in the longer version of the game.
On the other hand, Jonny Bairstow, a powerful batter, is set to return to the starting XI. In September 2022, the stumper-batter got a terrible injury while playing golf. Since then, the 33-year-old has only played four local matches and has done well in all of them. International cricket, on the other hand, is a whole different ball game, so it will be interesting to see how he does, especially before the Ashes.
Coming to Ireland, the Andy Balbirne-led team recently lost to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in the longest version. To beat England, the team will need to not only bat better, but also be great with the ball, because the Three Lions will come at them hard. The team will be under a lot of pressure, but in order to play better cricket, they will have to calm down.
Ben Stokes is the captain of the England team, which also includes James Anderson, Jonathan Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Chris Woakes, and Mark Wood.
Ireland: Andy Balbirne (captain), Mark Adair, Curtis Campher, George Dockrell, Fionn Hand, Graham Hume, Thomas Mayes, Andy McBrine, James McCollum, Peter Moor, Conor Olphert, Paul Stirling, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Blair Tickner, Craig Young.
England vs Ireland: Schedule
The one-off Test will start at Lord’s on June 1.
Details on how to watch ENG vs. IRE on TV: Sony Sports Network
Live viewing on the SonyLiv website and app