Ben Stokes declared after Ollie Pope registered a first double century for England to raise the possibility of victory being achieved against Ireland inside two days at Lord’s.

Pope reached 200 at the start of tea to back up Ben Duckett’s record-breaking innings earlier on the second day but his dismissal the next ball saw Stokes call in England, who had scorched 524 for four from 82.4 overs.

With a lead of 352 and virtually a whole session left, Ireland now face an uphill battle to force this one-off Test into a third day let alone make England bat for a second time at the ‘Home of Cricket’.

Duckett’s lavish display dominated the morning session, with the opener scoring a hundred in his first Test innings on home soil and showing why he is the perfect fit for Brendon McCullum and Stokes’ aggressive ‘Bazball’ style as he achieved 150 off the same number of balls.

It saw Duckett snatch the record for quickest Test 150 at Lord’s off Australian great Don Bradman but even his dismissal for 182 failed to stem a run rate that was consistently over six.

Pope picked up the baton and tucked into some poor Irish bowling to walk off for tea on 197 not out before a glorious skip down the wicket saw him hit Andy McBrine for a maximum to reach 200, but when he was stumped next ball, Stokes called in the troops to try and force a win inside two days.

After an “almost perfect” start to summer, according to Stuart Broad after his five-wicket haul, England quickly moved beyond the tourists’ total on day two.

Duckett had been watchful following Zak Crawley’s dismissal on Thursday night, but was in sumptuous form straight away, cutting away the first ball for four before further drives took him within sight of a second century at Lord’s this season after he posted 177 here for Nottinghamshire in April.

With Mark Adair struggling, Duckett raced onto 99 with a cover drive and flick off his pads down to the fine leg boundary in a 35th over that also brought up the hundred partnership between Pope.

The next over produced further milestones, with Duckett able to celebrate three figures for England for only a second time after he nudged into the leg side for a single to short midwicket.

Duckett held his arms aloft after he made it to a hundred from 106 deliveries following a chanceless innings.

England’s number three Pope was more frenetic during the first hour, with the occasional play-and-miss married up with the odd boundary down to third man that did not always look completely controlled.

Despite that, England were still rattling along at more than six runs an over with Ireland lacking the X-factor of rested seamer Josh Little following his Indian Premier League exploits.

Pope survived a review for an lbw against debutant Fionn Hand before lunch to walk off three short of a century, but the session belonged to Duckett, who swept his way into the history books.

Two off Hand ensured Duckett reach 150 off the same amount of balls to set a new quickest 150 in Test cricket at Lord’s, beating Bradman’s previous record of 150 off 163 deliveries during the 1930 Ashes.

Duckett picked up where he left off after lunch and crunched 14 from one Andy McBrine over with a slog sweep for the first maximum of the Test and a reverse sweep for four.

Another drive to the boundary saw Duckett move onto 182 and bring up the 250-run partnership, but Hume got movement from a replacement ball later in the over and England’s centurion edged onto his own stumps.

The Lord’s crowd acknowledged Duckett’s superb innings with widespread applause and now all eyes were on Pope.

Pope reached his hundred with a single in the second over of the afternoon session and it settled him down.

England’s vice-captain freed up to pull and cut away for four with greater conviction before a reverse paddle scoop brought another boundary.

The drive was the next shot used with a six off McBrine followed by a crunch down the ground against Campher to reach 150 off 166 balls.

More landmarks followed, with a single for Pope taking him past 2,000 Test runs and the hundred partnership achieved with Joe Root, who paddle scooped his way to fifty and scored his 11,000 run in Test cricket in another crushing session for red-ball novices Ireland.

A maximum straight after tea clinched Pope’s maiden Test double hundred off 207 balls, the quickest by anyone in England, but when McBrine dismissed him after bowling Root, Stokes declared.

Ollie Pope backed up Ben Duckett’s record-breaking innings with a century of his own to raise the possibility of victory being achieved against Ireland inside two days at Lord’s.

Duckett’s lavish batting dominated the morning session on day two of this one-off Test, with the opener scoring a hundred in his first Test innings on home soil and showing why he is the perfect fit for Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes’ aggressive ‘Bazball’ style as 150 were achieved off the same number of balls.

It saw Duckett snatch the record for quickest Test 150 at Lord’s off Australian great Don Bradman but even his dismissal for 182 failed to stem a run rate that was consistently over six.

Pope picked up the baton and tucked into some poor Irish bowling to walk off for tea on 197 not out to leave England on 503 for two off 80 overs with a lead of 331.

