Match: England vs Ireland, (ENG vs IRE, Only Test)

Date: June 1-4, 2023 – 3:30 PM IST

Venue: Lord’s, London

England are set to kick off the summer with a one-off Test against Ireland. The iconic Lord’s will host the match starting from Thursday, June 1st. 

For England, this is their build-up for the Ashes and they would be looking to get some game time ahead of the big event. But they can not underestimate the Irish men as the last time these two teams met, Ireland had bowled out England for just 85 in the first innings. England did bounce back to win the match by 143 runs but they’ll remember that first innings. 

For Ireland, this is an opportunity to pull off an upset. They had rattled England last time around but couldn’t sustain it. They have had some preparation ahead of this Test, facing Essex in a first-class game.

England have been playing an aggressive brand of cricket and have tasted plenty of success with it. Their last Test assignment was in February, where they faced New Zealand. They won the first Test by 267 runs and had a chance to win the series but a call to provide entertainment cost them the second Test by one run. 

Ireland played a two-match Test series against Sri Lanka recently in April. They lost the first match by an innings and 280 runs, and the second game by an innings and 10 runs. 

Pitch Report and Weather Forecast for ENG vs IRE, Only Test

The pitches at Lord’s tend to assist seamers a lot. Top order batters, in particular, will find it hard to negotiate the new ball movement. As many as 143 Test matches have been hosted at this ground, with the average first and second innings score of 310 and 298. The team batting first has won 51 matches compared to 41 but the team batting second. 

As for the weather, the forecast suggests there should be no threat of rain throughout the four days the match is scheduled on. Thursday could be cloudy but the other days should be mostly sunny. 

England – Expected XI and Team News 

England won’t be at full strength for this Test, with James Anderson and Ollie Robinson nursing injuries. The pair is expected to be fit before the Ashes. England have announced the playing XI, with  Matthew Potts and Josh Tongue getting opportunities. Jonny Bairstow returns from a long injury layoff and will take the gloves. 

Probable XI – Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jonny Bairstow (wk), Stuart Broad, Matthew Potts, Josh Tongue, Jack Leach 

Ireland – Expected XI and Team News 

Ireland have had a tour game recently and going by that, they are likely to pair Peter Moor with James McCollum at the top. Joshua Little was rested from this game. The bowling attack is likely to comprise Mark Adair, Craig Young, Fionn Hand and Andy McBrine alongside all-rounder Curtis Campher. 

Probable XI – Peter Moor, James McCollum, Andrew Balbirnie (c), Harry Tector, Paul Stirling, Curtis Campher, Lorcan Tucker (wk), Mark Adair, Andy McBrine, Fionn Hand, Craig Young 

Head to Head record of ENG vs IRE 

Total Encounters – 1

Ireland won – 0

England won – 1

Best Captaincy Picks for the ENG vs IRE match 

Harry Brook: Batter, England 

Harry Brook had a terrible time in the Indian T20 League but returns to familiar territory. He had an incredible start in the longer format, scoring 809 runs from six Tests at an average of 81 while striking at 99. Brook has four hundreds and three fifties in the format, and is a top C/VC option here.

Stuart Broad: Bowler, England 

Stuart Broad is one of the most prolific bowlers in Test cricket. He has 576 wickets in the format at an average of 27.74, including 19 five-wicket hauls. At Lord’s, Broad has 102 wickets from 26 Tests at a similar average. He will be a good captaincy candidate in this game. 

Joe Root: Batter, England  

One of the best players England has ever produced, Joe Root has been in very good form in the last two years. He has 10948 runs in Test cricket at an average of 50.22 with 29 hundreds. You can back Root as C/VC for this match.

Top Differential Picks 

Curtis Campher: All-rounder, Ireland  

The Irish all-rounder will be a valuable player in this match. He has played three Tests, picking 188 wickets with one century along with three wickets. He’s picked by 47% of the MPL teams and can be a good differential pick. 

Matthew Potts: Bowler, England 

Matthew Potts has played five Tests for England and has done well. He has picked 20 wickets from five games at an average of 28. He is selected by less than 10% of the MPL teams and offers great differential value.

MPL Fantasy XI 

Where and what time to watch the match live in India 

For those in India, you can watch the Test match between England and Ireland on FanCode application from Thursday. 

Note: The players recommended here need not be a part of the Playing 11 on game day. Users are advised to do their own research also and follow official sources and create their teams.