"It'll be exciting to see it first hand and also find ways to combat it" - Andrew Balbirnie on Bazball

Ireland captain Andrew Balbirnie has expressed his thoughts on England's aggressive style of red-ball cricket ahead of the one-off Test between the two teams.

Much has been said about England's giant strides in Test cricket since the combined leadership of captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum, who took charge in June last year.

England have registered 10 wins in 12 Tests under their new attacking brand of cricket termed 'Bazball', where the emphasis is to score runs in a rapid manner and bat fearlessly.

England have chased 300-plus targets in the fourth innings nonchalantly on numerous instances. During the Rawalpindi Test of the Pakistan tour in 2022, they racked up 506/4 in 75 overs at a run rate of 6.75. They set the record highest runs on day one of a Test match.

Regarding facing the stiff challenge posed by England in the forthcoming one-off Test at Lord's, Balbirnie said:

"The brand of cricket they've started playing in the last 12 months, you can't take your eyes off it. It'll be exciting to see it first hand and also find ways to combat it and keep up with it. We know it's going to be really difficult."

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"You don't get too many chances to play Test matches at Lord's" - Andrew Balbirnie

Andrew Balbirnie is one of five players from the current Ireland squad that played their first Test against England at Lord's in 2019. Four years later, both sides will compete for another enthralling Test at the Home of Cricket.

Speaking of playing his second Test at Lord's and the opportunity for youngsters to express themselves, Balbirnie said:

"There is a lot of excitement as a number of players in the group haven't played here before so to see the buzz in the dressing room is pretty special."

He added:

"It's a big week for us as a team and an organisation. You don't get too many chances to play Test matches at Lord's. I was fortunate to be here for the last one and obviously we will take it in and soak it up, but at the same time we're here to do a job and compete with one of the best Test sides in the world."

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Ireland have played six Tests so far and have lost all of them, including a 0-2 defeat against Sri Lanka in April this year.