Ben Stokes declared after Ollie Pope registered a first double century for England to raise the possibility of victory being achieved against Ireland inside two days at Lord’s.
Pope reached 200 at the start of tea to back up Ben Duckett’s record-breaking innings earlier on the second day but his dismissal the next ball saw Stokes call in England, who had scorched 524 for four from 82.4 overs.
With a lead of 352 and virtually a whole session left, Ireland now face an uphill battle to force this one-off Test into a third day let alone make England bat for a second time at the ‘Home of Cricket’.
Duckett’s lavish display dominated the morning session, with the opener scoring a hundred in his first Test innings on home soil and showing why he is the perfect fit for Brendon McCullum and Stokes’ aggressive ‘Bazball’ style as he achieved 150 off the same number of balls.
It saw Duckett snatch the record for quickest Test 150 at Lord’s off Australian great Don Bradman but even his dismissal for 182 failed to stem a run rate that was consistently over six.
Pope picked up the baton and tucked into some poor Irish bowling to walk off for tea on 197 not out before a glorious skip down the wicket saw him hit Andy McBrine for a maximum to reach 200, but when he was stumped next ball, Stokes called in the troops to try and force a win inside two days.
After an “almost perfect” start to summer, according to Stuart Broad after his five-wicket haul, England quickly moved beyond the tourists’ total on day two.
Duckett had been watchful following Zak Crawley’s dismissal on Thursday night, but was in sumptuous form straight away, cutting away the first ball for four before further drives took him within sight of a second century at Lord’s this season after he posted 177 here for Nottinghamshire in April.
With Mark Adair struggling, Duckett raced onto 99 with a cover drive and flick off his pads down to the fine leg boundary in a 35th over that also brought up the hundred partnership between Pope.
The next over produced further milestones, with Duckett able to celebrate three figures for England for only a second time after he nudged into the leg side for a single to short midwicket.
Duckett held his arms aloft after he made it to a hundred from 106 deliveries following a chanceless innings.
England’s number three Pope was more frenetic during the first hour, with the occasional play-and-miss married up with the odd boundary down to third man that did not always look completely controlled.
Despite that, England were still rattling along at more than six runs an over with Ireland lacking the X-factor of rested seamer Josh Little following his Indian Premier League exploits.
Pope survived a review for an lbw against debutant Fionn Hand before lunch to walk off three short of a century, but the session belonged to Duckett, who swept his way into the history books.
Two off Hand ensured Duckett reach 150 off the same amount of balls to set a new quickest 150 in Test cricket at Lord’s, beating Bradman’s previous record of 150 off 163 deliveries during the 1930 Ashes.
Duckett picked up where he left off after lunch and crunched 14 from one Andy McBrine over with a slog sweep for the first maximum of the Test and a reverse sweep for four.
Another drive to the boundary saw Duckett move onto 182 and bring up the 250-run partnership, but Hume got movement from a replacement ball later in the over and England’s centurion edged onto his own stumps.
The Lord’s crowd acknowledged Duckett’s superb innings with widespread applause and now all eyes were on Pope.
Pope reached his hundred with a single in the second over of the afternoon session and it settled him down.
England’s vice-captain freed up to pull and cut away for four with greater conviction before a reverse paddle scoop brought another boundary.
The drive was the next shot used with a six off McBrine followed by a crunch down the ground against Campher to reach 150 off 166 balls.
More landmarks followed, with a single for Pope taking him past 2,000 Test runs and the hundred partnership achieved with Joe Root, who paddle scooped his way to fifty and scored his 11,000 run in Test cricket in another crushing session for red-ball novices Ireland.
A maximum straight after tea clinched Pope’s maiden Test double hundred off 207 balls, the quickest by anyone in England, but when McBrine dismissed him after bowling Root, Stokes declared.
IPL: Capitals sneak past Titans after Pant heroics in free-scoring clash
Rishabh Pant stole the show with an unbeaten 88 as Delhi Capitals leapfrogged Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League table with Wednesday's nervous four-run victory.
Delhi looked in some trouble after Sandeep Warrier dismissed openers Prithvi Shaw for 11 and Jake Fraser-McGurk on 23 but Pant blitzed a remarkable 43-ball knock that contained eight maximums to help the Capitals to 224-4.
That onslaught from the India wicketkeeper came after Axar Patel – promoted up the order to number three – blasted 66 off 43 balls, though Wriddhiman Saha (39) and Sai Sudharsan (69) led the Gujarat fightback.
David Miller's quickfire 55 offered further hope yet impact player Rasikh Salam's 3-44 stunted that response.
With the Titans needing 19 from the final over, Mukesh Kumar (1-41) held on in a showdown with Rashid Khan (21 not out) to edge the Capitals over the finish line.
Data Debrief: Sharma sets unwanted IPL record
Though much of the credit went to Pant for his late-innings destruction, questions may be asked of Mohit Sharma, whose 0-73 from four overs marked the most expensive figures for a bowler in IPL history.
