Somerset maintained their 100 per cent Vitality Blast record with victory over Essex, while Sue Redfern became the first female umpire to officiate on-field in the competition in Gloucestershire’s win over Middlesex.

Matt Henry and Ben Green took three wickets each as Somerset defended a seemingly under-par score to triumph by 11 runs at Taunton.

The hosts could muster only 150 all out in their sixth contest under cloudless skies on a pitch that looked full of runs. Sean Dickson top-scored with 42 on his T20 debut for the club, while Daniel Sams claimed four wickets for 20.

In reply, Essex slumped from 130 for six to 139 all out after Michael Pepper’s 63 off 43 balls, Henry finishing with three for 17 and Green taking his wicket tally in the competition to 14 with three for 24.

Redfern wrote her name into the history books as she stood along with Alex Wharf at Bristol, where all-rounder Ollie Price led the way for Gloucestershire.

The 21-year-old top-scored with 46 and shared in crucial partnerships of 60 with Miles Hammond and 52 with Zafar Gohar as the hosts chased down a target of 140 with 10 balls to spare to register their second triumph in three days.

Surrey beat Kent by five wickets after a nerve-shredding run chase at Canterbury that went all the way to the final ball.

The visitors seemed to be cruising to their target of 174 after Laurie Evans hit 52, but a cluster of wickets kept the Spitfires in contention until Jamie Smith and Sean Abbott took charge.

Michael Hogan was left to defend nine off the final over but Surrey tied the scores with one ball remaining and Jack Leaning just failed to cling on to a thunderous hit from Smith off the last delivery.

It was a disappointing afternoon for Worcestershire, whose unbeaten start was brought to an end by Northamptonshire, who triumphed by six wickets at New Road.

Worcestershire had been bidding to win their opening five games in the tournament for the first time, but Steelbacks spinner Freddie Heldreich bowled an inspired spell which brought him the wickets of Adam Hose, Brett D’Oliveira and Kashif Ali in the space of three overs.

Then Saif Zaib (70 not out from 35 balls)  produced the fireworks with the bat for the visitors, smashing successive sixes in the final over from Pat Brown to see his side home with two balls to spare.

Derbyshire’s Wayne Madsen nearly achieved a global milestone but fell six runs short of becoming the first man in T20 history to score six successive fifties as his side were comfortably beaten by seven wickets by a revitalised Yorkshire at Headingley.

Madsen’s 44 off 26 in the Falcons’ 166 for eight batting first meant he remains one of just seven players worldwide to have scored five fifties in a row in this format.

England batter Dawid Malan then starred in the chase with a superb 81 not out off 57 balls, with Yorkshire winning with 10 deliveries to spare.

Leicestershire ended a five-game losing run to secure their first win of the campaign, beating Durham by seven wickets at Seat Unique Riverside.

Josh Hull was the star with the ball in just his second game for the Foxes, claiming three wickets for 35 to help limit the home side to 168 for nine from their 20 overs.

Nottinghamshire put themselves back on course for the quarter-finals with a second win inside 24 hours as Matt Carter’s three wickets set up a five-wicket win over Lancashire.

The off-spinner bounced back from conceding 57 in four wicketless overs in the victory over Birmingham Bears on Saturday evening with figures of three for 26 as the home side won with seven balls to spare at Trent Bridge.

Glamorgan made it four wins out of five as they beat Sussex by 32 runs at the 1st Central County Ground.

The Sharks, chasing a huge victory target of 220, never looked in the contest despite a plucky innings from Tom Alsop, who scored 58 from 41 deliveries, and slumped to a third straight defeat.

Brandon King scored his maiden ODI century to lead the West Indies to a comprehensive seven-wicket win over the United Arab Emirates with 88 balls to spare in the opening match of their three-match series at Sharjah on Sunday.

Captain Shai Hope showered praised on his bowlers for the clinical execution in the lop-sided victory.

“There was no hurry. They all bowled well, I can't single out too many, and I was happy with the execution,” he said. “Nice to see Hodge play in West Indies colours now and hopefully we can continue. I don't think there were devils in the surface but credit needs to be given to the bowlers.”

He reserved special praise for the Player of the Match.

“King is an exceptional player and someone who I thought would've scored a lot more runs early in his career. But happy for him. He saw the opportunity to take the game forward and happy to see him get his first hundred today,” said Hope who collected the award for King, who was suffering from cramps.

Set a target of 203, King scored a run-a-ball 112 to guide the West Indies to 206-3 from 35.2 overs in the day/night encounter. He was the last man out with the West Indies 10 runs shy of their target.

King shared in an opening stand of 48 with Johnson Charles that ended when Charles bowled for 24 while going for a big shot off Zahoor Khan delivery that cut back to hit his off stump for 24.

 A 91-run second wicket partnership followed between King and Shamarh Brooks, who rode his luck before he was eventually trapped lbw by Aayan Azfal Khan for 44. King, who was dropped on 52, then took the match away from the hosts with a 54-run partnership with Keacy Carty before being last man out, caught behind off the bowling of Rohan Mustafa.