After an “almost perfect” start to summer, according to Stuart Broad after his five-wicket haul, England quickly moved beyond the tourists’ total on day two.

Duckett had been watchful following Zak Crawley’s dismissal on Thursday night, but was in sumptuous form straight away, cutting away the first ball for four before further drives took him within sight of a second century at Lord’s this season after he posted 177 here for Nottinghamshire in April.

With Mark Adair struggling, Duckett raced onto 99 with a cover drive and flick off his pads down to the fine leg boundary in a 35th over that also brought up the hundred partnership between Pope.

The next over produced further milestones with Duckett able to celebrate three figures for England for only a second time after he nudged into the leg side for a single to short midwicket.

Duckett held his arms aloft after he made it to a hundred from 106 deliveries following a chanceless innings.

With Duckett’s name on the Lord’s honours board, Pope set about joining him and reached fifty in the same over.

England’s number three was more frenetic during the first hour, with the occasional play-and-miss married up with the odd boundary down to third man that did not always look completely controlled.

Despite that, England were still rattling along at more than six runs an over with Ireland lacking the X-factor of rested seamer Josh Little following his Indian Premier League exploits.

Pope survived a review for an lbw against debutant Fionn Hand before lunch to walk off three short of a century, but the session belonged to Duckett, who swept his way into the history books.

Two off Hand ensured Duckett reach 150 off the same amount of balls to set a new quickest 150 in Test cricket at Lord’s, beating Bradman’s previous record of 150 off 163 deliveries during the 1930 Ashes.

Duckett picked up where he left off after lunch and crunched 14 from one Andy McBrine over with a slog sweep for the first maximum of the Test and a reverse sweep for four.

Another drive to the boundary saw Duckett move onto 182 and bring up the 250-run partnership, but Hume got movement from a replacement ball later in the over and England’s centurion edged onto his own stumps.

The Lord’s crowd acknowledged Duckett’s superb innings with widespread applause and now all eyes were on Pope.

England’s number three had reached his own hundred with a single in the second over of the afternoon session and it settled him down.

With runs behind him, Pope freed up to pull and cut away for four with greater conviction before a reverse paddle scoop brought another boundary.

The drive was the next shot used with a six off McBrine followed by a crunch down the ground against Campher to reach 150 off 166 balls.

More landmarks followed, with a single for Pope taking him past 2,000 Test runs and the hundred partnership achieved with Joe Root, who paddle scooped his way to fifty and scored his 11,000 run in Test cricket in another crushing session for red-ball novices Ireland.

Mahmudul Hasan Joy scored the only century by any batsman for the series and it could not have been more timely as Bangladesh ‘A’ resisted West Indies ‘A’ to earn a draw in the third and final unofficial Test at Syhlet International Stadium on Friday.

Chasing an unlikely victory target of 461 and resuming from their overnight score of 47-0, Bangladesh batted through the final day to close on 306-4.

Hasan Joy, who was on 28 overnight shared in an opening stand of 93 with Sakib Hasan. The partnership was broken when Hasan, 14 overnight, was dismissed by Kevin Sinclair for 43. Sinclair dismissed Monimul Haque for just five shortly thereafter but Hasan Joy continued to resist, sharing in a third-wicket partnership of 53 with Saif Hasan, who was eventually dismissed by Akeem Jordan for 38.

Yasir Ali joined Hasan Joy at the crease and together they made the West Indies ‘A’ bowlers toil for just over 29 overs during which they added 117 runs for the fourth-wicket and effectively ensured a draw. Sinclair picked up his third wicket of the innings when he dismissed Ali for 67.

Hasan Joy continued on to 114 not out as he and Shahadat Hossain, who was unbeaten on 20 at the end, took the score past 300 and take the hosts to safety.

Sinclair ended with figures of 3-94. Jordan took 1-37 in the stalemate.

Scores: West Indies 'A' 445 and 220-5 declared; Bangladesh 'A' 205 and 306-4. Match drawn.

Veteran players Kieron Pollard and Sunil Narine are among six players retained by the four-time CPL champions, Trinbago Knight Riders ahead of the 2023 season scheduled to begin in August.

TKR have also confirmed the retention of Andre Russell, Nicholas Pooran, Akeal Hosein and Jayden Seales.

The Knight Riders have also secured the services of Dwayne Bravo who will be returning to the franchise from the St Kitts & Nevis Patriots. They will also have Mark Deyal as part of their setup in 2023 with the batter joining the Knight Riders from the Saint Lucia Kings.

The decision to retain the aforementioned players is good news for Head Coach Phil Simmons.

