Tim Murtagh rips open England !!

                      Have never heard of - John James Ferris &   Charles Thomas Biass Turner  ~ remember following that test at Port of Spain in Mar 1994.  WI made 252 & 269 and England made 328 in first essay – yet lost that match chasing not so big total – skittled out for 46 ! .. a strong line-up on paper – captained by MA Atherton, Alec Stewart, Mark Ramprakash, Robin Smith, Greame Hick, Graham Thorpe, IDK Salisbury, RC Russel,  CC Lewis, Andy Caddick  &  Angus Fraser – skittled out by Curtly Ambrose 10-1-24-6 & Courtney Walsh 9.1-1-16-3  - will read more of Tim Murtagh ..

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom  is a sovereign country located off the north-western coast of the European mainland. The United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland, and many smaller islands.  The United Kingdom is a unitary parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy. The current monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 1952, making her the world's longest-serving current head of state.  The United Kingdom consists of four constituent countries: England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Their capitals are London, Edinburgh, Cardiff, and Belfast, respectively. Apart from England, the countries have their own devolved governments, each with varying powers.

Ireland is an island in the North Atlantic. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the second-largest island of the British Isles.  Politically, Ireland is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially named Ireland), which covers five-sixths of the island, and Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom.

England who recently won the ODI Cricket World Cup 2019  are playing Ireland in a Test at Lords.  20 wickets fell on day one – Ireland too were all out for 207 but lead by 122 runs.  Barely a week since England enjoyed one of the most triumphant days in their international history, they were pulled down to earth by an Ireland side making their first Test appearance at Lord's. On the ground where England were crowned World Cup winners, applause quickly turned to gasps as Tim Murtagh claimed the quickest five-for - in terms of deliveries bowled - in the history of Test cricket on this ground.  England bowled out for 85.. .. .. 23.4 - Overs in which England were bowled out against Ireland. It is their shortest Test innings ever at home, about 21% shorter than the 30 overs they lasted against West Indies at Edgbaston in 1955. Overall, this is their fifth-shortest completed innings ever in Tests. The last time they lasted fewer overs was against New Zealand in Auckland last year, when they were bowled out in 20.4 overs. England's World Cup honeymoon was gatecrashed in sensational fashion at Lord's as Ireland skittled their hosts for a calamitous 85 all out on the first morning of the historic Specsavers Test. Just 10 days after their greatest achievement in one-day cricket, England were back at the scene of a triumph that has instantly entered sporting folklore but found themselves blown away by their first-time visitors.

The authors of their downfall were an unlikely bunch - 37-year-old seamer Tim Murtagh using all his nous and knowledge to take sensational five for 13, with the other five split between debutant Mark Adair and a man who once wore the Three Lions, Boyd Rankin.  Only three batsmen reached double figures in England's tale of woe, while the five World Cup winners on show mustered just seven runs between them.

Tim Murtagh is a bustling swing bowler with a marching run-up who late in a career that has stretched deep into his thirties has enjoyed the chance to play international cricket with Ireland. His pace is lively without being express but he has become a valued member of Middlesex's attack - and one of the most reliable new-ball bowlers on the county circuit. He can also be a destructive lower order hitter. Though now a stalwart at Lord's, he actually came through Surrey's age-group sides and was a member of the England Under-19 squad during the 1999 World Cup, subsequently touring Sri Lanka with a British Universities side in 2002. He battled his way into the Surrey side, and in 2005 took a competition-best 6 for 24 in a Twenty20 tie against Middlesex at Lord's.

Tim Murtagh has been plying his trade at Lord's for more than a decade, but it took him just 78 minutes on his first visit as a Test cricketer to achieve his most cherished ambition. At 12.18pm, he found the edge of Moeen Ali's bat to bag his fifth wicket of the morning in just his eighth over, to secure a coveted place on the dressing room honours boards.  And when England were all out for 85 on the stroke of lunch, it was Murtagh's honour to lead his Irish team-mates off the field, boasting the stunning figures of 5 for 13 in nine overs.  According to Cricinfo - Murtagh, who turns 38 next week, first played at Lord's in 2004 when he was on Surrey's books, but has been a regular here since 2007, racking up a first-class haul of 291 wickets at 23.98 until this morning's crowning glory.

England’s lowest ever came at Sydney way back in Jan 1887 !  ~ a timeless Test – England made 45 & 184 but beat Australia who made 119 & 97.  CTB Turner had figures of 18-11-15-6 & his bowling partner JJ Ferris had 17.3-7-27-4.  Charlie Turner was alter inducted into Australia Cricket Hall of Fame – playing between 1887 – 1895, 17 tests, all against England, Truner took 101 wickets at an average of 16.53 and was known as Terror.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

24^th July 2019