JOIN USEngland bowl against Ireland in one-Test after protest delays team bus
England captain Ben Stokes won the toss and elected to field in the lone Test against Ireland at Lord's on Thursday.
An overcast morning offered to aid England's three-man pace attack, which included debutant Josh Tongue.
England had taken the unusual decision to name their side on Tuesday, two days before the start, with seamers James Anderson and Ollie Robinson rested ahead of the start of next month's Ashes series.
Ireland, playing just their seventh Test and still searching for a first win at this level, gave a debut to medium-fast bowler Fionn Hand.
"Looks pretty good conditions to bowl in," said Stokes at the toss.
"It's been an exciting time," added the all-rounder, who has overseen 10 wins from 12 Tests since taking charge last year while pioneering an aggressive brand of cricket.
"This is just the start... another part of the journey before the Ashes starts."
Turning to Worcestershire quick Tongue, he said: "It's the first time I've spent time around him. I'm excited to see what he's got to offer."
Ireland captain Andrew Balbirnie said: "It is a bit overcast today, if we can get through the tricky first hour and hopefully have a good day with the bat."
Earlier, England arrived later than planned at Lord's after their team bus was held up by Just Stop Oil protesters.
Jonny Bairstow posted a photo on his Instagram feed, which showed protesters and police officers in front of the bus in the middle of the road.
Bairstow's caption read: "If we're a bit late it's not our fault."
Just Stop Oil also briefly disrupted last weekend's English Premiership rugby final at Twickenham, when two protestors ran onto the pitch midway through the first half and threw orange paint powder onto the field before being removed by stewards.
A similar incident occurred at the Crucible during the World Snooker Championships in April.