Stuart Broad etched his name into Lord's Test history for the fifth time in his storied career to lay down the perfect Ashes marker.
And with the cloudy morning making way for glorious afternoon sunshine, England's top three batters were straight back into the groove to crank up the fun factor and all but wipe out the first innings deficit in half the time. A 20th five-wicket haul for Broad was the ideal way to remind both captain and coach that when it comes to white line fever, there is still few better in the business than this ultra competitive 36-year-old.
And even though it might have been up against a seriously underwhelming Ireland red ball side this time, who would bet against Broad producing something similar if given the chance against the Aussies?
Nothing gets his juices flowing more than a tilt at the Baggy Green visitors, but as things stand he must wait for his chance, with James Anderson, Ollie Robinson and perhaps even Mark Wood all ahead of him in the pecking order. All he can do is show that he can still perform when the cameras are rolling, and with a masterful filleting of the Irish top order in an opening three wicket burst, he did just that.
Matthew Potts took the new ball with Broad as they had done at Headingley last summer and fully deserved his two wickets, bowling full and straight. But there was to be no wicket-taking celebrations for debutant Josh Tongue after receiving his Test cap from Anderson and topping 91 mph in his opening spell.
He will get another chance in the second innings, and he should already have learnt plenty from Broad. An eventual 172 all out for the men in green trim, after being stuck into bat by Ben Stokes, could have been even worse having reached 19-3.
They were technically 19-4 when Broad thought he had taken three wickets in four balls only to see Paul Stirling's golden duck rescinded on review. But the recovery that saw them post an embarrassment-free score was soon put into context once England’s Bazballers got their bats whirring, the ball flying and the scoreboard dazzling to 152-1.
The shadows cast by Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley across the Lord’s turf could easily pass for the same as those created by Justin Langer and Matthew Hayden in their heyday, the little and large destroyers of opening bowling attacks. And while there is a way to go for the England pair to get to that level, the way they repeatedly drove and carved the Irish bowling to the boundary was equally relentless.
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Their 109-run opening stand came from just 99 balls before Crawley offered Fionn Hand a caught and bowed chance that he gratefully accepted at the second grab. A return of 56 from 45 balls for Crawley in what should be England’s only innings in this game is something for him to work from ahead of the Ashes.
But the three inside edges for four along the way will have been noted too. Duckett crashed 177 on this ground for Notts earlier in the season, against an attack that offered a greater threat than this one, and with 60 not out already, day two could get ugly.
