Chris Woakes took 6-17 as England skittled Ireland for 38 to win the Lord’s Test by 143 runs but many Ashes questions remain unanswered. Ireland, playing in only their third-ever Test, were set 182 for a famous win after taking the final England second-innings wicket with the first ball of day three.
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Woakes and Stuart Broad, who pitched in with 4-19, then took advantage of perfect conditions for seam bowling to turn the Test on its head and spare the home side’s blushes. At one stage, three wickets fell for no runs and the last nine for 18 as Ireland registered the seventh lowest total in Test history and the lowest at Lord’s.
Woakes and Broad bowled unchanged through an innings that took only 94 deliveries, the joint-second shortest in Test history and shortest for 95 years. But the duo’s bowling performance masked the deficiencies of England’s batsmen with the first Ashes Test just a week away. Nightwatchman Jack Leach’s 92 on Thursday was the most significant contribution of any batsman during the seven sessions of the Test.
