Black Caps lose first Cricket test to England at Lord’s by five wickets

First test, at Lords: New Zealand 132 and 285 lost to England 141 and 279-5 (J Root 115 not out, B Stokes 54, B Foakes 32 not out; K Jamieson 4-79).

The Black Caps now need to win the remaining two tests to Capture their series against England after having high hopes of starting with a Victory dashed.

The hosts took a 1-0 lead in the three-test series courtesy of a five-wicket Victory at Lords on Sunday night (NZ time).

Resuming at 216-5, England reached their target of 277 in the second innings in just over an hour as Joe Root scored the first second-innings century of his storied test career.

Root, removed from the captaincy after losing away series against Australia and the West Indies, went past 10,000 test runs in his career when bringing up his ton and finished 115 not out while wicketkeeper-batter Ben Foakes was unbeaten on 32 as they combined for an Unbroken sixth-wicket partnership worth 120.

READ MORE:
* Recap: Black Caps vs England – first test at Lord’s, day four
* Daryl Mitchell fancies Black Caps’ chances of first test Victory over England
* Colin de Grandhomme out of the Lord’s test after Horror day for Black Caps against England

Today we came here with high hopes and thought there might be some assistance from the overheads [weather conditions] but it wasn’t to be, NZ Captain Kane Williamson told Sky Sport UK soon after the completion of the test.

The visitors were desperate for an early breakthrough to get at England’s weak tail-order, but their swing and seam bowlers were unable to get any assistance from the old ball on a Gloomy morning in London and spinner Ajaz Patel wasnt called upon by Williamson.

New Zealand were in big trouble from the outset, slumping to 12-4 in their first innings on the first hour of the opening day but bounced back with the ball, and when Daryl Mitchell and Tom Blundell put on 195 for the fifth wicket in the visitors second innings, they looked on track to establish a winning position.

But NZ lost their last six wickets for only 34 runs, to leave England a reasonable target when batting conditions were good.

Kyle Jamieson again had the Black Caps on target for Victory with three early wickets but England got a massive reprieve when new Skipper Ben Stokes was bowled off a no-ball from Colin de Grandhomme. He added another 53 runs before Root took over to guide the hosts home.

The game ebbed and flowed the whole time, Williamson said.

We saw how difficult it was when the ball was hard and then how much it changed. It was a Fantastic game of Cricket which took an incredible innings from an amazing player to get them across the line full credit to England.

It’s about moving on quickly and taking the learnings. There’s always plenty to take forward.

The win was just the second in 18 tests for England and provided the new Coach Brendon McCullum, the former Black Caps Skipper, with the perfect start to his new job.

The second test starts at Trent Bridge in Nottingham on Friday night (NZ time).

The big moment

For about 10 seconds, New Zealand were thinking happily about Looming Victory as Stokes walked off on day three after an ugly shot brought about his dismissal.

But de Grandhomme overstepping the mark meant Stokes wasnt out, and while his next 53 runs were a wild ride, they got England back in contention and by the time he Departed for good, Root was ensconced, with the ball and wicket rarely troubling.

Best with the bat

Root was scratching around early in his second innings, like all top-order bats had done over the first thee days.

But with Jonny Bairstow, to a small extent, and then Stokes taking a bold approach to the run Chase, the deposed Skipper was able to work his way into the innings. Once in, the 31-year-old was able to guide England calmly home, bringing up two milestones a test century and 10,000 test runs at the same moment.

Best with the ball

Debutant Matthew Potts proved Tricky for NZ to handle, taking 7-68 in the match, and few NZ batters spent long enough in the middle against him to feel confident enough that they’ve worked him out ahead of the second test.

Kyle Jamieson (6-99) bounced back from some mixed showings in the home summer and displayed that his decision not to seek a spot in the IPL seems hugely beneficial.

The big picture

New Zealands defense of their World Test Championship title is over.

It might not be mathematically, but a fourth test defeat in six games will be too much of a handicap to overcome, even if they snatch this series with wins in Nottingham and Leeds.