King’s knock included 12 fours and four sixes, three of which came in the 34^th over bowled by Karthik Meiyappan.  The second of those sixes took King from 96 to his first ODI century.

Captain Shai Hope replaced him and quickly ended proceedings with consecutive sixes off Karthik Meiyappan to end on 13 not out from just four balls. Carty was on seven from 19 balls when the match ended in the 36^th over.

UAE won the toss and chose to bat and were restricted to 202 all out in 47.1 overs. Ali Naseer scored a useful 58 from 52 balls and Vriitya Aravind, a contrasting 40 from 77 balls. Asif Khan also contributed 27 against the West Indies attack led by Keemo Paul, who took 3-34.

Dominic Drakes took 2-29, Yanic Cariah weighed in with 2-26 and Odean Smith 2-40.

Matt Henry and Ben Green took three wickets each as Somerset maintained their 100 per cent Vitality Blast South Group record with an 11-run win over Essex at Taunton.

The hosts could muster only 150 all out in their sixth contest under cloudless skies on a pitch that looked full of runs.

Sean Dickson top-scored with 42 on his T20 debut for the club, while Daniel Sams claimed four wickets for 20.

In reply, Essex were bowled out for 139, despite a bristling 63 off 43 balls from Michael Pepper, Henry finishing with three for 17 and Green taking his wicket tally in the competition to 14 with three for 24.

Sue Redfern wrote her name into the history books when she became the first female umpire to officiate on-field in a Blast fixture for Gloucestershire’s emphatic seven-wicket victory over Middlesex.

Redfern stood along with Alex Wharf at Bristol’s Seat Unique Stadium, where all-rounder Ollie Price led the way for the home side.

The 21-year-old top scored with 46 and shared in crucial partnerships of 60 with Miles Hammond and 52 with Zafar Gohar as Gloucestershire chased down a target of 140 with 10 balls to spare to register their second win in three days.

Surrey beat Kent by five wickets after a nerve-shredding run chase at Canterbury that went all the way to the final ball.

The visitors seemed to be cruising to their target of 174 after Laurie Evans hit 52, but a cluster of wickets kept the Spitfires in contention until Jamie Smith and Sean Abbott took charge.

Michael Hogan was left to defend nine off the final over but Surrey tied the scores with one ball remaining and Jack Leaning just failed to cling on to a thunderous hit from Smith off the last delivery.

It was a disappointing afternoon for Worcestershire Rapids, whose unbeaten start was brought to an end by Northamptonshire Steelbacks who triumphed by six wickets at New Road.

Worcestershire had been bidding to win their opening five games in the tournament for the first time, but Steelbacks spinner Freddie Heldreich bowled an inspired spell which brought him the wickets of Adam Hose, Brett D’Oliveira and Kashif Ali in the space of three overs.

Then Saif Zaib (70 not out from 35 balls)  produced the fireworks with the bat for the visitors, smashing successive sixes in the final over from Pat Brown to see his side home with two balls to spare.

Derbyshire’s Wayne Madsen nearly achieved a global milestone but fell six runs short of becoming the first man in T20 history to score six successive fifties as his side were comfortably beaten by seven wickets by a revitalised Yorkshire at Headingley.

Madsen’s 44 off 26 in the Falcons’ 166 for eight batting first meant he remains one of just seven players worldwide to have scored five fifties in a row in this format.

England batter Dawid Malan then starred in the chase with a superb 81 not out off 57 balls, with Yorkshire winning with 10 deliveries to spare.

Leicestershire Foxes ended a five-game losing run to secure their first win of the campaign, beating Durham by seven wickets at Seat Unique Riverside.

Josh Hull was the star with the ball in just his second game for the Foxes, claiming three wickets for 35 to help limit the home side to 168 for nine from their 20 overs.

Notts Outlaws put themselves back on course for the quarter-finals with a second win inside 24 hours as Matt Carter’s three wickets set up a five-wicket win over Lancashire Lightning.

The off-spinner bounced back from conceding 57 in four wicketless overs in the victory over Birmingham Bears on Saturday evening with figures of three for 26 as the home side won with seven balls to spare at Trent Bridge.

Glamorgan made it four wins out of five as they beat Sussex by 32 runs at the 1st Central County Ground.

The Sharks, chasing a huge victory target of 220, never looked in the contest despite a plucky innings from Tom Alsop, who scored 58 from 41 deliveries.

Instead, the eighth-placed South Group Sussex slumped to a third straight defeat, and a fourth in five games.

Ollie Price produced a telling performance with both bat and ball to guide Gloucestershire to an emphatic seven-wicket victory over Middlesex in a match which saw umpire Sue Redfern make Vitality Blast history.

Redfern became the first female umpire to officiate on-field in a Blast fixture as she stood along with Alex Wharf at Bristol’s Seat Unique Stadium, where all-rounder Price led the way for the home side.

The 21-year-old top scored with 46 and shared in crucial partnerships of 60 with Miles Hammond and 52 with Zafar Gohar as Gloucestershire chased down a target of 140 with 10 balls to spare to register their second win in three days.

