Test captain Joe Root has urged England to “lay down a marker” for the Ashes when they face Ireland in a one-off Test at Lord’s hot on the heels of their World Cup triumph at the ‘home of cricket’.
The four-day fixture starting Wednesday is followed by a five-match Ashes campaign — a gruelling schedule of six Tests in eight weeks.
“We’ve taken a huge amount of confidence from the World Cup and that counts for a lot,” Root told reporters at Lord’s on Tuesday.
“It’s something we must capitalise on going into a huge six Tests. The message to the squad is to play with a huge amount of pride and passion.”
England are looking to regain the Ashes following a 4-0 drubbing in Australia in 2017/18, having not lost a home series to their arch-rivals in 18 years.
But first come Ireland and Root said: “We don’t want to sleepwalk into this. Any Lord’s Test match at the start is a good chance to set a precedent for the way we want to play for the rest of the summer.
“I don’t want anyone walking into it and not being 100 percent on it. It’s a great chance to lay a marker down.”
