Ireland, said W. B. Yeats, was ‘no country for old men’. In a whirl of emotions, ‘that sensual music’ of the early twentieth century, the young neglected ‘monuments of un-ageing intellect’.
Today the old men of Ireland – old by the standards of professional sportsmen at least – made a mockery of age. It was a glorious day in the sun, perhaps the greatest in the long history of Irish cricket.
The skipper, William Porterfield, is 34. The keeper, Gary Wilson, is 33. Kevin O’Brien, the hero of Bangalore, is 35. Boyd Rankin is 35. Paul Stirling is only 28 but has been playing for Ireland for 11 years.
The oldest of all is Tim Murtagh, who will be 38 next Friday. A seasoned county professional with a very fine first class record, Murtagh bowls at about 75mp/h (120km/h). After a World Cup dominated by the express pace of Archer, Wood, Ferguson and Starc, a bowler like Murtagh seems not only old but old-fashioned.
‘An aged man is but a paltry thing,
A tattered coat upon a stick, unless
Soul clap its hands and sing, and louder sing
For every tatter in its mortal dress’.
Murtagh is perhaps second only to James Anderson as an exponent of bowling’s monuments of intellect – of hitting a consistent line and length and getting just enough movement off a green wicket to beat the batsman.
Roy went in Murtagh’s second over, a picture-perfect dismissal, the ball nipping down the Lord’s slope and taking the outside edge to Stirling, who somehow managed to catch the ball with his wrists.
Oddly enough, England were not looking in such a terrible state at the nine over mark, at 36-1. The pitch got easier as the day went on, and the clean strokes of Olly Stone down the order suggested that England were perhaps only ten overs away from being able to make hay.
Ten overs later, England were in absolute tatters at 9-67. Mark Adair made two key incisions, rapping Denly and Root’s pads with full, straight deliveries. But it was Murtagh who ripped through the hosts, taking 5-13 off just 9 overs.
Murtagh has been bowling at Lord’s for Middlesex since 2006. He has a mere 800 first-class wickets. Give him a green pitch and a Duke’s ball and his soul claps its hands and sings.
Burns edged behind. Bairstow bowled through the gate after a bizarre cameo where he was warned twice for walking too far down the pitch, in a desperate attempt to negate Murtagh’s length. Ali nicked off. Woakes LBW – it looked highish at first glance, but at Murtagh’s pace it would have gone on to clip the top of leg.
He reminds one a little of peak-era Vernon Philander, when he bowled Australia out for 47 at Cape Town in 2011. Philander is another one of those bowlers who deceives the batsman at strictly medium pace, perhaps plays on their egos, but consistently finds an inch of movement off the seam.
Ireland veteran bowler Tim Murtagh (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
There was a touch of redemption too for Boyd Rankin, who suffered through a single deeply harrowing Test for England in 2014, at the back end of a disastrous Ashes tour. He took out Stuart Broad and Tom Curran, who both seemed fazed by the steeping bounce of the Londonderry man – a hulking 6ft 7 farmer’s son.
A day, as I say, for the old men. But Ireland’s less experienced players also shone, which will be extremely pleasing for their fans and administrators. Mark Adair bowled beautifully in partnership with Murtagh, showing a touch more pace and picking up the prize wicket of Joe Root.
James McCollum looked very well organised for his 19 runs, working hard in partnership with Will Porterfield to see off the new ball. Both will be disappointed not to have gone on, but they did exactly what England’s batsmen failed to do, watching the ball carefully, leaving plenty of balls, and giving the middle-order something to work with.
Andrew Balbirnie is the same age as Stirling but considerably less experienced. He played very well for his 55, and his partnership with Stirling was the one time in the day when batting looked easy. At 132-2, it looked as if they might bat England into oblivion.
What can we say about England? For their batsmen, World Cup hangover surely played some part – England’s World Cup winners made all of seven runs between them today.
However, it is ultimately a familiar story of top order woe. None of the trio of Jason Roy, Rory Burns and Joe Denly instilled any confidence. I would not be surprised to see Warwickshire’s Dominic Sibley, a more traditional English opener, given a chance before too long.
England’s poor form could be great news for the Aussies. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)
This was Ireland’s day, although it could have been better were it not for a very good spell of bowling from Stone and Broad after the tea break. Stone produced a marvellous over to remove Balbirnie and Wilson, while Broad suddenly found a little extra movement to get Stirling and Stuart Thompson.
This is the danger for Ireland in Test cricket, that they will simply be worn down over a two-innings match. It is difficult to imagine Australia, or indeed England, letting a match slip after bowling a side out for 85 in the first innings.
Ireland, on the other hand, may yet lose this match, although some merrily agricultural slashing from Murtagh and a measured innings from O’Brien earnt them a very healthy lead of 122.
Even if they do lose, that will not diminish the magnificence of that first session, when Ireland proved themselves as worthy competitors on cricket’s biggest stage.
More than that, they produced a session that will live long in cricket’s long memory, that will still be remembered when it is time ‘to set upon a golden bough to sing… of what is past, or passing, or to come’.
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