England v New Zealand, First Test Lord's

First topic message reminder :

So after all the drama and acrimony of the last couple of weeks, its time for the action to begin on the field. The first test of the English summer gets underway at the HQ from tomorrow. An upcoming New Zealand against an embattled England. But England are on home turf, New Zealand don't have a good record in England, most of their recent success has come at home, the core of their test side are just coming on the back of T-20 cricket at the IPL rather than much getting used to English conditions.
England on the other hand are without a coach and questions on Kevin Pietersen are going away nowhere. There are unsettled issues about the combination of the side, with the position of one of the openers, the 3rd seamer and the spinner being open questions.
Adam Lyth is likely to make his debut for England tomorrow, and there is a chance that Mark Wood might come in for Chris Jordan.
For New Zealand, it is being suggested that Matt Henry might get to debut and offer backup to Tim Southee and Trent Boult. Martin Guptill, on the back of a spectacular world cup and 150 in the warmup game is set to come back as test opener, and Corey Anderson, coming back from injury, is set to take the all-rounder position.
Set for some very interesting cricket.......

How long for Stokes to catch Cook?

Stokes on course for the fastest Test century ever at Lords.

Suck it up KP.

Ben Stokes hits the fastest Test century ever seen at Lords.

Fastest Test hundred ever at Lord's

Well done Ben

Absolutely marvellous.

That is a pretty special century.

Wonderful innings. Well done Ben Stokes.

Stokes 100 comes up in 85 balls beating the old record by two deliveries.

What an innings !

Now he's got the hundred I guess he can relax and really have a go

I think it's time to really unleash hell.

Stokes should bat 6 in tests and 3 in limited over cricket. And we should back him even when he doesn't come off like this.

Hey Duty...that 300 lead you were predicting by the close is starting to look rather likely now : another forty minutes of Stokes and it might be a bit conservative !

I think there was general agreement on day one that this was a match in which Ben Stokes needed to show something ...I think he has

What a talent this kid is...

Oh Ben.

Lord Gower on commentary again when an England wicket falls! Grrr.

Oh bother .

Perhaps all our praise got too much for him... But he has really changed this match : where to exactly we shall see later.

I am going to have to get some sleep ; but I'm glad I stayed up for that ! Absolutely brilliant innings

Stokes out for 101 but it keeps the match ticking along. England lead by 231 and have 5 wickets left standing. Unthinkable though it was last night but England's minds will start turning to a declaration figure.

CaledonianCraig wrote:Stokes out for 101 but it keeps the match ticking along. England lead by 231 and have 5 wickets left standing. Unthinkable though it was last night but England's minds will start turning to a declaration figure.

389 ...523...367/5...

Any declaration is not going to be too generous on this pitch.

alfie wrote:

CaledonianCraig wrote:Stokes out for 101 but it keeps the match ticking along. England lead by 231 and have 5 wickets left standing. Unthinkable though it was last night but England's minds will start turning to a declaration figure.

389 ...523...367/5...

Any declaration is not going to be too generous on this pitch.

Yes I'd say they'd bat until they have a lead of around 400 say an hour into play tomorrow. All results still possible but whereas this morning New Zealand were warm favourites that temperature is cooling and the draw now edging into favouritism. Unless this pitch starts misbehaving badly of course then you may make England slight favourites.

I think if the lead hit 350 then England could declare.

If!

Duty281 wrote:I think if the lead hit 350 then England could declare.

If!

I'd agree with this - if we're trying to get the result I think we need to dangle the carrot to try bring New Zealand out to attack - 400+ means they won't

Olly wrote:

Duty281 wrote:I think if the lead hit 350 then England could declare.

If!

I'd agree with this - if we're trying to get the result I think we need to dangle the carrot to try bring New Zealand out to attack - 400+ means they won't

Of course. The 400 I posted up is where I think the overly-conservative nature of Cook will want 400.

Buttler setting off at a fair lick as well (14 from 14). Surely not after Stokes record?

Buttler caught behind for 14. England 389 for 6 and with a lead of 255. Game progressing along very nicely.

CaledonianCraig wrote:For England to make a real match of this then I believe they have to be looking to this sort of route map. Get to lunch no worse than 160 for 4, at tea for 270 for 6 and around close if they have been bowled out for say 375+ then they have a fighting chance.

New Zealand will settle for getting four wickets in the morning (three minimum), another three or four in the afternoon and bowling England out in the final session for around 250 leaving them with only around 120 to chase down which should prove fairly straight forward.

