England should pull plug if Zak Crawley falters again against Irish nemesis

E ngland’s summer begins at Lord’s against Ireland on Thursday and even if it is only a starter before the lavish main course of the Ashes I am sure nobody in that dressing room will be taking it lightly. It is, after all, a Test at the home of cricket, a big crowd, a big game and there is lots of competition in the squad.

Several players will remember the game against Ireland in 2019, when my old Middlesex teammate Tim Murtagh got five for 13 and England were bowled out for 85 before lunch on the first day. I am pretty sure that was a one-off – there’s a reason Tim has got 1,000 first-class wickets and if you give him the right conditions he’ll exploit them – but the players will want to make absolutely certain.

I’m expecting a strong team, but when it comes to the bowling England will have to be careful with their resources. Jofra Archer is out for the summer, Olly Stone is struggling and the senior bowlers have no need to prove anything, so I expect those selected may be a bit conservative.

Josh Tongue has been brought into the squad, most likely just to give the dressing room a chance to look at him and judge his personality and the way he handles himself in that environment. I haven’t seen a lot of him, but he looks quite awkward to face and I’m sure he could do a job if he is selected.

That said, there will be a few bowlers thinking they might have got the call instead – last week I saw Craig Overton take five second-innings wickets for Somerset against Middlesex and he looked in great form. I’ve always been a fan and though he’s played eight Tests over five years I’ve been mystified that we haven’t seen more of him.

There has been a lot of talk about England’s batting lineup and how they would squeeze Jonny