Zac Crawley takes a good low catch at second slip

Zac Crawley took a sharp catch to his left to dismiss Ireland skipper Andrew Balbirnie as England reinforced their grip on the very first session of the four-day Test. That wicket belonged to Stuart Broad, whose triple strike left Ireland limping at 78 for 4 at Lunch on Day 1 at Lord’s. Paul Stirling and James McCollum weathered the storm with a 45-run stand for the fourth wicket before the former fell sweeping towards the end of the morning session.

The experienced Stuart Broad kicked off the proceedings with the wicket of Peter Moore after Ben Stokes won the toss and opted to field first. He chimed in to bowl a full length delivery in the tight off-stump channel, getting it to swing inwards 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. Stirling and McCollum then seemed to have calmed the nerves in the dressing room before Jack Leach came on to consolidate his team’s ascendancy in the opening session.