Lord's Test, Day 2: NZ bowl England out for 141
Day 1 of the opening Test between England and New Zealand witnessed 17 wickets fall by stumps. It was a spicy wicket on offer at Lord's. New Zealand were left reeling at 8/3 but managed 132 runs on board. From a score of 59/0, the hosts were reduced to 116/7. England have been dismissed for 141 early in the first session today.
Crawley-Lees' opening stand proved crucial for England
Crawley and Alex Lees had a steady partnership. The duo added 59 runs for the opening wicket. Surprisingly, this was the best partnership for any wicket on Day 1. NZ's Tim Southee and Colin de Grandhomme's 41-run stand for the eighth-wicket comes close.
Crawley fights back at Lord's
Batting-wise, Zak Crawley was the only positive in the hosts' line-up on Day 1. The seamers troubled him at the start, but he upped the ante from the eighth-over mark. He punished Southee and Grandhomme and raced to 43 off 56 deliveries, striking seven fours in total. However, he fell short of his sixth Test fifty He now holds 1,130 runs in 22 Tests.
Third-most runs for England in ICC WTC 2021-23
Crawley ranks third among the highest run-getter for England in the ongoing ICC World Test Championship. So far, he has slammed 426 runs in eight Tests at 28.40. He has a hundred and a fifty each. Ben Stokes (431) and Root (1,186) rank above him.
England suffer an inexplicable collapse
Crawley was the first to depart, driving a fuller one off Kyle Jamieson outside off. Jamieson then dismissed Ollie Pope on a back of a length delivery. Next, Grandhomme trumped Joe Root with some extra bounce. Trent Boult got the better of Jonny Bairstow and Matty Potts to wind up Day 1. On Day 2, Southee claimed two more to finish with four wickets.
Kiwi bowlers wreak havoc on Day 1
Experienced pacers in Southee (2/40) and Boult (2/15) proved overpowering for the Englishmen. Jamieson's varying lengths got him a couple of wickets as well. Meanwhile, Grandhomme stunned an in-form Root (11), decimating any hopes of an exhausting inning from his end. As per Cricmetric, Root averages merely 17.00 against the former in Tests, having compiled 34 runs and been dismissed twice.
New Zealand finish the job on Day 2
New Zealand cleaned up England's tail with Southee backing himself with an inswinging delivery to send Stuart Broad (9) en route to the pavilion. A few overs later, he did well once again, dismissing Ben Foakes with an outswinger. Boult then dismissed Matthew Parkinson as England were bowled out for 141, taking a slender lead.