Middlesex have struggled to post big totals in the short format this season and this match was no exception, the visitors struggling to build meaningful partnerships and coming up short on 139 for nine after being put into bat.

Jack Davies hit a defiant unbeaten 46 and Max Holden contributed a valuable 34 for Middlesex, but veteran left-arm seamer David Payne claimed two for 21 and off-spinner Price two for 18 as Gloucestershire took wickets at regular intervals to keep a lid on things.

Victorious in three of their last four outings, improving Gloucestershire kept alive their hopes of progressing to the knock-out stages, but Middlesex already look down and out, consigned to the foot of the South Group after losing their opening six games.

Ben Charlesworth, promoted to open the Gloucestershire innings on the back of his record-breaking 19-ball 50 against Essex last week, was stumped off the bowling of Josh de Caires for 12 as the hosts lost their first wicket with 24 on the board in the fourth over.

Also pushed up the order, Hammond made a better fist of things as he scored a patient 34 to help guide his side to 84 for one alongside Price before the opener squirted a catch to extra cover off the bowling of Luke Hollman.

Price and Zafar continued to push Gloucestershire towards victory but, with just four more runs needed to seal the win and also record his maiden T20 50, Price attempted to achieve both with a single blow off Thilan Walallawita, only to over-balance and fall to a sharp stumping by Davies.

Left to finish things off, Zafar remained unbeaten on 37 from 22 balls, with a six and three fours, while skipper Jack Taylor hit the winning run.

Gloucestershire performed at the top of their game to reduce Surrey to 29 for four in the powerplay at Bristol 48 hours earlier, and although they unable to emulate that feat on this occasion, they began well enough after sending Middlesex in.

Payne had Stephen Eskinazi caught for one and the visitors slumped to 20 for two when Joe Cracknell hoisted Danny Lamb to square leg.

Holden made the most of a let-off, put down at point by Matt Taylor off Zafar with the score on 26, to join forces with Pieter Malan and take Middlesex to 45 for two at the end of the six-over powerplay.

But Gloucestershire continued to press hard and Price had Malan caught at long-on for a 19-ball 21 and Zafar bowled former team-mate Ryan Higgins for one as Middlesex, struggling to contend with spin from both ends, were reduced to 52 for four.

Holden’s dismissal at the hands of Price in the 11th over made it 76 for five and although Davies struck a rapid 46 not out, Middlesex were unable to reach 150.

Joe Root admitted he will relish the chance to deliver for England and focus purely on playing in his first Ashes series in eight years without the captaincy.

England made it 11 wins in 13 Tests under the leadership of skipper Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum with a 10-wicket victory over Ireland at Lord’s on Saturday.

All eyes now turn to the Ashes opener on June 16 and Root, who was man of the series on home soil in 2015 with 460 runs, is excited after leading England during the last three red-ball battles with Australia.

“It’s going to be nice, yeah,” the Yorkshireman said.

“It’s going to be nice to just go and play the game and try and assist where I can for Ben and for the other guys around, play a slightly different senior role in the team.

“They’re always great fun to be a part of, these big games, big series. They’re the ones you want to stand up and play well and it’s just an opportunity to do that again.

“I think my batting has been fine for a while, but mentally to be able to just turn up and play and have fun, just chat batting with some of the younger guys.

“Obviously (I’ll) try and help out where I can but Ben knows what he’s doing.

“He’s got enough behind him now to give himself the encouragement and confidence to make those big calls on his own, as you’d expect him to anyway. He’s doing a far better job than I did.”

The majority of England’s team were also part of the 4-0 defeat Down Under in 2021, but opener Ben Duckett and Harry Brook are set to experience their first taste of Ashes cricket at Edgbaston.

Asked what advice he could give them, Root was unable to play down the life-changing aspect of beating Australia with this upcoming series generating a similar level of excitement to the memorable 2005 instalment.

Root said: “Most importantly is not to over-egg it and that’s probably one of the things that you have to keep in mind.

“There will be a lot more attention, there will be a lot more noise, there will be a lot more hype around it. There will be people that might not normally be interested in cricket very interested in cricket for five or six weeks.

“It’s the same game. As soon as the bowler lets go of it, it’s you against the ball. Just go and play as you’ve been playing for the last 12 months and when it goes well, enjoy everything that comes with it.

“If you’re successful in Ashes cricket it can set you up for life really, not just the rest of your career but beyond it. It’s an opportunity to go and make history and hopefully have an incredible two months of it as a group.”

Root’s own preparation for this monumental series had been far from ideal before his 56 against Ireland.

The Yorkshire batter decided against playing County Championship cricket during April and May after he secured a first Indian Premier League contract, but Rajasthan Royals only selected him on three occasions and he batted just once in the tournament.

Nevertheless, the 32-year-old was philosophical about his experience in India.

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“Championship cricket is the bedrock of our domestic game and I am not trying to bag it with what I say here,” Root explained.

“I am not saying it’s not important or a good standard. For where I am in my career, am I going to learn more about myself in that environment?

