JONNY IS TOO GOOD FOR WANING IRISH

As historic as Ireland’s first matches against England in England were, these opening two ODIs of the summer were really all about how Eoin Morgan’s side are shaping up ahead of next month’s Champions Trophy.

To that end, they really couldn’t have done much more. Ireland are sadly a shadow of the team that beat a much less dynamic England at Bangalore at the 2011 World Cup.

There were seven Irish survivors from that memorable victory playing in these matches at Bristol and Lord’s.

The visitors, though, are a fading team and there is much work to do if and when they gain Test status in the coming months.

England’s annihilation of Ireland in the first of these matches in Bristol was simply embarrassing. Routed for 126 after losing their final eight wickets for 45 runs, William Porterfield’s side left the West Country chastened as Morgan’s side chased down their paltry target before even the scheduled lunch break could be taken and with four hours of play unused.

That mismatch lasted just 53 overs. Who knows how quickly it might have been over had Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes and Jos Buttler not been at the Indian Premier League and England at full strength?

Thankfully there was more of a contest two days later at Lord’s, where, powered by half-centuries from Morgan, Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow, England compiled 328 after being asked to bat first.

Ireland, whose target of 329 was the exact number of runs they scored during that historic win at Bangalore six years ago, were always behind the game and eventually fell 85 runs short after being dismissed for 243.

South Africa, the world No1 ODI team, will present a far sterner challenge when they arrive for three matches later this month that act as England’s final warm-up for the Champions Trophy.

England could at least take heart from the return to fitness of Mark Wood, back bowling in excess of 90 miles per hour after his third ankle operation in a year last winter.

The Durham fast bowler got through 14.1 overs across these games, taking three wickets that included the first in Bristol of Paul Stirling and the final one at Lord’s of George Dockrell to neatly bookend his series.

Root’s spin bowling, which finagled five Irish wickets, was also a big plus. The Test captain may indeed have a role to play as a second spinner in the Champions Trophy if England opt to leave out Moeen Ali as they did for these two matches. Adil Rashid, England’s sole frontline spinner, was the catalyst for Ireland’s capitulation in Bristol, his maiden five-wicket haul of 5-27 causing the damage.

Root’s batting, he scored an unbeaten 49 in Bristol and 73 at Lord’s, is also in good order. Alex Hales, whose 55 from 39 balls sped his team to victory in the first ODI, also picked up from where he left off in the West Indies in February following his century in Barbados on his return from a broken hand.

All in all, then, it was a job well done for England, even if the opposition hardly stretched them.

Coach Trevor Bayliss said: “We know we have sterner tests coming up, against South Africa and in the Champions Trophy. But we can do no more than play and win well.”

Morgan’s 140-run partnership with Root at Lord’s laid the platform for what might have been a far more daunting total than they eventually managed.

But the loss of three wickets for 29 runs, with the disappointing Sam Billings falling cheaply along with Root and Morgan, put the brakes on England’s late charge.

It was left to Bairstow and Rashid, who shared a sixth-wicket partnership of 88, to at least ensure the hosts got up past 300.

Indeed, Bairstow set Lord’s alight with a stunning exhibition of power hitting, bludgeoning 72 from 44 balls, including three sixes.

Bairstow has good reason to feel aggrieved. He was only playing in these matches because Stokes and Buttler were otherwise engaged at the IPL.

After stating he would “hope” to be in with a shout of making the team for the Champions Trophy following his pyrotechnics at Lord’s, Bairstow learned the following day from Morgan, appearing at a sponsor’s event in London, that he was likely to only make the team as an injury replacement.

Speaking before Morgan’s revelation on Monday, Bairstow had said: “It’s a good place to be for us as a side. It’s a fantastic place for us going into the Champions Trophy.

“We’ve got a few games against South Africa but these two games have been a good stepping stone for us because previously at the start of summers we’ve not started so well and that was definitely a focus for us as a team this year so we can lead into the South Africa series and Champions Trophy.”

Bairstow was also overlooked for the gloves in these matches, Billings taking on the wicketkeeping duties in the absence of Buttler.

“It was desperately disappointing but it is what it is,” said Bairstow. “There’s two ways of looking at it.You hide or you stand up and work on your game and try and take it forward.”

Bairstow’s plight shows just how strong England are heading into the Champions Trophy, which they begin against Bangladesh at The Oval on June 1 before taking on New Zealand and Australia in their final two group matches.

“If you look at the previous sides that have won major tournaments they’ve

“All in all, it was a job well done for England, even if the opposition hardly stretched them ”

had a lot of strength in depth in terms of the squad and it’s nice to be in a position where we’re one of those sides leading into this tournament,” said Root.

“You have to have that depth because there’s always something that goes wrong in a major tournament.

“It always seems to happen so it’s great there are guys who might not initially be in the starting XI still performing.”

Root is right.Yet England will learn far more about themselves when they take on South Africa.