In only the third Test match that the country of Ireland is featuring in, Tim Murtagh became the first Irish ever to pick up a five-wicket haul in Test Matches for the country.
Despite winning the toss and electing to bat first on a fairly good batting surface, Tim Murtagh’s spell of bowling completely rattled the famed English batting order. At one point, England were facing a scare of being bowled out for their lowest ever Test total ever.
However, somehow they managed to avoid the embarrassing record.
Who is Tim Murtagh?
Born in England, Tim is a lively swing-bowler. His bowling run-up is like a march up to the wicket. Tim, very late in his career, is now getting a chance to feature in International Cricket for Ireland.
Although he is not express quick, he can still rush batsmen into their shots with his deceptive style of bowling. It is his effectiveness with the ball that has made him a significant part of the Middlesex County team and arguably one of the best swing bowlers on display in the county circle.
Apart from his right-arm swing bowling, the 37-year-old can also be a pinch hitter lower down the order.
Performance in the match
Murtagh provided the much-needed early breakthroughs for the Ireland team when they were asked to field first. He dismissed both the opening batsmen of England – Rory Burns and the debutant Jason Roy who came into the match on the back of a successful World Cup campaign.
Murtagh then returned to trouble the middle order batsmen dismissing the likes of Jonny Bairstow and Chris Woakes. Moeen Ali became his fifth victim.