“Am I really going to be prepared better for an Ashes series facing lower pace bowling on some nibbly wickets when hopefully we will play on good pitches against high pace and a high quality spinner? I don’t think so.

“By learning and experiencing something new, talking and discussing the game with greats like Kumar Sangakkara and Brian Lara, other players and ex-players about just batting in general, Test cricket, I thought that not just for the Ashes, but the rest of the year for me it would set me up best to perform well and get the best out of myself. I feel ready.”

England’s Ashes preparation has been rocked after spinner Jack Leach was ruled out of the series with a back stress fracture.

Leach claimed four scalps during England’s 10-wicket victory over Ireland at Lord’s this week, but developed low back symptoms during the match.

A subsequent scan on Sunday revealed a stress fracture in the lumbar region of the spine, which will rule him out of all five Ashes Tests.

“Spinner Jack Leach has been ruled out of the LV= Insurance men’s Ashes series with a low back (lumbar) stress fracture,” an England statement said.

“England will announce a replacement for the Ashes series in due course.”

Australia pace bowler Josh Hazlewood will miss the World Test Championship final against India at the Kia Oval – little more than a week before the Ashes begins.

Hazlewood has been managing an Achilles issue as well as a side injury that flared up during the recent Indian Premier League, but Cricket Australia insists the 32-year-old will be fit for the start of this summer’s showdown with England at Edgbaston on June 16.

“Josh was very, very close to being given the green light but we are cognisant that our upcoming schedule means this is not a one-off Test match for us,” Australia chair of selectors George Bailey told cricket.com.au.

“This will give Josh an ideal preparation leading into Edgbaston. With six Test matches in a little over seven weeks we will need all of our fast bowling assets.”

Hazlewood has played just four Tests in the past three years due to a series of injuries but shared a stint of new-ball bowling with five-day skipper Pat Cummins during the team’s preparation in England.

He returned early from his recent spell in the IPL due to a side issue, having been ruled out of the preceding Test campaign in India with a recurrence of the Achilles problem he sustained in the final five-day match of the Australia summer.

Speaking on Saturday about the close proximity of the India decider, which starts on Wednesday, and the first Ashes Test, Hazlewood said: “It’s probably one or the other for me at this stage.

“Just being over here for the last week and bowling in England, it does feel a lot easier on the body compared to Australia or India where it can be hot, the wickets are really hard and you’ve got to bend your back to get something out of them.

“In England it feels like you can just take that couple of per cent off, bowl a bit within yourself and the wicket does enough for you.”

Michael Neser has joined the official 15-man Australia party, but Scott Boland is likely to partner Cummins and Mitchell Starc at the Oval.

Neser, who has been training with the Australia squad alongside another reserve quick bowler Sean Abbott, has been playing for Glamorgan in the LV= County Championship and taken 19 wickets at 25.63.

Australia coach Andrew McDonald said the tight turnaround between the WTC final and the five-Test Ashes series has to be taken into account in managing their fast bowlers.

McDonald said: “Definitely consideration for (the schedule) – we don’t want to go too far ahead.

“We’ve got the WTC final to play, which we are excited about, but on the back of that we have to quickly turn our attention to England and the Ashes.

“There are short turnarounds there. That’s nothing we’re not used to.

“So, there’ll always be considerations around management. I’d say there’d be some moving parts amongst the quicks.”

England started this eagerly-anticipated Ashes summer with a 10-wicket victory over Ireland in three days at Lord’s.

Ollie Pope’s 205 and a second Test century for Ben Duckett saw England declare on 524 for four and despite a spirited third-day display with the bat by Ireland, they were all out for 362 to set an easy target of 11 following their below-par 172 on day one.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at how much we learned from this one-off Test.

Josh gets Tongues wagging

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Josh Tongue passed his Ashes audition with five for 66 in Ireland’s second innings to put his name on the honours board and leave an impression on his captain. Ben Stokes revealed ahead of the four-day fixture that Tongue was selected due to his extra pace and he hit 91mph during an impressive first spell. Tongue, who came close to retiring from cricket during a 15-month absence from the game due to a nerve problem in his shoulder, eased between an enforcer role and pitching it up as England’s third seamer. With 11 County Championship wickets to his name, including a certain Steve Smith, he is now a genuine option for the Ashes after being included in the squad for the first two Tests.

Duckett set for a bucket full?

An England bucket hat featured regularly throughout this Test but fittingly it was Duckett who plugged the new must-buy item of the summer on England’s official Twitter account. Duckett wore the hat after his masterful 182 that saw him set a new record for the quickest Test 150 at Lord’s, beating Don Bradman’s effort in the 1930 Ashes series. Since his December recall, Duckett has scored 50 or more six times in six Tests. He cut, drove and flicked off his pads for boundaries all around the wicket to back up the 177 he hit for Nottinghamshire at Lord’s in April. After finally being given the chance to play his natural red-ball game in international cricket, the 28-year-old looks set for a key Ashes role.

Has Bazball peaked?

