On the first day of the first Test at Lord’s on Thursday, England’s rookie Matthew Potts and the resurrected great James Anderson both grabbed four wickets to eliminate New Zealand for 132.
It was England’s first match under their new leadership partnership of captain Ben Stokes and red-ball coach Brendon McCullum, the former New Zealand captain. Potts took four for 13 in 9.2 overs and Anderson took four for 66 in 16. It was England’s first match under their new leadership team.
After captain Kane Williamson’s choice to bat first, New Zealand was in terrible difficulties at 45 for seven.
But Colin de Grandhomme’s undefeated 42 was the cornerstone of a late-order recovery that also included useful contributions from Tim Southee (26) and Trent Boult (14).
Stokes, who removed the last batter Boult, may not have bowled at all if not for his Durham teammate Potts leaving with left leg cramps.
Jack Leach, a left-arm spinner for England, was forced to leave the field after falling on his head and neck when saving a boundary only thirty minutes into the day’s play.
Leach was subsequently ruled out of the match owing to concussion symptoms, and England called uncapped leg-spinner Matt Parkinson from Lancashire to Manchester as a concussion replacement.
All of New Zealand’s top four batsmen, including star batter Williamson, dropped to single digits, giving the impression that they were a squad that had played just two warm-up games in England before to this three-match series.
– Anderson’s first strikes –
Prior to this match, Anderson and Stuart Broad, England’s two most successful Test bowlers of all time with a combined total of 1,177 wickets, were controversially left out of a 1-0 series defeat in the Caribbean earlier this year.
The 39-year-old Anderson quickly returned to form, dismissing openers Will Young and Tom Latham with the assistance of two slip catches by Jonny Bairstow.
Stokes, a well-known aggressive all-rounder, remained true to his aggressive nature by using five slips and a gully early in the match.
Devon Conway, who scored a double-century on his Test debut at Lord’s last year, was caught by Bairstow off Broad for just three runs on Thursday.
In previous years, England’s batting has been a big issue, but Williamson may have been persuaded to bat given that conditions were set to improve for spinner Ajaz Patel later in the game.
Williamson, who had missed New Zealand’s previous five Tests due to an elbow injury, edged the ball low to wicketkeeper Ben Foakes on Potts’ sixth delivery at this level to claim his first scalp at this level.
With just one victory in their previous 17 Tests, England had already reduced New Zealand to an improbable 12 for 4.
Before Potts reduced them to 36 for six, New Zealand’s innings against England in Auckland in 1955 was the lowest innings ever completed in a Test.
Following the 23rd over, the players lined up on the outfield and the enormous audience stood for a minute of applause in memory of Shane Warne, who wore the number 23 jersey. Warne died in March of a suspected heart attack at the age of 52.
de Grandhomme struck four fours during his 50-ball stint, while Kyle Jamieson and Southee began the innings by hooking Anderson to Potts at long leg.
