England v New Zealand Day 1: 16 Wickets Fall as Robinson Fires England Back After 140 All Out
TEST MATCH

England v New Zealand Day 1: 16 Wickets Fall as Robinson Fires England Back After 140 All Out

·7 min read·William Powell·FWA Life Member
William Powell
William PowellFWA Life Member • NUJ & SJA Accredited • Sports Journalist since 1987
FWA Life Member

The Story of the Match

WICKETS tumbled at Lord's on the opening day of the 150th Test Match to be staged on the ground as England fought back strongly thanks to Ollie Robinson with a triple wicket maiden (4 for 10) after England had been dismissed for 140. In total 16 wickets fell in 59 overs for 201 runs on the day as New Zealand ended the day on 61 for 6 at the close of play.

England had made a disastrous start to the home Test summer at Lord's against New Zealand on the first day of the three-Test Rothesay Series as Ben Stokes' side went from 31 for 1 with Ben Duckett and Jacob Bethell settled to 34 for 4 in the space of 19 balls, with Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethell and Joe Root all back in the pavilion. Other than Harry Brook with 56 it was New Zealand who controlled the first day, knocking England over for 140 all out in 39.4 overs. Kyle Jamieson bagged 5 for 62, Nathan Smith 3 for 38 and Will O'Rourke 2 for 25. It was Kyle Jamieson's sixth five-wicket haul in Tests.

Earlier in a rain-affected day, New Zealand's bowling attack carried out the damage of England's innings in style with Kyle Jamieson, Nathan Smith and Will O'Rourke causing havoc. Matt Henry only lasted 4 overs before he was taken out of the attack due to injury.

England opener Emilio Gay and Ben Duckett opened for England in the 1st Test Match in bright June sunshine at Lord's in the 150th Test Match to have been played on the hallowed turf of the famous old cricket ground in London NW8. Emilio Gay was presented ahead of the game by Sir Alastair Cook - a fellow former Bedford School student - with his England cap. Sadly, Gay was out cheaply on debut when the total had reached 16 for 1 from 5.3 overs, edging Kyle Jamieson to Daryl Mitchell at first slip for 8 from just 14 balls. It was a particularly good delivery from Jamieson.

England reached 24 for 1 after 10 overs when the first rain of the day came with Duckett 12 and Bethell 4. Kyle Jamieson was 5-0-16-1 at the time. Bethell, who scored 154 in his last Test innings in Sydney, was a shadow of that knock today as he was undone cheaply. England lost Ben Duckett lbw to Nathan Smith for 19 from 37 balls when the total was 31 for 2 after 11.3 overs. The exciting Jacob Bethell, playing his first first-class match at Lord's, was next to be dismissed lbw to Will O'Rourke for 6 from 22 balls when the total had only increased by 2 runs more to 33 for 3 after 12.4 overs.

England's greatest batsman at Test level, Joe Root, was caught behind by Tom Blundell off the excellent Will O'Rourke who was bowling from the Pavilion End, Root feathering a fine edge through to the wicketkeeper for only 1 from 8 balls when the total was 34 for 4 after 14.4 overs. New Zealand bowlers made the best of the conditions - the dull and rainy weather in NW8 was like that of home for their pace attack. Jamie Smith left a delivery from Jamieson and his off stump was uprooted for 1 from 7 balls when the total was 55 for 5.

Harry Brook played fluently after the fall of wickets and struck Jamieson for several hefty blows as he and captain Ben Stokes took the total to 94 for 6 before the England captain was extremely well caught in the slips by Kane Williamson with a wonderful one-handed catch off Kyle Jamieson for 12 from 23 balls. Jamieson at the time was 3 for 43. Harry Brook achieved his half-century from 64 balls with nine fours off the bowling of Jamieson in the 31st over. Gus Atkinson was lbw to Kyle Jamieson for 4 from 11 balls when England had reached 108 for 7. England's innings continued to disappoint as Harry Brook was caught at fine leg in front of the Warner Stand by Kyle Jamieson off Nathan Smith for 56 runs from 71 balls with ten boundary fours when the total had reached 113 for 8. Brook had been dropped earlier in his innings on 8 by Devon Conway at point and on 46 by Rachin Ravindra at deep midwicket.

Josh Tongue was then joined by Ollie Robinson, and the pair took the total to 111 for 8 from 33 overs at the tea interval with Tongue on 4 and Robinson on 1. At tea Jamieson was 4 for 50, O'Rourke 2 for 19 and Smith 2 for 36. When play resumed after tea England only added 7 runs before Ollie Robinson was caught behind by Tom Blundell off Kyle Jamieson (who had then bagged five wickets) for 1 from 5 balls when the total was 118 for 9 after 33.3 overs. Shoaib Bashir was the last batter out for 14 from 19 balls with a single boundary four when the total was 140 all out in 39.4 overs. Josh Tongue was on 10 when the last wicket fell. It was England's lowest total in a Test innings against New Zealand at Lord's.

New Zealand commenced their 1st innings just after 5.30 pm with 33 overs to be bowled. New Zealand lost their first wicket at 2 when Devon Conway was lbw to Ollie Robinson on his return to Test cricket for 1 after a DRS review. Kane Williamson followed two balls later for a duck after he was caught at short square leg by Emilio Gay off Ollie Robinson. Then Rachin Ravindra went first ball lbw to Robinson for 0 as New Zealand slumped to 2 for 3 after just 12 balls. Ollie Robinson was on fire bowling from the Nursery End with a triple wicket maiden on his return to Test cricket.

Three further wickets fell before the close. Captain Tom Latham was lbw to Gus Atkinson for 3 when the New Zealand total was 12 for 4 after 6.4 overs. Daryl Mitchell was bowled by Ollie Robinson for 12 from 23 balls when the New Zealand total was 20 for 5 after 10 overs, and Tom Blundell was bowled by Josh Tongue for 4 when the total was 29 for 6. New Zealand's lowest innings total at Lord's was 47 in 1958 and at 29 for 6 things looked bad. However, Glenn Phillips 31 not out and Nathan Smith 6 not out steadied the innings as the tourists ended the opening day on 61 for 6 after 19.2 overs when the players left the field just after 7.20 pm due to bad light.

Ollie Robinson ended the day with 4 for 10 from his six overs with three maidens. Atkinson had taken 1 for 8 and Tongue 1 for 22. Rod Tucker, the Tasmanian umpire, officiated in his 100th Test Match in the 150th Lord's Test. It was a riveting opening day at Lord's for bowlers but not for the batters. New Zealand ended on 61 for 6 from 19.2 overs, trailing England on first innings by 79 runs.

Author's Standout Players

  • Kyle Jamieson (New Zealand) - Delivered his sixth five-wicket haul in Test cricket with 5 for 62, tormenting England's top order with swing and extra bounce to reduce the hosts to 140 all out and set the platform for New Zealand's first innings reply
  • Ollie Robinson (England) - The pick of the England bowlers on his return to Test cricket, producing a magnificent triple wicket maiden to remove Conway, Williamson and Ravindra in consecutive balls and leaving New Zealand reeling at 2 for 3, ending the day with remarkable figures of 4 for 10
  • Harry Brook (England) - The one England batsman to show real application on a difficult surface, top-scoring with 56 from 71 balls after being dropped twice, providing the only resistance against a rampant New Zealand attack
EnglandNew ZealandTest MatchLord'sRothesay SeriesMatch Report
William Powell

William Powell

FWA Life Member · Sports Journalist since 1987

William Powell has covered football and cricket at the highest level for nearly four decades. A Life Member of the Football Writers' Association, his writing combines deep tactical knowledge with the narrative flair of the best sports journalism.