England rattled along at six runs an over on their way to 524 before they declared after tea on day two. Duckett and Pope scored 174 in the morning, but that was bettered in the afternoon with 178 runs plundered before captain Stokes ended the run-fest after 82.4 overs. If Harry Brook, Jonny Bairstow and the England skipper himself had batted for a significant amount of time, who knows what records could have fallen? While it was another excellent batting display for England, the asterisk on it will be Ireland’s one-paced attack. There is no doubt England’s achievement of scoring 500 on day one in Rawalpindi was a better feat and Pat Cummins and co will not provide so many freebies come June 16 at Edgbaston.

Under-cooked? That’s old skool!

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Stokes acknowledged after England’s 10-wicket victory that he knew when he declared after tea on day two that he would face questions over failing to let Brook, Bairstow and himself get time in the middle before the Ashes opener. It felt justified, especially for someone like Yorkshire batter Brook who enjoyed a phenomenal winter and even hit a maiden century in the Indian Premier League in April, only to be dropped after a string of ducks. But Stokes does not prescribe to that opinion and laughed off the “old skool” view his players need “game practice” given the volume of cricket they play. Maybe a fair point!

Prestige a Little lost

Josh Little’s name dominated the build-up from an Ireland perspective after the seamer was “rested” ahead of his nation’s 50-over World Cup qualification tournament later this month following his IPL exploits. Among a catalogue of reasons behind the decision, Cricket Ireland’s Richard Holdsworth worryingly admitted the Lord’s Test was a “special occasion but not a pinnacle event.” The rewards for Ireland qualifying for the World Cup are great but Little’s absence hurt a bowling attack lacking variation. With his stock high in franchise circles, Little may never play Test cricket.

West Indies ODI captain Shai Hope hopes to see development when his team takes on the UAE in three ODIs starting at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Sunday.

The regional side will take on the UAE in three ODIs from June 4-9 before making the journey to Zimbabwe to take part in the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifiers from June 18-July 9.

The squad for the UAE series will be missing some of the players who participated in the Indian Premier League (IPL) which ended last week, meaning several new players will get an opportunity to represent the region on the biggest stage.

“I just see it as another series,” said the 29-year-old in an interview on Saturday.

“Every time we step onto the park the aim is to perform for West Indies and it gives some new guys an opportunity to showcase their skills on the world stage,” he added.

The squad will also include some players who have been selected for the qualifiers and Hope wants them to use this opportunity as preparation for the task at hand.

“For the members of the qualifiers squad, it gives us some prep leading into that important task,” said Hope before he reiterated the importance of development.

“Just want to see the guys continue to grow. The main thing for me is development. Over time, we’re going to get better and hopefully that one percent can be shown here in UAE,” he added.

Hope, the 12^th ranked ODI batsman in the world according to the latest ICC rankings, also described working with new head coach, Daren Sammy.

“I can definitely commend the communication. I see everyone being clear and frank; that’s one of the main principles here. We haven’t had many training sessions to focus on more physical stuff. It’s been, more so, based around the mental side of the game. We know that Sammy loves his stats and his planning so we’re all on the same page where we’re looking to move West Indies cricket forward,” Hope said.

Ben Stokes played down fears over his fitness before the Ashes after England wrapped up victory over Ireland by 10 wickets inside three days without him batting or bowling at Lord’s.

Stokes declared with England on 524 for four on day two to ensure he was not required with the bat and after struggling with his left knee since it flared up during the New Zealand series in February, he did not bowl on the first day or day three of this one-off Test either.

England’s captain had not made any contribution to the scorecard until he caught Curtis Campher off Joe Root during Saturday’s morning session, but the grimace on his face and subsequent hobble to join his team-mates in celebration sent alarm bells ringing ahead of the Ashes opener on June 16.

But Stokes revealed: “I bowled this morning (in the nets) for the first time in four weeks and I felt really good. I was real happy with how I bowled.

“I bowled for about 20 minutes and I got through that really well. Obviously I have got time to build up before I push back into flat out but I just landed quite awkwardly when I took that catch.

“I didn’t quite see it so had to adjust myself and landed on my left leg. It twisted in a really strange way but it was fine, I just don’t know what really happened.

“It was one of those things, but I am 32 tomorrow so that probably explains it.

“Matty Potts sent me a screenshot this morning saying I was on track from 1931 to be the first captain not to score a run, take a wicket or take a catch and that was my team talk this morning.

“Unfortunately one came straight to me. It is another record we’re looking to break!”

While Stokes was in a jovial mood after England clinched a 10-wicket victory over Ireland with a day to spare, it had been a frustrating first two sessions on day three.

Harry Tector (51) and Lorcan Tucker (44) combined to help Ireland add 118 runs for the loss of only three wickets before lunch and the run rate increased to ensure the tourists eventually impressively avoided an innings defeat.

Tail-enders Mark Adair and Andy McBrine joined forces to produce a record 163-run partnership for Ireland in Test cricket but the duo could not pass three figures.

