England vs Ireland | There are no real excuses for being bowled out for 85, says Graham Thorpe
England’s batting coach Graham Thorpe admitted that his side has no real excuses to offer for their shocking performance against Ireland on day 1 of the four-day contest at Lord’s. The England batsmen did not even last till lunch, as Tim Murtagh led Irish bowling to floor England in just 23.4 overs.
England’s post-World Cup cricketing journey had a nightmarish start against minnows Ireland at Lord’s. Ahead of the Ashes series starting on August 1, which also marks the beginning of the ICC Test Championship, England were scheduled to play a four-day Test against Ireland as part of transitioning to the longest format of the game. However, the Irish charged in and burst all of their Cloud 9 bubbles inside two hours of the opening day.
"We can't run away from today's performance. And we can't make excuses. There are no real excuses for us being bowled out for 85 against Ireland. It's been a bad day. I'm very surprised and disappointed,” Thorpe said, reported Cricbuzz.
Five players from the World Cup squad were given a place in the playing XI yesterday. However, they only managed a total of seven runs, and a dropped catch between them. Thorpe admits that, perhaps, this was on the cards after a long, draining World Cup campaign.
"It was a tough tournament, no doubt about it. And I don't think there's any harm in admitting where some of our players are . There aren't too many sports where you win a World Cup and are playing again a week later. We have to accept that some players are in maybe a different headspace to others. That's natural and totally understandable,” Thorpe said.
However, Thorpe still draws a certain positive from this disaster. In exactly a week’s time, the likes of Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc will be steaming in at Edgbaston, with an eye for revenge. According to Thorpe, this sort of humiliation might just be what the doctor ordered as far as knocking England back on track is concerned.
"We have to react to the fact we have an Ashes campaign coming up as well. Sometimes [experiences like this] can be a little jolt as well. In some respects, it will refocus minds. Hopefully the bump in the road puts some of the players back in a better place and we will be ready for Australia next week," he said.
Ireland’s destroyer-in-chief was a familiar face for English cricket, one Tim Murtagh. On his first ever outing at Lord’s, Murtagh picked up 5 for 13, to earn a place on the honours board.
"Murts bowled fantastically well for Ireland. He has had a fantastic first-class career and he did the simple things well today. He put the ball in the right areas and put our batsmen under pressure. From a human perspective, I am pleased for him. I am disappointed we weren't able to respond to it but I am pleased for him. He is a workhorse as a bowler, he's very consistent and he will be over the moon to get on the honours board," Thorpe added.
Ah, the humbling nature of the sport of cricket! We have seen this time and time again over the years. In reply to England’s 85, the Irish were bowled out 207. England were nought for nought in their second innings when play ended.
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