England trail New Zealand by 16 runs with 3 wickets remaining
The summer of English cricket is back with a bang! 17 wickets on the 1st day and the bowlers had a ball. We fell short by 12 overs, but the action we got was full of entertainment. The players are leaving the field and the Kiwi players are all smiles. They pulled things back superbly in the last session.
It was turning out to be a day to forget for the touring team once the English openers got off to a steady start. But once they picked up a couple of wickets, we saw them getting their rhythm with the balls.
They went on to reduce England from 92 for 2 to 100 for 7. A familiar collapse for the home team these days as they surrendered the advantage. All the Kiwi bowlers delivered with great aplomb and worked hard on their accuracy.
England has taken command in the 1st Test against New Zealand. Crawley and Alex Lees have withstood the early attack from Trent and Tim in their first innings, bringing up a 50-run stand. However, New Zealand eventually got back in the game as they picked up 4 wickets in quick succession.
Ben Stokes and Brendon have begun a new era for England Test cricket in a commanding fashion. Veteran James Anderson and debutant Potts bagged four wickets each to bowl out New Zealand for 132. Collin De Grandhomme was the top scorer with a 42-run knock of just 50 balls.
Opting to bat at Lord’s, New Zealand were blown away by England’s swing. Within the first 10 overs, World Test champion New Zealand were 4 wickets down for just 12 runs. The credit goes to James Anderson’s fiery first spell as he sent Tom Will Young and Tom Latham back in the first five overs.
Soon, Devon Conway and Kane Williamson were dismissed by Stuart Broad and Potts. From there, New Zealand could not recover. Had it not been for Tim and Colin de Grandhomme’s 41-run stand for the 8th wicket, New Zealand would have been staring at an embarrassing total. However, Grandhomme’s attacking 50-ball 42 runs was not enough as New Zealand were dismissed for 132 runs.
England's worry would be the loss of Jack Leach. The spinner has been ruled out of the 1st Test after showing concussion symptoms.
Earlier, captain Kane Williamson won the toss and opted to bat first in the first Test at Lord’s. The Kiwis will have a full-strength pace attack against a struggling England batting order. For England, Broad & Anderson are back.
As already mentioned, it was a bowlers' day out at Lord's. At the start, James Anderson and Stuart Broad provided England with a perfectly accurate start and picked wickets as well to push the Kiwis on the back foot. The debutant Matthew Potts joined the party as a first change bowler, and he also left a telling impact. Potts and Jimmy combined for eight wickets and restricted New Zealand to a below-par total in the first innings.
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