Adair was bounced out for 88 and McBrine left stranded unbeaten on 86 when Graham Hume was bowled to leave Ireland on 362 for nine but with opener James McCollum unable to bat following his twisted ankle on Friday.

“No, we won the game so, yeah, never hard to be disappointed with winning a game,” Stokes insisted when quizzed on if Ireland’s fightback took the shine off an 11th victory in 13 Tests since Brendon McCullum took over.

“The game could have ended up finishing a lot earlier than what it did but they showed some really good grit and determination so fair play to them.”

Nevertheless, Josh Tongue’s five-wicket haul on debut helped England start the Ashes summer with an emphatic victory and saw his name go up on the Lord’s honours board.

Stokes added: “The first time I actually met Tonguey was the start of this week when we got together so he must think I am a pretty good bloke giving him his Test debut!

“He was very unlucky in the first innings not to get a wicket but he definitely reaped the rewards and the way he bowled contributed to the five wickets he got in this innings because they were already on the back foot against him, knowing he had that extra bit of pace.

“He can bowl 90mph full and short so he was one step ahead in the second innings because of the way he bowled in the first innings.”

Ireland captain Andy Balbirnie was proud of his team’s fight on day three and revealed how close injured opener McCollum came to walking out after tea before Hume’s dismissal left McBrine still 14 runs away from his century.

“James had the pads on, he padded up and had the boot on, so it was all a bit chaotic in there,” Balbirnie explained.

“Andy actually came in at tea and said he didn’t want James to bat because they are good mates and he was a bit sore.

“He really didn’t want him to hobble out in the boot. Eventually it was agreed if Andy was one hit away, he would go out and just hold up an end. It was chaos.”

Debutant Josh Tongue claimed five wickets to help England beat Ireland inside three days at Lord’s, but only after a record 163-run partnership between tailenders Mark Adair and Andy McBrine.

Predictions before the third day started ranged from whether England would have victory wrapped up in this one-off Test by lunch or by the time the FA Cup final got under way at 3pm.

Ireland needed 255 runs to force Ben Stokes’ side to bat again and were without injured opener James McCollum, but Harry Tector (51) and Lorcan Tucker (44) ensured 118 runs were scored in the morning session for the loss of only three wickets.

Adair and McBrine then upped the ante after lunch, launching astonishing attacks on Stuart Broad and Jack Leach before Matthew Potts bounced out number nine Adair for a 76-ball 88 that included 12 fours and two sixes.

Tongue continued his fine debut by picking up his fifth scalp, that of Fionn Hand, before McBrine helped Ireland make it to tea in the lead, only to be stranded on 86 not out when last man Graham Hume was bowled by Broad to leave the tourists on 362 for nine.

It gave England a victory target of 11 and Zak Crawley needed only four balls to secure a 10-wicket success to make it 11 wins in 13 Tests in the ‘Bazball’ era under Stokes and Brendon McCullum, but the sternest examination of their aggressive brand of cricket will start on June 16 when the Ashes get under way.

Huge scores in quick time from Ben Duckett (182) and Ollie Pope (205) in England’s 524 for four declared raised the possibility a result may occur inside two days, but Ireland made it to the close on Friday evening on 97 for three.

With McCollum retired hurt, the onus was on Tector and wicketkeeper Tucker, who after an observant first three overs started to play his shots.

A skip down the wicket saw him crunch Potts away to the boundary for four and two more followed to bring up the half-century partnership with Tector.

It was Ireland’s first half-century stand of the Test but an England breakthrough followed when Stokes, after watching Potts go agonisingly close to a superb caught and bowled against Tucker, introduced Leach, who struck with his second ball.

Tucker missed his sweep shot and gloved onto his own stumps to walk off for a well-made 44 off 64 balls.

Ireland’s number four Tector was still there and after it took him 12 balls to add to his overnight 33, he got his first boundary of the morning by hitting Leach down the ground and further applause followed when he reached 50 with a scampered two.

Tector’s celebrations quickly ended when the very next ball he cut straight to Harry Brook at backward point to give Tongue a fortuitous fourth scalp to depart for 51.

Curtis Campher picked out Stokes at short fine leg next but more significant was the grimace on the face of England’s captain, who took the catch at chest height but hobbled to join the celebrations with all eyes on his troublesome left knee ahead of five Ashes Tests during the next two months.

There would be no early finish before lunch with Adair taking a shine to Joe Root, smashing two maximums to bring up Ireland’s 200. He then crunched three consecutive fours off Broad to register his fifty from 47 balls, reaching the milestone with a ramp shot over Jonny Bairstow.

McBrine brought up the hundred partnership off only 106 balls and recorded his half-century with a reverse sweep.

With Adair closing in on a maiden Test century, talk turned to whether he could beat Stokes’ 85-ball ton at Lord’s but Potts clinched the much-needed breakthrough.

Adair was bounced out after scoring 88 in a record 163-run partnership for Ireland in Test cricket.

Hand walked out with Ireland still needing 27 to avoid an innings defeat but he edged Tongue to Crawley at second slip to give the Worcestershire seamer his maiden five-wicket Test haul to put himself on the honours board at Lord’s.

