England vs Ireland in 2023

Test match (1): England 1, Ireland 0

In 2019, Ireland had arrived bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at Lord's, and ran through England for 85. They lost, but it seemed a cricketing good-news story had landed. But, not helped by the Covid interruption, Ireland did not play another Test until April 2023, when they had three on turning tracks in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. By then, many of the old guard whose achievements had propelled them to Test status had gone - notably Tim Murtagh, who claimed five for 13 on that heady first morning four years before, but soon had to choose between occasional international appearances and the security of a county contract.

The team certainly looked the part at Lord's: their emerald caps and traditional, green-trimmed sweaters might have come from the same batch as those sported by the amateur pioneers who bowled the West Indians out for 25 in 1969. But on the field, the difference in class was quickly apparent, even though England captain Ben Stokes - protecting an injured knee - hardly featured. A spirited display by Ireland's lower order averted an innings defeat, but the result was never in doubt.

For England, minor concerns about injuries and workload ahead of the Ashes kept James Anderson, Ollie Robinson and Mark Wood on the sidelines, which led to a call-up for the strapping Worcestershire fast bowler Josh Tongue. His eventual inclusion in the final XI was especially good news for a family friend who, when Tongue was 11, had bet £100 at 500-1 that he would play Test cricket, and collected a cool £50,000. Tongue nudged 90mph, and took five wickets in the second innings.

While Ireland's batting was reasonably competitive, their attack needed a sharper edge. In their previous three Tests, they had leaked 1,802 runs and taken just 22 wickets. It might have helped had the nippy left-armer Josh Little been selected - but, after playing for Gujarat Titans in the IPL final the previous weekend, he was rested.

Eyebrows were raised when Cricket Ireland's high performance director Richard Holdsworth explained: "We are incredibly proud to play against England at Lord's - it's a special occasion, but it's not a pinnacle event." Little was being saved for the qualifying tournament for the 50-over World Cup, which started in Zimbabwe later in June. Reaching either of those tournaments would pay off richly - in terms of exposure, and hard cash. As Holdsworth admitted: "Our pinnacle events would be white-ball cricket. A member with the funding we've got simply cannot commit to three formats of the game. It's financially impossible."