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England and Ireland are set to meet in an exciting one-off Test match at Lord’s, with Thursday providing the first day of action.

Since obtaining Test status in 2017, Ireland have struggled and lost all six of their international tests. England, meanwhile, are still riding high from the introduction of 'Bazball' last year and the injection of optimism that gung-ho form of the game has given them.

The only Test meeting between the two nations was also at Lord's, back in 2019. That was a chaotic match, in which England opened the batting and collapsed in extraordinary fashion, ending up all out for 85. Ireland's second innings then saw them collapse too, in an even worse manner. They were all out for 38, losing to the hosts by 143 runs.

Yet Ireland face a very different England now, who are building up to the Ashes this summer; there is once more renewed belief around England and that makes it very difficult to see Ireland standing any semblance of a chance in London. They are long, long shots at 22/1 compared to 1/7 England.

Score and handicap betting will be the way to go, then, if there is to be value from the Test's result. England to win by an innings should be good odds and should be considered- they lost both of their recent Tests in Sri Lanka by such a deficit.

England's Joe Root as top batter is hard to look past - he's greatly benefited both from losing the captaincy and the new big-hitting style of play. He hit 248 in the second Test against New Zealand and is also good odds for Man of the Match against Ireland as well at around 7/1.

Harry Brook – 8/1 for MoM – is the other main candidate for leading batsmen. He is in similarly good form, hitting 186 in the second innings of that New Zealand Test and was leading batsman for his nation across both innings of the first Test and the second innings against Pakistan before that.

Backing one (or both) of Root and Brook to go over 200 would be wise too- the odds will offer value, and Ireland let Sri Lanka's Nishan Madushka and Kusal Mendis do so in the second Test.

Bowling wise, back Stuart Broad - he went 4-61 in the second innings of the second Test in New Zealand, but crucially had a good return the last time he played on Lord's for England in a Test, going 3-71 against South Africa. The alternative would be the in-form Jack Leach who took eight wickets across both innings in the New Zealand second Test.