“We are very happy to be able to retain most of the Caribbean players from last year’s TKR squad. The experience of Kieron Pollard, Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, and Nicholas Pooran coupled with Dwayne Bravo’s return gives our squad a very strong core,” the former West Indies head coach declared.

“In youngsters like Akeal Hosein, Jayden Seales, and Mark Deyal, we have some of the best young talent from Trinidad representing TKR.

“We’re looking forward to the remaining international signings, and I am excited by the player draft coming up soon to complete the roster and put together a strong squad for CPL 2023.”

The overseas players and draft picks will be announced during the Republic Bank CPL draft show which will be broadcast at the end of June. 

The tournament gets underway on 16 August with the final taking place on 24 September. There will be matches in Barbados, Guyana, St Kitts & Nevis, Saint Lucia and Trinidad & Tobago.

Dawid Malan starred while Jos Buttler endured frustration as Yorkshire claimed a 15-run victory over Lancashire in the Vitality Blast Roses clash at Headingley.

After Malan hit a superb 83 off 50 balls in the Vikings’ 195 for six, England colleague Buttler made just one in his first Lancashire appearance of the summer, caught at mid-off from the off-spin of Dom Bess seven balls into the Lightning’s pursuit.

They subsequently finished on 180 for eight, with Ben Mike and Dawid Wiese having each claimed two for 31.

Also in the North Group, a career-best unbeaten 109 by Wayne Madsen set up Derbyshire for a first win of the campaign at Leicestershire, who ran them close but fell three runs short of their target.

Madsen’s brilliant 61-ball innings, which contained 12 fours and four sixes, helped the Falcons post 189 for five after being put in, Tom Wood making 37 from 24 balls and Brooke Guest 25 not out from 20.

The Foxes, who have lost all of their opening four matches, put up a decent fight, with Colin Ackermann (59 not out) and Rehan Ahmed (28 not out) scoring 58 off the last 31 balls after Rishi Patel’s 44 – but it was not quite enough as they closed on 187 for five.

In the South Group, Essex thrashed Sussex by 25 runs at Hove with captain Simon Harmer taking a hat-trick.

Harmer struck with his first three balls after coming on in the third over as Essex easily defended a target of 164. After losing Ravi Bopara in the first over of their reply, the hosts then saw Harmer dismiss Tom Alsop, Shadab Khan and Michael Burgess to leave them at 15 for four with their chase effectively over before it had begun.

They ended up dismissed for 138 with eight balls unused, Harmer finishing with figures of four for 28.

Essex’s earlier 163 for seven featured 55 from Feroze Khushi, while Shadab took three wickets.

Cricket West Indies (CWI) on Thursday announced the members of the coaching and support staff for the West Indies Men’s red ball and white ball teams.

Former West Indies captains Carl Hooper and Floyd Reifer have been named as Assistant Coaches in the white ball teams to work alongside new Head Coach Daren Sammy. James Franklin, the former New Zealand allrounder is the third Assistant Coach. They have joined the team ahead of the start of the upcoming three-match One Day International (ODI) series against United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Speaking on the appointments, Sammy said, “Cricket is a team sport. Therefore, having the right set of people around you, who share your vision, is extremely important. This is a group of hard-working, passionate men, who have no egos. Our collective desire is to have a positive impact on the players and West Indies cricket.”

Hooper is one of the most successful allrounders in West Indies history – the only player to score over 5,000 runs and take over 100 wickets in both Tests and ODIs. He worked previously at various levels coaching in the Caribbean and Australia. Reifer also has experience across various levels from regional up to internationals.

The former allrounder from Guyana expressed his desire to see West Indies cricket move forward. Hooper stated, “When I was initially approached by Daren about the potential opportunity, I immediately confirmed my interest, as I really want to help with the challenge and make a meaningful impact. I firmly believe that it is time for West Indies Cricket to ascend, and I am confident in my ability, knowledge, and experience to aid in this endeavor.”

 For the Test Team, former West Indies players Kenny Benjamin and Stuart Williams; as well as Rayon Griffith will be the Assistant Coaches, working alongside Head Coach, Andre Coley. Benjamin and Griffith were part of the coaching staff for the tours of Zimbabwe and South Africa earlier this year, while Williams has previously worked as an Assistant Coach on various tours.

Coley, who took the team to Zimbabwe and South Africa earlier this year as head coach, is confident that some continuity will be beneficial to the players, stating “We are looking for as much continuity as possible in the preparation for our upcoming assignments. Kenny and Rayon will continue in their roles from the previous two tours, and Stuart Williams is currently with the ‘A’ team in Bangladesh. It is a hard-working group with some clear tasks outlined and we can effectively serve West Indies cricket as a unit for the upcoming series against India.”

