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Duckett departs as England run riot against Ireland / Photo: © AFP
Duckett departs as England run riot against Ireland
Ireland finally saw the back of Ben Duckett but not before the opener had made 182 as England piled on the runs in their Ashes warm-up Test at Lord's on Friday.
Together with Ollie Pope, who made a hundred of his own, Duckett added 252 runs in 43 overs to take England to 361-2 -- a lead of 189 runs.
Duckett's innings in his first Test on home soil was more than Ireland's combined 172 during Thursday's first day of four.
The 28-year-old left-hander was in sight of what would have been one of Test cricket's fastest double-centuries when a replacement ball did the trick for Ireland, with Duckett playing onto medium-pacer Graham Hume.
His runs had come off just 178-balls, including 24 fours and a six, with Duckett walking off to a standing ovation from a sun-drenched crowd at the 'Home of Cricket'.
England started Friday just 20 runs behind, after Stuart Broad had taken 5-51 on Thursday -- the veteran paceman's 20th five-wicket haul in Test cricket.
Duckett resumed on 60 not out, with Pope unbeaten on 29 after the pair had come together at 109-1 following Zak Crawley's exit for 56.
It wasn't long before England overhauled Ireland's total, with Duckett's straight-driven four off Hume taking the hosts into the lead.
Duckett went into the 90s with an extra-cover driven four off Mark Adair and reached his second hundred in 10 Tests with a single through midwicket off debutant Fionn Hand.
Three balls later Pope completed a 64-ball fifty.
An Ireland side in just their seventh Test and still searching for a first win at this level, lacked the pace and guile to consistently trouble two well-set batsmen on a good pitch.
Duckett upped his already quick tempo to complete a run-a-ball 150 and at lunch he was 161 not out, after scoring over 100 runs alone in the morning session, with England 325-1.
Pope was eyeing a century on 97 not out and, after a couple of nervy moments on 99, he completed his fourth hundred in 36 Tests with a single off Andy McBrine.
Duckett then slog-swept off-spinner McBrine for the first six of the match to go to 176 as he surpassed Ireland's total by himself.
The first Ashes Test at Edgbaston starts on June 16 but before then Australia face India in next week's World Test Championship final at the Oval.
M.A. Pereira--JDB
