After England’s captain, Ben Stokes, won the toss and chose to bowl first, seamer Stuart Broad did a great job of taking out five Irish batsmen and proving Stokes’s choice was right. After keeping Ireland to a low score, England’s first pair of batsmen, Zak Crawley (56) and Ben Duckett (60*), scored 109 runs for the first wicket in just 99 balls. England’s summer got off to a great start on Thursday, June 1, when they bowled out Ireland for 172 on the first day of the only Test at Lord’s.
At the end of Day 1, England was 152 for 1, with Duckett and Ollie Pope (29 not out) at the wicket. After the day was over, Broad thought about how well England’s summer had started and praised the batters for playing bold cricket and getting the team off to a great start.
“When you win the toss and choose to bowl, your goal is to get the other team out in one day, so that was a big check. I thought that the way the three batters played tonight was just what Baz and Stokesy wanted to see. It was positive and energetic, and it put pressure on the bowlers. We hope to see a little bit more of that tomorrow… News18 quoted Broad as saying, “It’s almost the ideal way to start a big summer.”
James Anderson and Ollie Robinson were both rested before the Ashes, so only Broad was an experienced bowler. The 36-year-old pro could also be moved around in the next series, which starts at Edgbaston on June 16. Broad said the same thing when he talked about the same thing. He said that his attitude will be the same whether he plays the first test or the second.
I love cricket in the Ashes. Stuart Broad
“I love Ashes cricket, but I can tell you honestly that my mindset is the same whether I play the first, second, or fifth Test. I just want to have an effect on the game, change the momentum, and try to put in a performance that will win the test,” he said.
Broad’s final numbers after 17 overs were 5/51, while Jack Leach got 3/35 in 14 overs and Matthew Potts got 2/36 in 12.2 overs. At 152/1, England is 20 runs behind and will try to make up a lot of ground in the first test on Day 2.
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