Mohit cannot shoulder too much blame, though, as this entertaining IPL clash saw only two bowlers concede less than eight runs an over – Warrier's 3-15 in the first innings before Kuldeep Yadav dismissed Saha and Rahul Tewatia (4) in his 2-29 Delhi spell.
Usain Bolt named ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 Ambassador
The International Cricket Council (ICC) have announced Olympic legend Usain Bolt as an ambassador for the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, which will be played in the West Indies and USA from 1-29 June 2024.
The announcement comes a few weeks ahead of the start of the biggest cricket carnival spectacle ever that will inspire a new generation of fans. Bolt’s global appeal alongside his out of this world athletic achievements and ability to transcend boundaries makes him a perfect fit for the biggest T20 World Cup ever.
Bolt created history at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio when he achieved the ‘Triple-Triple’, three gold medals at three consecutive Olympic Games. His journey to worldwide stardom started at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing where he won the 100m, 200m and 4x100m, all in world record times.
Bolt currently holds world records in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m with times of 9.58 secs, 19.19 secs and 36.84 secs. His first world record was in the 100m in 2008 when he posted a time of 9.72 secs in New York. He lowered it to 9.69 secs at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and then to 9.58 secs at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin. He holds the three fastest times ever run: 9.58, 9.64 and 9.69 seconds.
As an ambassador, Bolt will play a key role in promoting the event, starting with a cameo appearance in next week’s release of the event’s official anthem music video alongside iconic artists Sean Paul and Kes. The eight-time Olympic Gold Medallist will also attend T20 World Cup matches in the West Indies and be part of fan engagement events promoting the sport within the United States.
Usain Bolt expressed his excitement about his new role, saying: "I am thrilled to be an ambassador for the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. Coming from the Caribbean where cricket is a part of life, the sport has always held a special place in my heart, and I look forward to attending West Indies matches at the World Cup and making a contribution to the growth of cricket globally.
“While I will of course be supporting West Indies at the World Cup, getting the sport into the US is big for cricket. It’s the biggest sports market in the world and the energy that we will bring for the T20 World Cup is a huge opportunity leading towards cricket’s inclusion in the LA Olympics in 2028.”
ICC Chief Executive Officer, Geoff Allardice said: "Usain Bolt is a global icon, we are thrilled to have him on board as an Ambassador for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 to engage with a new generation of fans. His passion for cricket is well known, making him the perfect fit for this role. Alongside his world record breaking achievements and energetic personality, he will add another exciting element to the World Cup.”
The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 is set to be action packed with Bolt's presence adding a new level of excitement for fans globally. Fans can look forward to seeing the world's best teams battle it out for glory, with the World Cup opening match seeing co-host USA taking on Canada at the Grand Prairie Cricket Stadium in Dallas, Texas on Saturday 1 June. For full match fixtures and tickets, including hospitality packages in both the West Indies and USA, visit tickets.t20worldcup.com
Poor Mitchell form causing 'pressure' as CSK lose again in IPL
Chennai Super Kings coach Stephen Fleming acknowledges there is "pressure" on New Zealand batter Daryl Mitchell after his team lost again to Lucknow Super Giants.
Holders CSK had won four of their first six Indian Premier League matches this season, but consecutive losses to LSG in the space of five days have seen them slip to fifth in the standings.
Their latest IPL defeat on Tuesday came after CSK had left out Rachin Ravindra, with Ruturaj Gaikwad and Ajinkya Rahane opening the batting, with Mitchell coming in at number three.
While captain Gaikwad scored an impressive unbeaten 108, Rahane managed just one run and Mitchell fell for just 11 off 10 balls.
LSG then chased down their 211 target for victory with three balls left, inspired by a superb innings of 124 not out by Marcus Stoinis.
Mitchell was a major acquisition by CSK at the IPL auction, but so far he has managed just 146 runs in seven innings at a strike rate of 123.72.
"There's a lot of pressure obviously," Fleming said when asked about Mitchell's poor form.
"Getting up the order is more comfortable for him. Me putting him down the order in the hitting role wasn't his best position. So, we've looked to rectify that and get him up the order where he has had his best performances internationally.
"That might take a little bit of time, but the top three need to contribute the majority of runs.
"Ruturaj did that, so hopefully he can continue his form and the others can pick that up."
CSK are back in action at home against in-form Sunrisers Hyderabad on Sunday and Fleming accepts there is work to do, but takes comfort from the fact their defeats have not been comprehensive.
He added: "We are not firing on all cylinders by any means but we are in each game and we are asking teams to play well to beat us.
"We just have to make sure we are good enough to win and we have been. Again [versus LSG] we created a chance, so it is not like we are down and out.
"But we know we could be stronger. We have just got to get a little bit better. It is a mixture of trying to find that [combination at the top of the order] and also form.
"We are a little bit uncomfortable with some areas, so we are trying to find not a quick fix, but the right combination where players are going to contribute for the back end of this tournament.
"We have had injuries, we have been a little bit unsettled, but the main thing is getting guys in key areas and in form."
IPL 2024 continues on Wednesday when Delhi Capitals face Gujarat Titans, with both teams sitting outside the playoff positions as things stand.
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