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England and Ireland will meet in a one off Test match at Lord’s starting this Thursday. This is England’s first international match of the (English) summer, and will serve as the warm up for the upcoming Ashes. Can Ben Stokes and his team score another victory? Let’s take a look with our latest cricket betting picks.
- What; England vs Ireland (Only Test)
- Where; Lord’s Cricket Ground, St John’s Wood, London, England
- When; June 1st-4th, 2023
The match between England and Ireland is a four-day Test match, as opposed to five days, the usual length of Test cricket matches. It is the second time the two teams have met at Test match level, with England winning the inaugural match (also a four day Test match at Lord’s) by 143 back in 2019.
The match was a bizarre encounter, with England getting bowled out for just 85 in their first innings. Ireland scored 207 when they batted, with England then making 303 in their 2nd innings. At this point, the Irish were well in the game, needing 182 runs for an historic victory.
What followed was nothing short of a disaster, when on a poor batting surface, with difficult damp conditions for batting, Ireland were bowled out for just 38 runs.
Woakes 6-17, Broad 4-19 🙌
Ireland 38 all outhttps://t.co/543irzckSy#ENGvIRE pic.twitter.com/lfKPxOMWMf— England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 26, 2019
England vs Ireland; Only Test match betting odds
It’s not going to come as a shock to see that England are the overwhelming favorites to win the Test match. The best cricket betting sites have England at -700 to win. The draw is +700, with Ireland at +1800.
The weather for the four days of the Test match looks good, reducing Ireland’s chances of avoiding defeat, and claiming a credible draw.
To put the odds into some sort of context, in England’s next match after the Ireland Test, they’re +130 to beat Australia in the 1st Test of the Ashes. The draw is +375, with Australia at +145. That gulf in the betting odds highlights just how far off the pace in Test cricket Ireland currently are.
Our betting table below has more odds taken from the best online sportsbooks for betting on cricket.
| England vs Ireland One Off Test Match Betting |  |  |  |
| England | -700 | -700 | -700 |
| Ireland | +1800 | +1800 | +1800 |
| Draw | +700 | +700 | +700 |
Recent Form
This is England’s first Test match since they lost the 2nd Test away to New Zealand at the end of February. England seem to have avoided criticism of that loss, mainly down to the exciting end to the match, which saw New Zealand winning by just 1 run.
The win for New Zealand saw them become only the fourth team in history to win a Test match after being asked to follow on. The defeat did seem to be glossed over somewhat by the magnificent run that England had previously been on. In the previous 11 Tests, England had won 10, and lost just once.
In total since new coach Brendon McCullum, and new captain Ben Stokes, have come together, England has won 10, and lost two of their 12 matches. That is form that no side in world cricket can match over the previous 12 months.
Ireland are finding out just how tough Test match cricket is
As for Ireland, they’ve just lost three Test matches in April. These were the first Test matches they’ve played since the defeat to England, so to lose all three after such a long time away from the Test arena must be extremely disappointing.
They started off by losing to Bangladesh by 7 wickets. They then followed that up with two heavy losses to Sri Lanka. The first was by an innings and 280 runs. The second was by an innings and 10 runs. All three of those Test matches were away on the Asian continent. Played in conditions alien to the Ireland team.
Playing at Lord’s in English conditions, will be more what Ireland is used to.
But in general, Ireland has struggled at Test level. They’ve only played six Test matches in total, and they’ve lost them all. Test cricket is notoriously difficult, and improvements don’t happen overnight. Just how difficult it is, Ireland is currently finding out. And they’re finding out the hard way!
Our England vs Ireland betting picks
Onto our cricket betting picks, and first up, the weather looks good for the four days of the match. This means batting could be easier on a dry wicket at Lord’s. But on the flip side, little to no time will be lost to bad weather.
England make Ollie Robinson and James Anderson decision for Ireland Test after injury issues
✍️ @MalikOuzia_https://t.co/pXQzYkswx4
— Standard Sport (@standardsport) May 29, 2023
England will be without some first team regulars. They’ve already stated that bowlers James Anderson and Ollie Robinson won’t be risked this close to the Ashes. So with England expected to put out a weakened attack, does this play into Ireland’s hands?
Backing England at -700 probably isn’t great value. They will play their strongest batting line up, and the chances are that the likes of Joe Root, Harry Brook and the returning Jonny Bairstow will bat Ireland out of the game. The only question is, can England bowl Ireland out twice to win the match?
We think England will win, and backing them is safe. But if you want a bit of value maybe back the draw, and hope that in a shortened four-day match, the Irish can dig in enough with the bat to claim a famous draw.
Alternative bets could be made on the top batter or the player of the match. We like the look of the returning Jonny Bairstow to be named player of the match at +900.