Last man Hume remained unflustered and when he hit Root for back-to-back boundaries during the 83rd over, it meant England would bat again after tea.

McBrine was also denied a first Test hundred when Broad bowled Hume eight balls into the evening session, which ended during the first over of England’s chase after Crawley smashed three boundaries to clinch an emphatic win.

Tail-enders Mark Adair and Andy McBrine produced their own version of ‘Bazball’ with a record-breaking 163-run partnership for Ireland in Test cricket to help them avoid an innings defeat against England at Lord’s.

Predictions before day three started ranged from whether England would have victory wrapped up by lunch or by the time the FA Cup final got under way at 3pm.

Ireland needed 255 runs to force Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum’s side to bat again in this one-off Test and were without the injured James McCollum. However, Harry Tector (51) and Lorcan Tucker (44) ensured 118 runs were scored in the morning session for the loss of only three wickets.

Adair and McBrine then upped the ante after lunch, launching astonishing attacks on Stuart Broad and Jack Leach before Matthew Potts bounced out number nine Adair for 88 after 12 fours and two sixes.

Josh Tongue continued his fine debut by claiming five wickets but McBrine walked off unbeaten on 85 at the end of an extended afternoon session where Graham Hume’s back-to-back boundaries off Joe Root guided Ireland to 356 for eight and into a narrow four-run lead.

Huge scores in quick time from Ben Duckett (182) and Ollie Pope (205) in England’s 524 for four declared raised the possibility a result may occur inside two days, but Ireland made it to the close on Friday evening on 97 for three.

With McCollum retired hurt, the onus was on Tector and wicketkeeper Tucker, who after an observant first three overs started to play his shots.

A skip down the wicket saw him crunch Potts away to the boundary for four and two more followed to bring up the half-century partnership with Tector.

It was Ireland’s first half-century stand of the Test but a breakthrough followed when Stokes, after watching Potts go agonising close to a superb caught and bowled against Tucker, introduced Leach, who struck with his second ball.

Tucker missed his sweep shot and gloved onto his own stumps to walk off for a well-made 44 off 64 balls.

Ireland’s number four Tector was still there and after it took him 12 balls to add to his overnight 33, he got his first boundary of the morning by hitting Leach down the ground and further applause followed when he reached 50 with a scampered two.

Tector’s celebrations quickly ended when the very next ball he cut straight to Harry Brook at backward point to give Tongue a fortuitous fourth scalp to depart for a well-made 51 off 98 balls.

Curtis Campher picked out Stokes at short fine leg. Of more significance was the grimace on the face of England’s captain, who took the catch at chest height but hobbled to join the celebrations with all eyes on his troublesome left knee ahead of five Ashes Tests during the next two months.

There would be no early finish before lunch with Adair taking a shine to Joe Root, smashing two maximums to bring up Ireland’s 200. He then crunched three consecutive fours off Broad to register 50 from 47 balls.

McBrine brought up the hundred partnership off only 106 balls and brought up his half-century with a reverse sweep.

With Adair closing in on a century down the other end, talk turned to whether he could beat Stokes’ 85-ball ton at Lord’s but Potts clinched the much-needed breakthrough.

Adair departed after scoring 88 in a record 163-run partnership for Ireland in Test cricket.

Fionn Hand walked out with Ireland still needing 27 to avoid an innings defeat but he edged Tongue to Zak Crawley at second slip to give the Worcestershire seamer his maiden five-wicket haul to put himself on the honours board.

Last-man Hume remained unflustered and when he hit Root for back-to-back boundaries during the 83rd over, it meant England would bat again after tea.

Harry Tector passed fifty for Ireland to hold up England’s victory charge in the one-off Test at Lord’s during an entertaining morning session on day three.

Ireland played expansively despite the daunting task in front of them with 118 runs added and only three wickets lost, although Tector (51), Lorcan Tucker (44) and Curtis Campher (19) were unable to kick on after starts.

When Ireland’s number eight and nine joined forces half an hour before lunch, the end looked nigh but Mark Adair smashed an unbeaten 32 and Andy McBrine helped himself to 19 not out to ensure their side walked off on 215 for six, still 137 runs from making England bat again.

Huge scores in quick time from Ben Duckett (182) and Ollie Pope (205) in England’s 524 for four declared raised the possibility a result may occur inside two days, but Tector stood firm to ensure Ireland made it to the close on Friday evening on 97 for three.

The tourists were effectively four down though after opener James McCollum retired hurt with a twisted ankle and while scans showed no fracture, he was deemed “unlikely” to feature again at Lord’s.

It increased the onus on Tector and wicketkeeper Tucker, who after a observant first three overs started to play his shots.

A skip down the wicket saw him crunch Matthew Potts away to the boundary for four and two more followed when the Durham seamer next had the ball in hand to bring up the fifty partnership with Tector.

It was Ireland’s first half-century stand of the Test and Stuart Broad was the next to take punishment from Tucker with another sumptuous drive down the ground, but a breakthrough followed for England.

