The first Test of the summer is complete and England are back to winning ways as they try move on from their Ashes hammering.
A rain-affected game on a Lord’s pitch that came in for heavy criticism makes it hard to know whether this is a new, refined and more mature Bazball but victory is a timely boost at the start of an important summer for the Stokes-McCullum regime.
How did the players do individually? Well, while the bowlers had a fine time, the batters can take a crumb of comfort from the fact that if we were rating the surface, it would have scored even lower than the majority of them…
England
Ben Duckett – 5
Starts in both innings and while he got a good ball in the first innings, will have been frustrated to fall playing a loose shot having reached 33 in the second.
Emilio Gay – 7
A very encouraging debut. Given a freebie to get of the mark in Test cricket, the left-hander fell to a beauty first time round before showing a good mix of skill and grit to make a game-high 57 and put England in a strong position.
Jacob Bethell – 4
After a poor dismissal on day one, there was better application from Bethell in the second and there was nothing he could do after a short-ish ball from Matt Henry scooted along the ground to hit his off stump.
Joe Root – 3
Something of a rarity: two single-figure scores in the same Test for England’s premier batter. Got two good balls but then most could say the same in this match.
Harry Brook – 7
Brook stayed true to Bazball with a counter-attacking half-century to drag England past 100 in the first innings, making the most of his luck after being dropped twice.
Jamie Smith – 6
Recovered from a poor leave that resulted in his off stump being flattened to help steady things after England had lost 4-1 in the second innings with a fluent, by the standards of the match, knock of 39. Tidy behind the stumps.
Ben Stokes – 4
A quiet Test for the skipper. It took a blinding catch from Kane Williamson to dismiss him first time around but he played around a straight one in the second innings. Bowled just seven overs in the match but did make a timely breakthrough to end New Zealand’s brief resistance on the last day.
Gus Atkinson – 8
England’s Lord’s expert. The seamer took a tidy 2-9 in the first innings and followed up with 5-30 in the second – his fourth five-wicket haul in three Tests at the home of cricket. A total of 26 wickets at 9.5 at this ground is quite remarkable.
Ollie Robinson – 8
A triple-wicket maiden in his first over after more than two years out of the side. Comebacks don’t get much better. Robinson could not have asked for a pitch more suited to him and tougher challenges will come, but, with seven wickets in the Test, he couldn’t have done much more to show he is ready to lead the England attack.
Josh Tongue – 7
The third of three frontline seamers this week, perhaps, but another good showing from Tongue. He continues to uproot stumps at an impressive rate and of all the bowlers, his place in the side looks the most secure in the medium-to-long term.
Shoaib Bashir – 5
Back in the XI but Bashir bowled as many balls in this match as he did in the Ashes – zero. However, he made a Test-best 14 with the bat in a useful last-wicket stand in the first innings.
New Zealand
Tom Latham – 3
Three runs in the match but it is the manner of his dismissal in the second innings that stands out. The loosest of loose drives to gift England a wicket on a pitch where bowlers really didn’t need any favours.
Devon Conway – 4
Umpire’s call went against him as Robinson got on a roll first time round but battled hard to make 41 in the second to give the Black Caps a flicker of hope. Two costly drops, one in each innings, knock a mark or two off his score.
Kane Williamson – 3
A Test great but his record in England is iffy and this game didn’t help his numbers . A duck in his first dig followed by 18 in the second. Two matches left in what is likely his final Test tour of England so he’ll hope for better before he’s done.
Rachin Ravindra – 2
A shocker of a Test for the left-hander. A golden duck in the first innings, he dropped two dollies and had his off stump pegged back as he went cheaply second time round.
Daryl Mitchell – 4
England’s kryptonite in previous series, Mitchell gave the hosts a helping hand with a misjudged leave on day one before Robinson got him lbw without scoring between rain delays two days later.
Tom Blundell – 3
Steady with the gloves but with the bat he scored eight runs across two innings and was twice undone by Tongue, albeit there was little he could do either time.
Glenn Phillips – 7
Scores of 34 and 44 not out are big numbers in the context of this game. Tried to put the pressure back on England’s bowlers, particularly in the chase, but with wickets falling around him, there was far too much to do.
Nathan Smith – 8
The least heralded of the New Zealand seamers coming into this match, Smith ended it with nine wickets, including 6-70 in England’s second innings, as he showed his ability to consistently hit a good area and move the ball both ways.
Kyle Jamieson – 8
Back in the team after finally putting his injuries troubles behind him, the big seamer was excellent in getting himself on the honours board with a five-for in the first innings and a few lusty blows with the bat got the Kiwis close to parity on first innings.
Will O’Rourke – 7
A similarly towering stature as Jamieson but around 10mph quicker, O’Rourke is a real handful and will feel he deserved more than his four wickets in the match after a couple of particularly fiery spells.
Matt Henry – 5
Back spasms limited Henry to only four overs in the first innings and meant he was far from 100% as he valiantly bowled 11 overs in the second. Getting him fully fit for the second Test will be a priority for the Black Caps.
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