On a hectic first day of the first Test at Lord’s on Thursday, a typical England batting collapse left the hosts 16 runs behind New Zealand as wickets dropped.
England got off to a great start under captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum by dismissing New Zealand for 132 runs in only two sessions.
But their batting woes continued as they lost seven wickets for 41 runs, slipping to 116 at the close as New Zealand seamers Tim Southee, Trent Boult, and Kyle Jamieson each took two wickets.
England’s openers, Alex Lees and Zak Crawley, put up a strong 59-run stand until Jamieson caught behind Crawley for 43 runs.
In his debut innings at No. 3, Jamieson dismissed Ollie Pope for seven runs. Colin De Grandhomme dismissed Joe Root for 11 runs when Southee superbly collected the former captain’s signature back-foot punch at gully.
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Southee trapped Lees lbw for 25 runs, and Stokes was caught behind for one run off nine balls, with the captain marching off furiously.
Boult was fired. England’s batting fell similarly to their previous series failures in the West Indies and Australia, with Jonny Bairstow (1) and rookie Matthew Potts (0) falling in the same over. Ben Foakes (six) and Stuart Broad (4) will continue the innings on the second day.
Potts and Anderson shine with the ball
Following Kane Williamson’s choice to bat first, England’s excellent bowling and special catches enabled them to knock out New Zealand in two sessions.
Potts, who took 4/13 and two catches for the hosts, and experienced seamer James Anderson, who bagged 4/66 on his return to the side after being axed for the Caribbean tour, were the show’s stars.
Potts claimed his first test victim when he dismissed Williamson for two, while Anderson took two early wickets and two more in the second session.
Broad, who is second on England’s all-time Test wickets list after Anderson, also grabbed a wicket, and Stokes claimed the last one to stop New Zealand’s dismal effort.
De Grandhomme’s unbroken 42 helped New Zealand recover from a 39/6 deficit at lunch, when just two of their top six batters reached double figures, while Southee chipped in with a good 26.
When play was delayed in the 23rd over New Zealand’s innings for 23 seconds of applause, Lord’s paid homage to former Australia leg-spinner Shane Warne.
Warne died in March at the age of 52, wearing the number 23 on his one-day international jersey.
England 1st innings 116/7 in 36 overs (Zak Crawley 43, Alex Lees 25; Kyle Jamieson 2/20, Trent Boult 2/15, Tim South 2/40) versus New Zealand 1st innings 132 in 40 overs (Colin de Grandhomme 42 n.o., Tim Southee 26; Matthew Potts 4/13, James Ander 4/66)