A much-improved bowling performance saw the hosts dismiss New Zealand for a first-innings total of 378 before opening batsman Rory Burns and skipper Joe Root showed exemplary resilience to continue England’s fightback in the first Test at Lord’s this Thursday.
New Zealand’s heroic debutant Devon Conway was left on his own at an end as England ran through most of the visiting batting unit before lunch and finished off their stay near tea. While Conway batted just as commendably as he had done on Day 1 and joined a rare list of batsmen with a double hundred (200) on Test debut, the other Kiwi batsmen failed to prosper on the same surface.
New Zealand suffered a middle-order collapse when they were expected to take the game away from England, with the likes of Ollie Robinson (4/75), Mark Wood (3/81) and James Anderson (2/83) reaping the rewards for their disciplined spells.
Robinson and Wood were especially brilliant through their spells on Thursday morning, displaying excellent control and consistency besides shrewd variations with the ball. The duo justifiably ended with seven wickets between them, having played significant roles in ensuring New Zealand remain within England’s reach. Debutant Robinson got the wickets of Tom Latham, Ross Taylor, Colin de Grandhomme and Kyle Jamieson, while Wood dismissed Henry Nicholls, BJ Watling and Mitchell Santner.
As has been the case with England for a while, the three lions once again found themselves precariously placed at the start of their innings. They lost Dom Sibley (0) and Zak Crawley (2) in very quick succession with the new ball to Kyle Jamieson (1/29) and Tim Southee (1/17), respectively.
However, just when the Kiwis threatened to make further inroads, captain Root joined opener Burns for a defiant third-wicket stand which took the game back to the opposition. The experienced duo absorbed a lot of pressure and ensured England safely go through to the stumps. While Burns faced 134 deliveries for his 59 not out, Root was on 42 not out from 112 balls when the play was called off.
Jamieson and Southee couldn’t break through the Root-Burns stand and though De Grandhomme (0/12) kept things under control, Neil Wagner (0/36) didn’t look as incisive on a track playing a touch too slow but also a touch too true in terms of bounce at this stage. New Zealand will hope, if not more pace off a length, they find more uneven bounce from this Lord’s track to go with the early morning swing for their bowlers on Day 3.
The Kiwis will be a touch disappointed with their batting performance as Henry Nicholls’ 61 proved to be the second-highest individual score of the innings after Conway’s 200. They would’ve wanted the likes of Watling, De Grandhomme and their lower-order batsmen to contribute more with the bat on a surface where they should’ve posted a score in excess of 450-500.
No.11 Wagner (25) looked the most in-form Kiwi batsmen other than Conway and Nicholls and produced another valiant hand with the bat, including a couple of amazing strokes of the front and the backfoot. But just when he and Conway looked like taking New Zealand past 400, the latter got run-out at the other end.
England will take a lot of confidence from their comeback and feel inspired by the displays from Root and Burns so far as they look to make hay while the sun shines and bat for as long as they possibly can in the first half of the Test match.
Brief scores:
New Zealand 111/2 in 43 overs (Rory Burns 59*, Joe Root 42*; Tim Southee 1/17) trail England 378/10 in 122.4 overs (Devon Conway 200, Henry Nicholls 61; Ollie Robinson 4/75) by 267 runs
