After losing the one-off test match against England by 10 wickets, Ireland captain Andy Balbirnie found satisfaction in a “small win” by forcing England to bat in the second innings at the Lord’s cricket ground in London.
In the post-match presentation, Balbirnie said, character is not in doubt. Test cricket is very raw to us, yesterday was a tough day, but to come back and make England bat again was a small win. It was heartening to hear the noise in the ground, even though we were behind the ball.
We want to grow the game in our country, so small wins like that are important. We go in believing we can compete, but England quickly showed the standard, and it was hard to keep up. We’re learning on the job, and we’ve got to learn quickly,” the Ireland skipper said.
“Hopefully next time, we’ll show the benefit. [Captaining against Bazball] It gets you thinking and looking around for ideas, but it’s exciting, and I thought the guys played well. We showed glimpses today and can be proud of that. We’ve got to play teams around our own level to fit into the format. It’s hard to come here before the Ashes, but these are the fixtures we’ve been given. World Cup qualifiers are a huge event for us, and there is a lot of focus on that for us. Dust ourselves off, get on a plane, and hopefully produce good cricket,” Balbirnie added. Pacer Josh Tongue took a five-wicket haul on his Test debut as the hosts, England, clinched an easy win.