Well England have followed my route map very closely indeed today and even excelled it. I think England should at least want a lead of 300 from here.

Probably too early to be considering what target to set.

New Zealand have plenty of firepower on a fairly benign track so would suspect they'll bat long

Excellent knock this from Cook

Suspect England would bat through to lunch tomorrow and be 400 clear if they can.

Good stuff from England today - but it is tough to see this being anything other than a draw

Olly wrote:Good stuff from England today - but it is tough to see this being anything other than a draw

Well considering how bleak things looked yesterday at tea then that will almost feel like a win.

Fantastic comeback by Cook, Root and Stokes to pull England out of the mire. Congrats to all of them!

Would be nice if Cook declared with a lead of 350 or a bit less, to give NZ some incentive to chase the win.

However I expect Cook to go for a lead of 400 and basically leave NZ with no option but to bat for a draw.

Would be rather a shame after the fireworks and excitement of today.

One would suspect Cook won't give New Zealand a sniff.

Wouldn't blame him either. Take it to the 2nd test at 0-0.

If you think about things though this has shown this England side in a new light I'd say.

Has a summer of Test cricket in England ever started in such turmoil for an England side? Moores sacked, no replacement in place, selection issues and the KP story getting ridiculously out of hand. A chaotic way to start the summer to say the least. Straight into a series against New Zealand who are one of the best Test sides in the world at the moment and when England were reduced to 30 for 4 on the first morning the outlook was distinctly gloomy. However, the England side in various areas have shown a steely side and dug in and have got themselves to where they are now - in a position of strength where they hold all the cards and a defeat looks unlikely now. Much to lift spirits in the England dressing room with Cook back in form, Root still in rich form, Stokes explosive form, Wood holding his own on his debut and a gritty team display. Better than I'd say some were expecting a day or two ago.

kingraf wrote:

guildfordbat wrote:Btw, Raf, I meant to ask earlier - what is Harlem Shake? I don't remember the term being used by Arlott or Brearley in their works.

Harlem Shake is a group mob dance, Guildford. But, short hand, means things are about to get messy. Need to watch a Harlem Shake video

Thanks, Raf. I'll get down with the young people to watch a Harlem Shake video as soon as I've creosoted the fence.

Glorious day for England.

As we could see yesterday, England established a solid platform for themselves after New Zealand failed to ascertain the massive lead that they would have desired. Today, England batted beautifully, and inflicted grievous damage upon the tourists' hopes of winning. As a matter-of-fact, the tourists' hopes of victory have been eradicated.

As I said after day two, provided England remain mentally serene, the draw is nailed-on. And so it has proved. Yes, England might have a stab at victory, but it's an outside one (a 14/1 shot, some may say!), and probably dependent on a batting collapse.

Well played to the skipper - class is permanent (sorry knee-jerkers).
Root was consummate class, but Stokes is the master of the day.

Stokes will rightfully get a lot of plaudits for his innings today but Cooks 150 has been a magnificent innings, aside from a couple of close LBW's he's been flawless and hasn't given NZ a sniff. When he's on top form the rest of the side can build around him, upping the tempo when required in the knowledge that one end is secure so to speak, he still is England's most important batsmen.

Evening all,

Finally sat down to watch a bit of cricket today.

I hadn't watched much of the match so far, but chatting to a couple of people last night and I thought there was a bit too much negativity from the England fans in general. I made the point that Cook had looked good, and the in-form middle-order (including the incredibly in-form Root) were all still to come; a good day's batting from England and they would be right back in it.

That's not an attempt to be smug or anything, just that I don't think in general England got enough credit for a decent day's work on day 3.

At the risk of repeating myself, England are still rebuilding and some more patience is necessary. It has so far been a decent effort from them in this test. Not great, but decent. A lot of the team is really beginning to take shape.

Starting with Ben Stokes. It is still very early in his career and we must be careful not to draw conclusions based on one game, but today's knock was a little bit special I thought. Clean striking allied to (when necessary) good solid technique in defence, and all the confidence in the world. I said at the start of the series that it is a big summer for him, and so far he has laid down a marker. A long way to go yet, but England could do a lot worse than invest in him as their all-rounder.