The other members of the Team Management Unit who will work with the WI Men’s teams across all formats are: Rawl Lewis (Team Manager), Denis Byam (Physiotherapist), Ronald Rogers (Strength & Conditioning Coach), Avenash Seetaram (Analyst) and Dario Barthley (Media & Content Officer).

The West Indies are presently in Sharjah for the series against UAE, which bowls off on Sunday 4 June at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. The second match is on Tuesday 6 June and the third and final match is on Friday 9 June.

For the ICC World Cup Qualifiers, West Indies have been drawn in Group A, where they will face hosts Zimbabwe, United States, Netherlands, and Nepal in the preliminary round. The ten teams will be competing for the two remaining places at the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup, to be hosted in India later this year.

All new Assistant Coaches have been appointed on a short-term basis and will be reviewed after the India Series in August 2023. 

WI Men White Ball Team Management Unit

Daren Sammy (Head Coach)

Carl Hooper (Assistant Coach)

Floyd Reifer (Assistant Coach)

James Franklin (Assistant Coach)

Rawl Lewis (Team Manager)

Denis Byam (Physiotherapist)

Ronald Rogers (Strength & Conditioning Coach)

Avenash Seetaram (Analyst)

Dario Barthley (Media & Content Officer)

WI Men Test Team Management Unit

Andre Coley (Head Coach)

Kenny Benjamin (Assistant Coach)

Rayon Griffith (Assistant Coach)

Stuart Williams (Assistant Coach)

Rawl Lewis (Team Manager)

Denis Byam (Physiotherapist)

Ronald Rogers (Strength & Conditioning Coach)

Avenash Seetaram (Analyst)

Dario Barthley (Media & Content Officer)

Stuart Broad toasted the near-perfect start to a big summer after his five-wicket haul helped England dismiss Ireland for 172 before the hosts finished only 20 runs behind on the opening day of the one-off Test at Lord’s.

Broad ripped through the Irish top order during the first hour on his way to figures of five for 51 from 17 overs to get himself on the Lord’s honours board for the first time since 2013.

James McCollum (36), Paul Stirling (30) and Curtis Campher (33) all made starts but could not kick on with Jack Leach helping himself to three wickets and Matthew Potts securing a brace of scalps.

It was then over to Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley, who wasted little time getting back into the groove and played true to the aggressive ‘Bazball’ style that has taken the nation by storm with fifties in a century opening stand to help England close on 152 for one.

“When you win the toss and bowl, your aim is to bowl the team out in a day so to have done that was a big tick,” Broad reflected a day before the one-year anniversary of the Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum era.

“Then I thought the way the three guys played this evening was exactly the mindset that Baz and Stokesy want. It was positive, aggressive, put the bowlers under pressure and we’ll hopefully see a bit more of that tomorrow.

“It is obviously always nice when you get on the honours board at Lords but no major difference between four wickets and five wickets really.

“It feels good for me leading the attack this week to have taken a few poles and got us on the front foot as a team, but I thought we did really well as a whole group. It is almost the perfect start to a big summer.”

With James Anderson and Ollie Robinson rested ahead of the Ashes opener on June 16, Broad relished the chance to lead an England attack that contained debutant Josh Tongue and Potts playing his first Test since August.

The Nottinghamshire seamer claimed the 20th five-wicket haul of his Test career to move within 19 of the 600-wicket mark which could be achieved during the upcoming series with Australia.

Broad is not nailed on to start the first Test at Edgbaston with Mark Wood and Chris Woakes for competition but did his case no harm and accepts he will sit out some Ashes fixtures during the next two months.

He added: “I love Ashes cricket but I can honestly say to you whether I play the first, the second or the fifth (Test), my mindset is the same, just have an impact on the game, change the momentum and look to put in a performance that will win the Test.

“I feel like I have done that. I bowled beautifully in my first Test match at Mount Maunganui after last summer, bowled nicely at Wellington, bowled nicely here today.

“I think we all know, not that there has been any talk of the Ashes in our group, that we need an armoury of bowlers over the next six weeks.

“The games come round thick and fast and it is unrealistic to think any bowler will play six Tests in a row, so we’ll need a few of us to be ripe and ready.

“It is great when you look around the changing room, obviously there are a few injuries about with Jof (Jofra Archer) and (Olly) Stoney, then niggles with Robbo and Jimmy, but you only have to look at the bowlers that aren’t playing this week like Woakesy, Jimmy, Robbo and Woody to know we have a lot of strength in depth.”

