IT’S MY CHANCE TO MAKE IRISH PROUD SAYS TIM

TIM MURTAGH can become a hero to Irish sports fans as much as Eoin Morgan has to the English if he can rip through their line-up this week.

The London-born and raised bowler had always hoped he would get to play Test cricket at Lord’s, albeit in a different shirt to the one he will wear this week.

But Murtagh now has the chance to etch his name into proud Irish history – and on a ground he knows so well as a Middlesex veteran of 12 years.

There is every chance he could cause problems for a nervy England top order, and Murtagh joked: “I’ve always said that Ireland have got the best end of the deal with me coming to play for them and Eoin going the other way to play for England.

“I was so happy for him on a personal note to lift the World Cup – it doesn’t happen to many people and he deserves it with everything he has put into it.

“It was always the dream when I started playing cricket to play a Test at Lord’s, although I didn’t think it would be against England to be fair!

“But I’m hugely proud to be pulling on the Irish shirt. I was welcomed with open arms by the guys in the side a few years back and it has been such a great journey with them. I’d like to think it means as much to me as it does to the other guys and we all want to do Ireland proud.”

Murtagh started his career with Surrey before moving to Middlesex, where he has become a club legend with over 800 first-class wickets to his name.

And he has built his excellent county career on getting the likes of Rory Burns, Jason Roy and Joe Denly out for fun. “I just need to treat it like another game and know that I have got these guys out before when there were 2,800 people watching, not 28,000,” said Murtagh.

“There will be a few nerves for the

England batsmen because there is an

Ashes series around the corner and they all want to cement their places, so maybe we can play on that a little bit.” Belfast, England won by 38 runs

Providence (Guyana), England won by 48 runs ICC World Cup

Belfast, England won by 3 runs

Bengaluru, Ireland won by 3 wickets ICC World Cup

Dublin, England won by 11 runs EIGHT days after picking up his bags at Lord’s following the World Cup final, Joe Root could be forgiven for needing a lie down rather than a potential banana skin of a Test against Ireland.

But the England captain insisted yesterday that his red-ball squad will be ready against fired-up opposition to start the Ashes summer in the ideal fashion.

“We don’t want to sleepwalk into the Ashes,” said Root, Dublin, England won by 6 wickets Dublin, no result Bristol, England won by 7 wickets Lord’s , England won by 85 runs Dublin, England won by 4 wickets Providence ICC World T20. who admitted the game has the potential to set the tone in a good or bad way.

“That’s been the message to the group. Any Lord’s Test is a good chance to set a precedent for the way we want to play for the summer.

“I don’t want anyone walking into it and not being 100 per cent on it. It is a great chance to lay a marker down.”

The no-man’s land between the peaks of a World Cup final win and