LONDON: England captain Joe Root defended his side’s batsmen ahead of the Ashes after Chris Woakes and Stuart Broad spared their blushes by skittling Ireland out for just 38 to complete a crushing Test match win at Lord’s.
The hosts had been bowled out for 85 in their first innings on Wednesday but, with nightwatchman Jack Leach making a career-best 92 second-time around, they were able to set Ireland a target of 182 on Friday.
Ireland then collapsed in a mere 15.4 overs, with Woakes taking a Test-best 6-17 and fellow seamer Broad 4-19 as England won by 143 runs.
A match scheduled for four days rather than the usual five allocated for a Test was all over before lunch on the third.
England’s top-order problems remain a worry ahead of next week’s first Test against Australia in Birmingham, with the Ashes-holding tourists looking to win a series away to their arch-rivals for the first time in 19 years.
But Root insisted a “substandard” pitch prepared by Irish groundsman Karl McDermott, in his first season at Lord’s, was to blame for their batting woes in England’s first match at the ‘home of cricket’ since they won the World Cup there 12 days earlier.
“First innings, last innings... when you are getting scores like that it tells a story in itself,” said Root.
With doubts over Australia’s batting as well, the Ashes could come down to which side can give their attack enough runs to play with.
“Australia will be thinking, ‘it’s doing a bit in England’,” said Root with a smile.
“It’s hard for anyone to read too much into these very extreme conditions but I’m sure the bowlers will like the look of the surfaces here and it’s bubbling up nicely for a very entertaining first game.”
Root was one of five players in the England side that beat Ireland — Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Moeen Ali and Woakes were the others — who had also played in the World Cup final.
Fellow World Cup-winners Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes were rested from the Ireland game but they all now face a frantic Ashes schedule of five Tests in just over six weeks.
“You have to suck it up and get on with it,” said Root. “It’s a hard slog for guys to play all five of these games and be at the top of their game.”
Meanwhile England coach Trevor Bayliss questioned his side’s attitude.
“For matches like this we have to take a good hard look at ourselves,” he said. “We have no problems getting up for games against Australia and India.
“Do we take the foot off for matches like this? Are we able to get in the mood to compete and be ruthless?“
Ireland have yet to win any of their three Tests following previous defeats by Pakistan and Afghanistan.
But this was arguably the most painful given their fine start, with veteran paceman Tim Murtagh taking 5-13 on his Middlesex home ground in England’s first innings.
Ireland’s second innings, however, was the lowest by any Test side since 1955.
“We’re pretty gutted,” said Ireland captain William Porterfield. “We had the chance to win it. That shows you how much it hurts.”
Nevertheless, the opening batsman added: “That first couple of hours is going to stay with players and Irish fans for a long time.
“To take 10 wickets in the first session of a Lord’s Test was an unbelievable effort and for Tim Murtagh to get up on the honors board is never going to be taken away from him.”
Ireland’s next Test is not until February, away to Sri Lanka in Galle, and they don’t yet know when they will play England in the format again.
“We’d love to play games like this every week in front of a full house at Lord’s,” said Porterfield.
“Every game we’ve played we have put ourselves in a position to win the game and so a few more games like this will potentially put us over the line.”
England captain Root relieved as Ireland pitch battle ends in victory
England captain Root relieved as Ireland pitch battle ends in victory
- “It’s hard for anyone to read too much into these very extreme condition,” says England captain
Memphis Grizzlies rally, nip Spurs on late block
- Luka Doncic and LeBron James both scored 30 points as Los Angeles won in New Orleans 111-103 to win their third straight
- Darius Garland posted 29 points and six assists as Cleveland won in Indianapolis, sending Indiana to their franchise-record 13th consecutive loss
NEW YORK: Cam Spencer scored 13 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter and Santi Aldama blocked a potential game-winning shot by De’Aaron Fox with 5.2 seconds remaining to lift the Memphis Grizzlies to a 106-105 victory over the visiting San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday night.
Spencer gave the Grizzlies the lead with 37.3 seconds to go on a baseline jumper. A minute earlier, he had connected on a 3-pointer to trim San Antonio’s lead to 105-104. Jaren Jackson Jr. matched Spencer with 21 points and had nine rebounds. Jock Landale contributed 19 points and nine boards and Vince Williams Jr., returning from a lengthy injury absence, finished with 15 points, six rebounds and five assists.
Victor Wembanyama came off the bench to lead the Spurs with 30 points. Julian Champagnie added 23 points and eight rebounds and Stephon Castle had 15 points and eight boards before fouling out with 3:13 to go.
The Grizzlies played without starters Ja Morant, Cedric Coward and Zach Edey. Morant missed his second straight game with a right calf contusion and his 18th game overall of the team’s 36 contests because of a variety of injuries. Coward sprained his left ankle in Sunday’s loss at the Lakers.
Lakers 111 Pelicans 103
Luka Doncic and LeBron James both scored 30 points as Los Angeles won in New Orleans to win their third straight. Doncic also had 10 assists while James had eight boards and eight assists.
Doncic had 11 first-quarter points and 16 at the half despite missing all six of his 3-point shots. Deandre Ayton paired 18 points with 11 rebounds as the Lakers opened the fourth on a 9-0 run to take control of the game.
Trey Murphy III had a career-high 42 points for New Orleans, who frittered away a position of strength to suffer their eighth successive defeat. Zion Williamson added 15 points and Derik Queen posted 10 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists.
Cavaliers 120 Pacers 116
Darius Garland posted 29 points and six assists as Cleveland won in Indianapolis, sending Indiana to their franchise-record 13th consecutive loss.
Evan Mobley had 20 points and Jarrett Allen finished with 19 points and 12 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who have won four of their last five. Sam Merrill also scored 19. Cleveland won despite resting Donovan Mitchell, the NBA’s fourth-leading scorer at 29.8 points per game, and losing Dean Wade after eight minutes when he re-injured his left knee.
Pascal Siakam led Indiana with 22 points, Jay Huff scored 20 and Johnny Furphy had nine points and 11 rebounds. The Pacers’ most recent win was Dec. 8 over the Sacramento Kings. Indiana, which had lost 12 consecutive games four prior times since joining the NBA in 1976, owns the worst home record in the league at 5-15.
Timberwolves 122 Heat 94
Anthony Edwards scored 26 points in 29 minutes, and Minnesota cruised to a win over Miami in Minneapolis.
Jaden Daniels added 19 points on 7-for-15 shooting for Minnesota, which won its third game in a row. Julius Randle (15 points, 11 rebounds) and Rudy Gobert (13 points, 17 rebounds) each registered double-doubles, and Naz Reid scored 14 points off the bench.
Norman Powell. Bam Adebayo and Kel’el Ware grabbed 11 rebounds apiece. One bright spot for the Heat was the return of Tyler Herro, who played for the first time since Dec. 9. He showed no signs of a right big toe injury as he finished with 17 points and nine rebounds in 29 minutes off the bench.
Wizards 120 Magic 112
CJ McCollum scored 27 points and Alex Sarr added 23 to go along with eight rebounds, fueling host Washington past Orlando. Justin Champagnie had 17 points off the bench for Washington, who made 31 of 33 shots from the free- throw line.
Bilal Coulibaly recorded 14 points, eight rebounds and five steals for the Wizards, who have won five of their last seven.
Orlando rookie Jase Richardson scored a career-high 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the floor. Desmond Bane scored 15 points, Paolo Banchero had 14 and Tristan da Silva added 13 for the Magic, who committed 19 turnovers that led to 29 points by Washington. The Magic whittled a 26-point deficit down to two late in the game, but a 10-2 Wizards run sealed their victory.