England captain Ben Stokes was not required to bowl with Ireland all out in the 57th over and after debutant Tongue impressed in an enforcer role that saw him clock 91mph.

Ireland head coach Heinrich Malan was left disappointed with their showing after a poor batting display was followed by Crawley crunching 56 off 45 balls while Duckett finished on 60 not out alongside Ollie Pope, unbeaten on 29, after they tucked into some wayward bowling by the tourists.

“Obviously not our best day, to be honest, I think it’s a little bit more disappointment around the way we went about our business,” Malan said.

“I didn’t necessarily think that they played, you know, Bazball, if you want to term it that way, because I just think we didn’t bowl that well.

“They batted pretty well, with us bowling pretty averagely. So look, I hope we can bowl a little bit better tomorrow.”

Former West Indies Captain, Ramnaresh Sarwan, has questioned the hiring of Daren Sammy over Shivnarine Chanderpaul as West Indies white-ball coach.

Sammy, also a former West Indies Captain, was hired as the regional side’s new white-ball head coach in May.

The 39-year-old, who has coached the likes of Peshawar Zalmi in the PSL and the St. Lucia Kings in the CPL, was hired by CWI despite not having a level III (3) coaching certificate. Sarwan, in a social media post on Wednesday, questioned the process that went into hiring Sammy.

“Twenty-two persons were interviewed for the white ball coaching position. However, two were shortlisted. The big question is why were the other twenty persons/coaches not made known to CWI directors, and also, why is this a big secret and being kept away from the cricketing public? In the interest of transparency, those names should have been made available, at least to directors of CWI,” Sarwan wrote.

The 42-year-old then went on to question how Sammy got the job over Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who was the other man shortlisted for the job, despite the fact that Chanderpaul is fully qualified and Sammy isn’t. Chanderpaul, 48, most recently coached the USA Women's Under-19 team and coached the Jamaica Tallawahs to CPL glory in 2022.

“The two coaches shortlisted by the President (headed) committee were Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Daren Sammy. Chanderpaul is fully qualified with a level III certificate and Sammy has almost zero coaching qualifications. Shockingly, Daren Sammy confirmed as coach. How is this possible? The President has a professional and moral obligation to the Caribbean people and, without delay, make public the criteria/method used for the selection of the coach,” Sarwan said.

Sammy’s first two assignments will come this month with three ODIs against the UAE before taking part in the ICC World Cup Qualifiers in Zimbabwe.

Stuart Broad claimed his first five-wicket haul at Lord’s for 10 years to help England dismiss Ireland for 172 on the first day of this eagerly-anticipated summer.

Broad ripped through the Irish top order during the first hour of this one-off Test with three wickets to reduce the tourists to 64 for four despite Paul Stirling’s entertaining knock of 30.

When opener James McCollum edged behind soon after lunch to depart for 36 to give Broad a fourth scalp, Ireland were wobbling on 98 for five but Curtis Campher held firm to ensure Ireland made it through a second session.

Broad would not have to wait long after tea to add his name to the Lord’s honours board though with Mark Adair bowled to give the Nottinghamshire seamer figures of five for 51 off 17 overs.

Jack Leach chipped in with three scalps, including the dismissal of Ireland all-rounder Campher for a dogged 33, and Matthew Potts also claimed his first Test wickets since August to ensure Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum’s team started their Ashes preparations strongly.

England’s journey to Lord’s from their Kensington hotel had been delayed by five minutes due to Just Stop Oil protesters and enhanced security measures were put in place by the MCC to thwart any potential disruptions during the four-day Test.

With overcast conditions and a green wicket at the Home of Cricket, it was no surprise when Stokes put Ireland into bat after he won the toss and Broad quickly set about trying to get his name on the honours board again.

In the absence of rested duo James Anderson and Ollie Robinson, the Nottinghamshire seamer produced a fine opening spell of three for 14 from five overs.

It did take Broad until the third over to make the breakthrough but Peter Moor, fresh from a century in the warm-up fixture at Essex last weekend, was pinned in front lbw for 10.

Broad’s next over produced even more drama with Ireland captain Andrew Balbirnie out for a five-ball duck after he edged to second slip where Zak Crawley took an excellent low catch diving to his left.

Harry Tector followed his skipper back to the pavilion two balls later when he inexplicably flicked straight to Potts at leg slip but Broad was denied a hat-trick opportunity when an lbw decision against Stirling was overturned on review after ball-tracker showed it was missing leg stump.