I'm a bit concerned about his bowling in the way it leaks runs. I know a few people have said he was unlucky (I saw 2 drops, neither particularly hard to be honest) but I worry that this is not the first time we've said "yeah but he bowled better than his figures" - the odd time is fine but it's not something you want to be doing consistently. Having said that as a 4th seamer bowling short aggressive bursts he is probably OK, which means probably you want either your spinner or one of the other 3 seamers to be a bit more containing.

Which currently may be a bit of a problem for England. Really only Anderson of that 5-man attack is someone you think can be containing, and he's a bit good for that.

I liked a lot about Wood - definitely a bit of Simon Jones there. I saw his first spell leading up to the "wicket" off the no-ball and to be honest the England management bear a bit of responsibility there - having seen him being "close" on a number of occasions a message should have been passed across. Having said that, I don't buy the argument that it is "easy" not to bowl no-balls - I think it shows a fundamental lack of understanding of the psychology of straining that extra bit, and for someone with an explosive rather than smooth action (the argument is that Anderson never bowls no-balls, but with his action it is a lot easier not to) it is perfectly understandable. Oh and avoiding no-balls is not as easy as just "moving your mark back a few inches" - that's not how bowling run-ups work and frankly it is a bit annoying listening to people who ought to know better suggest it is.

I am starting to like the balance of this England side: Stokes at 6, Buttler 7 and Moeen 8 already feels a lot more natural, whilst Root at 5 is really flourishing. The only remaining questions are over the 3rd seamer slot (Wood probably to get a run, although with his action I feel he will be quite injury prone) and of course the 2nd opener. Bell could also do with runs quite soon, and Ballance will be keen to show that this game was just a blip.

Cook has shown the utter lunacy of people suggesting his place was in danger before the start of the West Indies tour. He has really been brilliant today. The commentators made the point of him leaving the ball a lot better and linked this to him not playing ODIs and they probably have a fair point. Stokes has been getting a lot of plaudits (rightly so) but Cook has really been the backbone of this innings.

So yeah, the structure of the team is beginning to take place. Patience will be required, and the odd setback (such as the last test in the West Indies) is to be expected and tolerated.

I do think New-Zealand are suffering from a lack of 5th bowler, especially as England have done a good job on Craig. Anderson was clearly a gamble, and they may look to play an extra bowler (they also miss a workhorse, so Wagner or Bracewell could be in) in the next game.

A couple of thoughts also on McCulum:
- I wonder at times whether he is trying too hard to be ultra-aggressive (both with the bat and in the field as captain). I worry that he feels he has to live up to his image, and at times goes against his better judgement. I thought his innings was overly frenetic, it comes off sometimes and sometimes it is the right ploy, but he seemed to be forcing things rather than just playing naturally. Similarly in the field from time to time I think he can afford to take a bit of a step back.
- having said that his angles in the field are superb. I lost track of the number of times a subtly different placed mid-off or fine-leg saved runs. It's worth watching how he sets his field to various batsmen. Not sure how much of this is McCullum and how much backroom staff, but it really is superb.

As for this match I think a draw is now favourite unless New-Zealand can somehow wrap up the England innings within say an hour tomorrow. I can't see England setting much of a target, and whilst I expect they will be strongly criticised by various people sitting at home in their armchairs, I won't blame them. First test in the series and a match where they've been well behind from day 2 - a draw would be a good result. And as per usual, it is very very easy to make bold attacking declarations sitting at home; it is much harder doing it when what you're doing actually matters and you'll be held responsible.

Agree with Mike's last paragraph - England will either bat on until out or set something like 375-400 in 60-65 overs. It's still a belter of a batting track, and the first of a two test series so you'd rather have a solid draw rather than lose pushing too hard for a win. For a match where we've been one bad hour away from defeat from pretty much half an hour into day 1, a draw with an outside chance of a victory would be a very creditable performance. After being 30-4 and then NZ being 400-3, England have really fought very hard to avoid defeat.

Can't see an England win unless one of the bowlers produces some real magic (I'm thinking like Broad in the last Ashes win, or Jimmy in the second test in the Windies), while NZ are still in with a sniff if they can bundle us out for less than 50 tomorrow - the explosive batting of the likes of Guptil and McCullum could make any target look gettable. Hopefully Cook and Moeen can get going again tomorrow morning and put the game out of reach.

I was at Lords today, and it really was an exceptional day's play.    

A superb innings by Stokes - I  was sitting on the leg side when Southee had three boundary men posted for Stokes at long leg, deep square and deep midwicket and he took them all on. Fantastic entertainment for the crowd.

