England beat Ireland by 10 wickets in only Test at Lord’s after Mark Adair and Andy McBrine rearguard action

England completed a routine 10-wicket victory over Ireland in the Lord’s Test on Saturday afternoon, but not before the visitors showed the spirit which had been lacking in the first two days of the match.

After a disastrous first innings in which they were rolled for just 172, Ireland had a point to prove in their second dig. Even if the match was out of reach following Ollie Pope’s sensational run-a-ball double century, the visitors were playing for more than pride.

As a relative outsider nation in Test circles, Ireland are to an extent always playing for their lives and so it was vital to show something more when they got the chance to bat again.

Beginning the innings 352 runs behind, things started poorly for the Irish.

Josh Tongue picked up opener Peter Moor early for 11, while fellow opener James McCollum was forced to retire hurt before captain Andy Balbirnie was caught by Jonny Bairstow off the bowling of Tongue.

23-year-old Harry Tector was in at number four and began to build the Irish resistance. A budding partnership with Paul Stirling was swiftly broken by Tongue, but Lorcan Tucker joined Tector at the crease and the pair put on 60 runs before being broken up. Curtis Campher entered and another 36 runs were added before Ben Stokes took a sharp catch off the bowling of Joe Root.

Ireland were 162-6 and in danger of a humiliating defeat, but the key actors had now taken the stage.

The partnership of Andy McBrine and Mark Adair added 163 runs as Ireland inched towards England’s first innings score.

Matthew Potts got the crucial wicket of Adair, breaking up the partnership with England 27 runs ahead, but McBrine managed to guide the tail to a total of 362, enough to force England to bat again.

Zak Crawley wasted no time in securing victory, he slapped three fours from the first four balls of the first over of England’s second innings, but the Irish had put both real and metaphorical runs on the board.

England’s attention now shifts to the arrival of the Australians and the imminent Ashes series, beginning on June 16 at Edgbaston, where the hosts will attempt to win back the famous urn for the first time since 2015.