It enabled Stirling to lead a mini-recovery for Ireland but his enterprising 30 was ended when his attempted sweep flicked off his glove and gave Jonny Bairstow a simple catch behind the stumps to help Leach get off the mark this summer.

Stirling had put on 45 for the fourth wicket with opener McCollum, who made it to lunch unbeaten on 29 but his pursuit of a maiden Test fifty ended early into the afternoon session.

Again it was the third over of Broad’s spell that did the trick, with McCollum squared up and only able to edge to Joe Root at first slip to depart for a hard-fought 36 off 108 deliveries.

Warm applause greeted Ireland’s hundred via a single from Lorcan Tucker, but the wicketkeeper became Leach’s second victim when he was hit on his front pad and a review adjudged the delivery to be clipping off-stump.

Campher and Andy McBrine tried to shift the momentum and take the attack to England, but Potts had the last laugh when the latter edged behind an 88.9mph delivery to Bairstow.

Broad needed only 11 balls after tea to write his name on the Lord’s honours board when his inswinger fooled Adair and hit the top of off-stump to give him a first five-wicket haul at the London venue since his seven for 44 against New Zealand here in 2013.

The end was nigh for Ireland now with Campher’s 79-ball innings over when he was bowled charging at Leach, who finished with three for 35, and Potts wrapped up proceedings when Test debutant Fionn Hand edged behind to Bairstow.

Richard Gould, the chief executive of the England and Wales Cricket Board, has insisted making changes to the format of The Hundred is “not something that’s on my agenda”.

The peak summer month of August has been controversially ring-fenced for the third season of The Hundred, which still polarises opinion among cricket fans and is exclusively played in the UK.

Reports last month suggested its structure was being considered and the theory gained traction with the news Sanjay Patel, mastermind and managing director of The Hundred, would leave the ECB in September.

But Gould argued the distinction between the 100-ball competition and its T20 rivals abroad is a selling point and admitted Sky and the BBC, the ECB’s broadcast partners, are champions of The Hundred.

“In a crowded market, it is a point of difference,” Gould said on the Final Word podcast. “The format is not something that’s on my agenda, in this regard.

“Sky have been really supportive in driving it forward, it’s given us that point of difference and everyone in the cricketing world has heard of The Hundred, that’s a good thing.

“As long as people are talking about the game, I’m happy.

“There is always going to be arguments with competition, as to what we do and where we go next but we will be utterly pragmatic and more focused on progressive improvement and we will do it in a collaborative manner where everybody can feel involved.”

According to a report from Worcestershire chair Fanos Hira, the competition made a £9million loss in its first two seasons, a figure disputed by the ECB which says a profit of £11.8m was achieved.

Gould and ECB chair Richard Thompson were once prominent critics when The Hundred was first broached during their stints in identical roles at Surrey but the pair’s stance has softened appreciably.

But while Gould sees substantial upsides to The Hundred, he believes there is room for improvement amid a proliferation of domestic white-ball competitions from all over the world fighting for attention.

“You see the competition we’re in globally now and every country needs to have a super primetime white-ball domestic competition,” Gould said.

“We have invested very heavily in The Hundred over a number of years, both emotionally and financially.

“We are not going to take The Hundred out, we are going to make it bigger and better. We’re going to make the whole of cricket bigger and better, that is our aim.

“I think the level of investment that has gone into The Hundred has delivered really good returns in terms of a new audience. The broadcasters really enjoy it, the BBC have put it on free-to-air.”

Gould, who has already opened the door for multi-year central contracts and increased match fees for England players, accepted salaries in The Hundred may need to go up to compete with its market rivals.

Currently, the highest bracket for the men in The Hundred is £125,000 while for women it is £31,250.

“Salaries will need to go up, not just for The Hundred but also for international cricket because we can see there is a global market for players,” Gould added.

“The difficulty for the ECB and our revenues is we have so many mouths to feed whereas the franchise tournaments can just take the cream off the top, they don’t get charged for the players, they’re very efficient models at getting money back into the players’ pockets but they’re not funding the pathway.

“We’re always going to fund the pathway but having a really strong and healthy pathway is the secret to long-term success, you’ve got to have the players.”

Stuart Broad edged closer to adding his name to the Lord’s honours board but all-rounder Curtis Campher held up England’s charge in the afternoon session to guide Ireland to 162 for seven at tea.

Broad ripped through the Ireland top order during the first hour of the one-off Test with three wickets to reduce the tourists to 64 for four despite Paul Stirling’s entertaining knock of 30

When opener James McCollum edged behind soon after lunch to depart for 36 to give Broad a fourth scalp, Ireland were wobbling on 98 for five but Campher held firm.

