England to play four-day Ireland Test before 2019 Ashes series
Last updated on .From the section Cricket
England will play their first ever Test match against Ireland in July 2019, before the start of the Ashes series.
They begin the summer on 5 May with a Twenty20 international against Pakistan, followed by a five-match one-day international series, and then the World Cup starting on 30 May.
England face Ireland at Lord's in a four-day match from 24-27 July - their first Test of fewer than five days since the tour of New Zealand in 1971.
The Ashes series starts on 1 August.
Because of the World Cup, two Tests against Australia, at Old Trafford and the Oval, will be played in September. England will be seeking to regain the Ashes after they lost 4-0 down under this winter.
The series will also mark the start of the inaugural World Test Championship.
Ireland were awarded Test status in June 2017 and lost their inaugural match to Pakistan in May.
Summer 2019 full schedule
Pakistan
May
5: T20 international, Cardiff
8: First ODI, Oval
11: Second ODI, Southampton
14: Third ODI, Bristol
17: Fourth ODI, Trent Bridge (day/night)
19: Fifth ODI, Headingley
World Cup: 30 May - 14 July
Ireland
24-27 July, Four-day Test, Lord's
Australia
August
1-5: First Test, Edgbaston
14-18: Second Test, Lord's
22-26: Third Test, Headingley
September
4-8: Fourth Test, Old Trafford
12-16: Fifth Test, The Oval
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Cant see England winning the ashes pumped into 2 months at the a*** end of the summer.
ECB not fit for purpose.
They're doing everything they can to ruin County Cricket and Test Cricket.
Play 5 TESTS each summer, in JULY and AUGUST and televise on terrestrial TV!
Any ODI / white ball nonsense : play in May.
A decent game against decent opposition not loins games a real test
At last the ECB have looked at the schedules & recognised that the test team need to have adequate preparation
i hope that the ECB prices the tickets to allow it to be a sell out for all days
Plenty of test matches finish inside 4 days but scheduling a 4 day test match just devalues the brand
Plus we're just supposed to shrug shoulders if it rains on day 1 etc ?
Lord's was packed for the ODI with a great atmosphere