The first session of the English summer in Test cricket is done and England have won the honours quite comfortably. Stuart Broad dismantled the Ireland top-order, claiming three wickets in quick succession to leave the visitors limping at 19/3. The veteran seamer kicked off the proceedings with the wicket of Peter Moore after Ben Stokes won the toss and opted to field first in the four-day Test against Ireland.
He chimed in to bowl a full length delivery in the tight off-stump channel. He got it to swing in slightly as Moor fell over in his stance attempting to flick. He missed the ball to get pinged on the pads. The Englishmen went up in unison and the umpire had no hesitation in upholding the appeal. Moor had a word with his partner and decided to walk back, not seeing any merit in a review.
Ireland Skipper Andrew Balbirnie and Harry Tector were the next to depart, caught by Zac Crawley and Matthew Potts respectively. Both the batters were out for nought. Broad was on a roll but Paul Stirling and James McCollum weathered the storm to rebuild the innings. They seemed to have calmed the nerves in the dressing room before Jack Leach came on and nabbed the big wicket of Stirling to consolidate his team’s ascendancy in the opening session.
LEACHY! 🔥
Paul Stirling gone for 30!
Jonny Bairstow with a simple catch 🙌 #EnglandCricket | #ENGvIRE pic.twitter.com/WExrRju00d
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) June 1, 2023