Jack Leach grabbed his second scalp and Matthew Potts claimed a first Test wicket since August, but Campher’s unbeaten 32 saw Ireland make it through a second session.

England’s journey to Lord’s from their Kensington hotel had been delayed by five minutes due to Just Stop Oil protesters and enhanced security measures were put in place by the MCC to thwart any potential disruptions during the four-day Test.

With overcast conditions and a green wicket at the Home of Cricket, it was no surprise when Ben Stokes put Ireland into bat after he won the toss and Broad quickly set about trying to get his name on the honours board again.

In the absence of rested duo James Anderson and Ollie Robinson, the Nottinghamshire seamer produced a fine opening spell of three for 14 from five overs.

It did take Broad until the third over to make the breakthrough but Peter Moor, fresh from a century in the warm-up fixture at Essex last weekend, was pinned in front lbw for 10.

Broad’s next over produced even more drama with Ireland captain Andrew Balbirnie out for a five-ball duck after he edged to second slip where Zak Crawley took an excellent low catch diving to his left.

Harry Tector followed his skipper back to the pavilion two balls later when he inexplicably flicked straight to Potts at leg slip but Broad was denied a hat-trick opportunity when an lbw decision against Stirling was overturned on review after ball-tracker showed it was missing leg stump.

It enabled Stirling to lead a mini-recovery for Ireland but his enterprising 30 was ended when his attempted sweep flicked off his glove and gave Jonny Bairstow a simple catch behind the stumps to help Leach get off the mark this summer.

Stirling had put on 45 for the fourth wicket with opener McCollum, who made it to lunch unbeaten on 29 but his pursuit of a maiden Test fifty ended early into the afternoon session.

Again it was the third over of Broad’s spell that did the trick, with McCollum squared up and only able to edge to Joe Root at first slip to depart for a hard-fought 36 off 108 deliveries.

Warm applause greeted Ireland’s hundred via a single from Lorcan Tucker, but the wicketkeeper became Leach’s second victim when he was hit on his front pad and a review adjudged the delivery to be clipping off-stump.

Campher and Andy McBrine tried to shift the momentum and take the attack to England, but Potts had the last laugh when the latter edged behind an 88.9mph delivery to Bairstow.

Debutant Josh Tongue continued to admirably back up the England attack and hit 91mph at one stage, but Campher survived his sharp bouncer and a concussion check to reach tea unbeaten.

West Indies ‘A’ will have to take 10 wickets on Friday’s final day if they are to win the third unofficial Test against Bangladesh ‘A’ at the Syhlet International Stadium.

At stumps on Thursday, Bangladesh reached 47 without loss in their second innings, still needing to score 414 more to achieve a most unlikely victory.

Resuming from their overnight score of 157-7 with Nasum Ahmed on seven and Tanzim Hasan Sakib on 17, Bangladesh ‘A’ were bowled out for 205 thanks to Nasum Ahmed’s unbeaten 38.

Hasan Sakib failed to add to his overnight score when he was bowled by Veerasammy Permaul, who took all three remaining Bangladeshi wickets to finish with figures of 3-38. Kevin Sinclair took 2-75 and Anderson Phillip 2-36.

With a healthy lead of 240 runs, the West Indies declined to enforce the follow-on and went in search of quick runs. Opener Tagenarine Chanderpaul scored 83, his second such score of the match as the West Indies raced to 220-5 from 55.2 overs. Captain Joshua da Silva contributed an unbeaten 47, his third such score of the series.

Saif Hasan was the chief wicket-taker with 3-62 while Nasum Ahmed supported with 2-56.

Set a mammoth 461 for victory, Bangladesh ‘A’ still have a mountain to climb to achieve victory on the final day. Mahmudul Hasan Joy will resume on 28. With him at the crease is Zakir Hasan on 14.

West Indies ‘A’ lead the series 1-0.

Daniel Vettori insists it is England’s winning habit rather than their ‘Bazball’ style that has earned the respect of Australia ahead of this summer’s Ashes.

Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes have inspired a thrilling revival of England’s Test team, winning 10 out of 12 matches by adopting an aggressive, never say die mindset.

Australia are aiming to retain the Ashes when the series opens at Edgbaston on June 16 and assistant coach Vettori, who played alongside McCullum for New Zealand, insists the hosts’ results trump how they were achieved.

“Irrespective of the style they’re using, they’re playing winning cricket and that’s the thing everyone gravitates towards,” Vettori said.