Captain Ben Stokes, after watching Potts go agonising close to a superb caught and bowled against Tucker from the previous over, introduced Jack Leach and the spinner struck with his second ball.

Tucker missed his sweep shot and could only glove Leach’s delivery onto his own stumps to walk off for a well-made 44 off 64 balls.

Leach’s wicket maiden continued his growing confidence before the Ashes after three wickets in the first innings with some attacking fields.

Ireland’s number four Tector was still there and after it took him 12 balls to add to his overnight 33, he got his first boundary of the morning by hitting Leach down the ground.

Tector was happy to remain watchful with Campher willing to take the attack to England after he got off the mark with a sweep for four and followed it up with a slog-sweep off Joe Root that was caught by a spectator in the Grandstand.

Two more boundaries from Campher off Josh Tongue’s first over saw Ireland move beyond 150 and reduce the deficit to under 200.

Further applause followed when Tector reached fifty when he scampered through for two, but the very next ball he cut straight to Harry Brook at backward point to give Tongue a fortuitous fourth scalp of the innings and depart for a well-made 51 off 98 balls.

Campher followed him back to the pavilion in the next over when he swept Root to Stokes at short fine leg, but more significantly was the grimace on the face of England’s captain.

Stokes took the catch at chest height but hobbled rather than walked to celebrate with his team-mates, with all eyes on his troublesome left knee ahead of five Ashes Tests during the next two months.

Adair’s arrival at the crease did not spark further wickets but sixes instead with the seamer taking a shine to Root, who went for 45 runs in his six overs with the tailender putting on a unbroken fifty partnership with McBrine to make sure Ireland took the four-day match into an eighth session.

England have named an unchanged 16-man squad for the first two Ashes Tests of the summer with Josh Tongue’s fine debut against Ireland enough to keep his spot in the group.

Worcestershire seamer Tongue was a late addition to England’s squad for this week’s one-off Test with Ireland due to injury concerns over James Anderson (groin) and Ollie Robinson (ankle), who both expected to be fit to face Australia at Edgbaston on June 16.

Tongue has caught the eye at Lord’s and hit 91mph in his first spell on day one before his maiden Test wickets followed on the second day.

Both captain Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum spoke glowingly before the four-day match about Tongue, who spent 15 months on the sidelines with a nerve problem in his shoulder before he returned to fitness in 2022 and last month dismissed Sussex’s Australia star Steve Smith.

The 25-year-old now finds himself in contention for the first two Ashes Tests alongside fellow seamers Anderson, Stuart Broad, Matthew Potts, Robinson, Chris Woakes and Mark Wood.

Jack Leach remains the only spinner in the group and Essex’s Dan Lawrence is England’s only batting cover.

England’s 16-man squad will report to Birmingham on June 12 and are due to practice at Edgbaston on June 13 before the Ashes get under way on June 16.

England men’s Test squad for first two Ashes Tests: B Stokes (captain), J Anderson, J Bairstow, S Broad, H Brook, Z Crawley, B Duckett, D Lawrence, J Leach, O Pope, M Potts, O Robinson, J Root, J Tongue, C Woakes, M Wood.

David Warner has announced he will retire from Test cricket early next year as he named the World Test Championship final, the Ashes and this winter’s Pakistan fixtures as his last.

Warner will walk away from the five-day game in January 2024 and has ruled out any chance of featuring in the series against the West Indies later that month.

But the former Australia captain admitted he is keen to feature in the 2024 T20 World Cup in the West Indies and United States.

“You’ve got to score runs. I’ve always said the (2024) World Cup would probably be my final game,” Warner said.

“But I probably owe it to myself and my family. If I can score runs here and continue to play back in Australia – I can definitely say I won’t be playing that West Indies series.

“If I can get through this (WTC final and Ashes series) and make the Pakistan series I will definitely finish up then.

“I’m just working as hard as I can to get to there and it starts in this Test match against India. I am really looking forward to that challenge and then that challenge presents itself against England.”

Australia are set to face England later this month in a bid to reclaim the Ashes for a fourth successive campaign.

And opening batter Warner highlighted England’s world-class bowlers as he admitted the tourists will have to be brave if they are to repeat the 4-0 victory over them in 2022 .

“I think in these conditions with world-class bowlers you can’t allow them to settle,” Warner added. “You can’t allow them to put the ball in one spot.

“You’re going to have to make some brave decisions and be content with getting out.”

The 36-year-old highlighted the significance of Jofra Archer’s absence and praised the in-form Stuart Broad, who took five wickets in England’s first-day dominance against Ireland on Thursday and has enjoyed a good record against Warner.

He said: “It’s going to be tough backing up (against Broad), they have different speeds as well.

“The big miss for them is obviously Jofra (Archer), each team has that aggressor and that’s what you strengthen your bowling unit on.

“From their perspective they’ve got their own headaches with their selections and for us it’s just worrying about the new guys, we haven’t faced Ollie Robinson in these conditions, Pottsy (Matthew Potts) and Josh Tongue who is the debutant.”