Ireland Aims for Historic Test Win against England at Lord’s. Ireland’s cricket team is gearing up for their match against England at Lord’s, with hopes of securing their first-ever Test victory. This year has already been significant for Irish Test cricket, as they have played three Tests since April alone, marking a significant increase in their Test match schedule. Prior to this year, Ireland had played only five Tests over a span of five-and-a-half years after becoming full members of the ICC in 2017.

Lorcan Tucker, Ireland’s wicketkeeper-batsman, played a crucial role in breaking Ireland’s century drought in Test cricket. Tucker scored a century against Bangladesh in Mirpur earlier this year, becoming the first Irishman to achieve this feat since Kevin O’Brien in 2018. Both Curtis Campher and Paul Stirling also followed suit by scoring centuries in Sri Lanka shortly after. Although Ireland is yet to secure a Test victory, they are gradually finding their rhythm in the format.

At the age of 26, Tucker has limited first-class experience, having played only 18 matches, most of them in Ireland’s inter-provincial championship. He acknowledges the challenges of building an innings in the longer format but cherishes the opportunity to be a part of Test cricket. Tucker highlights the unique history and tradition associated with Test cricket, making it a special experience for him.

Tucker had a memorable moment at Lord’s last summer when he watched the Irish team play as a member of the MCC during England’s match against South Africa. Now, he will have the chance to walk down the Long Room and step onto the field as a player, which fills him with pride for himself and his family.

Reflecting on Ireland’s upcoming Test against England, Tucker emphasizes their goal of being a nuisance to the opposition, just as they did in their previous encounters. In 2019, Ireland bowled England out before lunch on the first day, and in the T20 World Cup, Tucker’s unbeaten innings helped secure a crucial victory over Australia. Despite the results not always going in their favor, Tucker believes that building a reputation for strong performances with bat and ball will earn them respect in international cricket.

While Ireland aims for future consistency in Test cricket, they are focused on making statements and demonstrating their capabilities as a team. Tucker acknowledges the smaller moments and improvements between matches that contribute to their growth. Ultimately, they aspire to establish themselves as a formidable Test team and compete more frequently in the longer format of the game.

The fifties from Harry Tector and Lorcan Tucker saw Ireland slowly take a big lead. Lorcan Tucker and Andrew McBrien are proceeding cautiously after avoiding the threat of an innings defeat. They made a pair of fifty runs in 73 balls in fluent batting. Shakib Al Hasan is using the bowlers back and forth. However, the captain himself is not bowling much. No bowler can make an impact like that. Can only think a little about the batsmen. Ireland runs 199 for 6 in 74 overs. Tucker is playing 89 runs off 132 balls. McBrien’s run is 27 from 47 balls.

The visitors took the lead by 44 runs.

Tucker’s involvement in the ILT20 is the latest test for Cricket Ireland’s selection policy, which has started to incorporate scope for players to skip specific bilateral series to make the most of the “development opportunities” offered by franchise leagues.
Historically, Ireland has only tended to grant No-Objection Certificates (NOCs) to centrally-contracted players when leagues do not clash with their international schedule. But the growth of their fixture list, the increasing number of opportunities available in franchise cricket, and the new prominence of their leading players suggest their stance will soften to ensure they are not tempted to turn down central contracts and go freelance.

Little, the left-arm seamer who is skipping the Zimbabwe T20Is to play for Pretoria Capitals in the SA20, is the player in the highest demand. Last week, he was signed on a lucrative ‘platinum’ deal by Multan Sultans at the PSL draft, and he is available at a base price of INR 50 lakh (£50,000 approx.) in Friday’s IPL auction.

ESPNcricinfo understands that he is likely to be made available for the duration of the IPL if signed – although a decision would depend on Ireland’s progress in the ODI Super League. If results elsewhere mean they are still mathematically in contention for automatic qualification to the 2023 World Cup, he would be expected to return home for Ireland’s final Super League series against Bangladesh in May.

“Cricket Ireland’s view on franchise cricket involvement by our contracted players is that it’s Ireland-first by default,” Richard Holdsworth, Ireland’s long-serving performance director, said. “However, on a case-by-case basis, where an opportunity to leverage a franchise league offer may provide a benefit to the Irish set-up or player development, we will consider flexibility in selection.
“That proximity to major tournaments or where the head coach would prefer to have the players available for international matches, that will be the priority.”

“The recent success of our senior squad on the world stage has attracted the attention of various franchise tournaments. We take this as both a positive sign of our trajectory as a cricket nation and long overdue recognition for the talent on this island.”
“This month alone eight of our senior squad have been involved in franchise leagues, and we expect the demand for Irish talent will only grow over coming years.”

Andrew White, Ireland’s national selector, added: “The selectors have recognized the development opportunity for Lorcan Tucker in taking up the franchise T20 tournament opportunity next month given the location and quality of players involved. “While he had previously been named in the Irish squad for the Zimbabwe tour, we considered that the chance opportunity for Lorcan to play in the UAE franchise league would give him an experience that could greatly benefit his game while allowing us an opportunity to expand our international talent pool.”

Tucker has been replaced in the squad by Ross Adair, the spin-bowling allrounder and older brother of Mark Adair. He previously enjoyed a professional rugby union career with Ulster and described his call-up as a “huge honor”.