“The fact that they’ve played so well over an extended period of time has been what’s so impressive.

“Brendon wouldn’t want to make the attention about himself, but he’s got this moniker going for him now. That’s Brendan since he came out of the womb – he’s pretty positive.

“England keep coming and so you’ve got to anticipate that and not back off.”

England are hoping that Stokes is able to play a full part in the five-Test series following his struggle with a knee injury that has required a cortisone injection.

However, there is uncertainty over what contribution their talisman will be able to make with the ball after he was unable to bowl in his side’s most recent outing against New Zealand in February.

“We’re preparing for him to be his normal self. He’s one of the top all-rounders in world cricket. We know how much he brings to the table as an all-rounder,” Vettori said.

“It’s like Cameron Green for us, offering that balance and ability to come in and be an aggressive weapon along with his batting, which has been exceptional.

“Every team wants their all-rounder up and running because it makes things run so smoothly.”

While England warm-up for the Ashes with a one-off Test against Ireland, Australia face India in the ICC World Test Championship final at the Oval.

Vettori is undecided over who has the better build-up.

“Ask me again on the back of these four days of prep!” the former spin bowler said.

“But there’s a real excitement that we have the ability to play one of the best teams in the world in such a crucial game and that should set us up well for the Ashes.

“It’s six Tests of high intensity and you couldn’t ask for anything more.”

England’s Test summer failed to get off to the best start after the team bus was delayed on its way to Lord’s by Just Stop Oil protesters.

Jonny Bairstow posted a photo on his Instagram story on Thursday morning, which showed Just Stop Oil protesters and police officers in front of their team coach in the middle of a road in Kensington by England’s hotel.

Bairstow’s caption read: “If we’re a bit late, it’s not our fault.”

However,  there was no delay to proceedings on the opening day of the one-off Test against Ireland with the four-day contest getting under way at 11am as planned – despite the five-minute delay to the team’s journey.

Just Stop Oil protesters were able to disrupt the Gallagher Premiership final at Twickenham between Saracens and Sale last weekend.

Two men wearing Just Stop Oil T-shirts invaded the pitch midway through the first half and threw orange paint powder onto the field before being removed by security staff.

A similar incident occurred at the Crucible during the World Snooker Championship in April.

Robert Milkins’ match against Joe Perry was interrupted when a man wearing a Just Stop Oil T-shirt jumped on to table one and tipped orange powder over the cloth.

Amid the threat of potential protests this week at Lord’s, the MCC said it has enhanced its security measures in some areas for this match.

“We look forward to welcoming players and spectators to the first international Test match of the summer at Lord’s. Their safety and security is the highest priority for MCC,” an MCC spokesperson told the PA news agency.

“We have a number of ground regulations that help us achieve that; including not entering the playing area or demonstrating.

“Whilst protests would disrupt the game, we have a number of security measures in place, some visible, some less so to deter this. In some areas we have enhanced those existing provisions ahead of this summer’s schedule.”

England’s Test summer failed to get off to the best start after the team bus was delayed by five minutes on its way to Lord’s by Just Stop Oil protesters.

Jonny Bairstow posted a photo on his Instagram story on Thursday morning, which showed Just Stop Oil protesters and police officers in front of their team coach in the middle of a road in Kensington by England’s hotel.

Bairstow’s caption read: “If we’re a bit late, it’s not our fault.”

However, there was no delay to proceedings on the opening day of the one-off Test against Ireland with the four-day contest getting under way at 11am as planned.

Just Stop Oil protesters were able to disrupt the Gallagher Premiership final at Twickenham between Saracens and Sale last weekend.

Two men wearing Just Stop Oil T-shirts invaded the pitch midway through the first half and threw orange paint powder onto the field before being removed by security staff.

A similar incident occurred at the Crucible during the World Snooker Championship in April.

Robert Milkins’ match against Joe Perry was interrupted when a man wearing a Just Stop Oil T-shirt jumped on to table one and tipped orange powder over the cloth.

Amid the threat of potential protests this week at Lord’s, the MCC said it has enhanced its security measures in some areas for this match.

“We look forward to welcoming players and spectators to the first international Test match of the summer at Lord’s. Their safety and security is the highest priority for MCC,” an MCC spokesperson told the PA news agency.

“We have a number of ground regulations that help us achieve that; including not entering the playing area or demonstrating.

“Whilst protests would disrupt the game, we have a number of security measures in place, some visible, some less so to deter this. In some areas we have enhanced those existing provisions ahead of this summer’s schedule.”