England bowled Ireland out for just 38 to win their one-off Test at Lord’s by 143 runs on Friday, emphatically crushing the visitors’ hopes of a stunning upset.
Ireland, playing only their third Test, were chasing just182 runs to complete what would have been one of the biggest upsets in crickethistory. But they did not get close, lasting just 94 balls as Chris Woakes tooka career-best six wickets for 17 runs and Stuart Broad returned figures of 4-19.
Their second innings score was the seventh-lowest total ofall time.
“I knew that was a lot of runs (to make) on thatsurface,” said Root, whose side mustered just 85 runs themselves in theirfirst innings.
“It’s very pleasing, the way we managed certainpressure situations,” he added.
“It wasn’t by any stretch the perfect game for us butsometimes that can be a really important part of your learning. We’ll take alot from this game.”
Ireland, playing England for the first time in a Test, havenow lost all three of their Tests following losses to Pakistan and Afghanistan,but their day started brilliantly.
The home side resuming on their overnight 303 for nine, sawtheir second innings end with the first ball of the third day’s play whendebutant Olly Stone was bowled for a duck by Stuart Thompson.
Rain delayed the scheduled 1000 GMT start by a few minutesbut any hopes England had of adding to their overnight total evaporated whenThompson’s inswinger knocked over Stone’s leg stump.
Ireland had yet to give off the mark in their second inningswhen rain stopped play just seven balls into their chase and kept the playersoff the field for more than an hour.
But when the match resumed the overcast conditions — thefloodlights were switched on — made conditions ideal for seamers Woakes andBroad.
The cascade of wickets in an innings where only opener JamesMcCollum made it into double figures began when Woakes had Ireland captainWilliam Porterfield caught behind by wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow for two.
Andy Balbirnie, who top-scored with 55 in Ireland’s firstinnings total of 207, fell next when he edged Broad to Root at first slip.
Kevin O’Brien, who hit the quickest World Cup century whenIreland beat England at Bangalore in 2011 and made a hundred in their inauguralTest at home to Pakistan last year, fell for just four, lbw to Broad — one ofthree wickets that fell for no runs to leave the visitors 24-6.
An extraordinary match ended when Woakes cleaned uptailender Tim Murtagh for his best return in Test cricket.
One-day world champions England, missing injured pacemanJames Anderson, were indebted to nightwatchman Jack Leach’s second-innings 92— his career-best score — with the Somerset left-arm spinner named man-of-the-matchfor his batting heroics.
Yet there was no disguising that England’s top-order batsmenstruggled badly in the match, just a week before the start of a five-matchAshes series against Australia at Edgbaston.
Ireland captain William Porterfield said his side wereparticularly disappointed because they had put themselves in a position to winthe game.”We knew it was going to be tough with thelights on and drizzle in the air,” he said. “But we had to dig deepand get through that. Fair play to the two lads to how they bowled — they madeit difficult.”