A wonderful performance by Cook, showing incredibly sustained concentration; he really did look assured and back to his best.  

Root played another fine knock, giving the innings momentum. He had a fair bit of playing and missing on the way.

As someone mentioned above, Craig looked quite an ordinary/average bowler.

Batting conditions were indeed tough first thing, but I agree the suggestion that McCullum was a bit too attacking at times. He maintained a very attacking field for a considerable while after Cook and Root had settled and were scoring freely.  

Plaudits to the umpires for keeping play going through some quite prolonged light drizzle when it would have been very easy to have taken the players off.

Hi Corporal - glad you had such a good day. Must almost rival your visits to Woodbridge Road, Guildford.

Pleased you give a good word to the umpires for keeping play going. You'll recall it didn't used to be like that. Dickie Bird has somehow reinvented himself as a sort of national treasure but he was a thorough going pain in the a*se back in the day when he wore a white coat. Regularly halting play in the mistaken belief that the top players needed top conditions and go hang the watching public.

I think England can take a heck of a lot of heart from this test (perhaps more than they took from the whole of the Windies Tour). New Zealand are an excellent side and I'd say are pretty close to Australia's standards so England are holding up well against them. It impresses me even more if you consider the absolute turmoil there is behind the scenes at the moment. I'd say those crisis have pulled the team together even more so there is more unity and increased spirit. Root being made vice-captain is a good move and the tweaking of the batting order has worked as has giving Wood his chance.

Four days into this summer and England will have more heart and hope now for the Ashes.

In other news, it seems Trevor Bayliss has been offered the job ahead of Gillespie

CaledonianCraig wrote:I think England can take a heck of a lot of heart from this test (perhaps more than they took from the whole of the Windies Tour). New Zealand are an excellent side and I'd say are pretty close to Australia's standards so England are holding up well against them. It impresses me even more if you consider the absolute turmoil there is behind the scenes at the moment. I'd say those crisis have pulled the team together even more so there is more unity and increased spirit. Root being made vice-captain is a good move and the tweaking of the batting order has worked as has giving Wood his chance.

Four days into this summer and England will have more heart and hope now for the Ashes.

I dunno...I'd still say the Aussies are a cut above NZ, even allowing for the Kiwis' current impressive form.

Still I would agree that the struggle and strife England have endured so far will at least give them a taste of what to expect in the Ashes and should serve as pretty good preparation. The response of guys like Cook, Stokes and Wood and the continuing good form of Root is encouraging.

#StrengthThroughAdversity

Mike Selig wrote:
...

As for this match I think a draw is now favourite unless New-Zealand can somehow wrap up the England innings within say an hour tomorrow. I can't see England setting much of a target, and whilst I expect they will be strongly criticised by various people sitting at home in their armchairs, I won't blame them. First test in the series and a match where they've been well behind from day 2 - a draw would be a good result. And as per usual, it is very very easy to make bold attacking declarations sitting at home; it is much harder doing it when what you're doing actually matters and you'll be held responsible.

Mike - agree with the current match situation and England's likely approach. Would people in armchairs really be so stupid as to strongly criticise? I hope not but I guess some would.

IF (big ''if'' again) New Zealand can finish England off early, we could be in for another fun day ....

Route map for today - England declare with a lead of 350 at Noon. For them to be in with a chance you'd think they'd need a minimum of two wickets before lunch, a minimum of three wickets in the afternoon and the rest in the final session. I can't see it myself and think it is now a nailed on draw.

Cook finally departs, caught behind on 162 - but what an innings!

You have to think the England innings will be wrapped up fairly quickly now, so a declaration may not come into it.

Take a bow Cook that was a superb innings just when the team needed it, that's the one thing the Aussies won't like seeing.

Fantastic knock by Cook.

David Llyod already starting with the "why are England still batting?" question. With the required rate at under 4 per over on a pitch on which the lowest score has been 389 and which hasn't really shown much signs of deteriorating, against a side including Guptil and McCullum.

Warne "it's a win-win situation [for Cook]" well except if you lose of course.

I think people have to be realistic and differentiate between what they hoped for and what is the right approach.

Having said that Broad now gone so talks of declarations are probably going to be a bit moot.

Mike - yes, and some of us are old enough to remember what Gordon Greenidge and someone else once did on a day 5.

Think that should have been the declaration there. 344 in 77 is a big enough challenge for me.