Stuart Broad’s 20th five-wicket haul was the highlight of the first day of the only England-Ireland Test at Lord’s on Thursday, June 1. The hosts got off to a strong start as the summer started. Broad should feel better about himself before the Ashes because he got 5 for 51 and kept Ireland to 172 runs.
The experienced bowler, who will turn 37 later this month, is now 19 wickets away from the 600-wicket mark. He said he was happy with the start, which gives him a “nice lift” for the future.
“I was probably in the best groove of the summer up to that point. For me, it was a great start to the international summer to feel like I was really on my game in the first game. “At my age, I don’t depend on confidence. I know I can bowl well and where the ball is going, but it’s always nice to have a few wickets behind you,” Broad said at the end of the first day.
This was Broad’s third five-wicket haul at Lord’s, and the fast bowler enjoyed it and the atmosphere at England’s most famous stadium.
“You can’t undervalue how it feels to see your name on the most famous honors board in the world,” he said. “It’s a very special thing to be on it.”
“I’ve always loved playing here. Walking through that long room and onto that pitch gives me such a rush. A few of us were having tea outside when the sun came out for one of the first times this season. We all said, “How great is this? Blue sky at Lord’s, a crowd there; test match; it’s as good as it gets.”
England had 152 for 1 at the end of the day’s play, which took only 25 overs. This was more of their exciting brand of cricket, where they went after the other team. Ben Duckett was hitting on 60 of 71 balls, and Ollie Pope (29* off 35) was with him. Zak Crawley hit 56 off 45 balls.
Broad said that England did everything right with their bowling and got off to a good start with their bats, which he hoped would continue on Day 2.
“When you win the toss and bowl, you try to get the other team out in one day, so the fact that we were able to do that was a big win for our bowling attack.” Then I thought that the way the three guys played this evening was exactly what Baz [Brendon McCullum] and Stokesy [Ben Stokes] wanted. “It was positive, it was aggressive, and it put pressure on the bowlers. We hope to see a little more of that on Friday,” said Broad.
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