Gary Wilson backs Ireland to lay down challenge at Lord’s

KEY MAN: Ireland's Mark Adair plays a shot during the Test match against Sri Lanka at the Galle International Cricket Stadium. Pic: Ishara S Kodikara/AFP via Getty Images

Ireland return to Lord’s this week for what will be a second ever Test against England in the home of cricket and Gary Wilson, who played in the historic first meeting, is adamant that the visitors won’t be going along for the jolly.

The Test four years ago saw the underdogs dominate the opening two days. England were restricted to 85 runs in the first innings when Tim Murtagh claimed five wickets for just 13, but it ended with the Irish batting order collapsing for 38.

This is an Irish side with less exposure to the Test arena at both domestic and international levels. Their meeting with Bangladesh last month was a first in the format since that England outing and a loss in that was followed by two heavy defeats to Sri Lanka.

Red ball cricket asks very different questions of a player and a team than its white ball counterpart and Ireland have had to shoehorn some prep into a calendar focused on T20 and ODI cricket with World Cup qualifiers looming in both forms later this year.

England, as was the case last time, are fine-tuning for an Ashes series. Head coach Brendon McCullum, who has the team playing on the front foot, will have exciting talents like Harry Brook, Ben Duckett and Josh Tongue on call and Jonny Bairstow back in the ranks.

A big ask, then, but Ireland will walk with their chests out come Thursday.

“There’s always a chance, yeah,” said Wilson, now the squad’s batting and wicketkeeping coach. “We are going into the Test match thinking nothing other than that. We want to win it. England are obviously a very good side and they are at Lord’s in their own conditions but we both have bats and balls.

“It’s a game of cricket and there has been a lot of chat about the way that they are playing now, the so-called Bazball. If we try and play our game and back our skill level – which the lads have shown, especially individually, over the last 18 months – then we definitely have a chance to get a very favourable result.” 

Heinrich Malan’s side will have to take on their hosts without star seam bowler Josh Little whose request for some time off was accepted after five months spent on the road that included his stint with the Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League.

The priority for Little, and for Ireland, is the ODI World Cup qualifying tournament in Zimbabwe in a few weeks’ time. Ten teams take part, including the hosts and Sri Lanka. Only two advance to the main event in India in October.

Cricket Ireland’s high-performance director Richard Holdsworth painted Little’s absence from the Lord’s outing in that wider context last week, explaining that Lord’s was ‘a special occasion, not a pinnacle event’.

“If you take Josh Little out of any side he would be an absence,” said Wilson. “There is no doubt in that but we have other guys there who we are very confident in.

“Mark Adair was here in Lord’s four years ago and had a great Test match then (claiming six wickets for 92 runs) so we will look for more of the same from him. I’m sure he will lead the attack very well in Josh’s absence.”