Dugout News: 17 wickets a day, Tribute to Shane Warne, Naseer Hussain on England's tactics
While bowlers were hailed for their skills, former Indian cricketer Wasim Jaffer took a sly dig at pitch conditions. He wrote on Twitter, "When 17 wickets fall in a day at Lord's, talk is about skills of the bowlers. When 17 wickets fall in a day at Ahmedabad, the talk is about conditions"
England and New Zealand players applaud the Late Shane Warne after the 23rd over of the test matchTest Match at its brisk pace but hung in the balance
Test cricket coming back via the Summer of English cricket started with a band, witnessing the fall of 17 wickets for just 248 runs in a day at Lords. Opting to bat first, New Zealand saw a terrible start as England bowlers ruled the new ball. James Anderson and Stuart Broad rolled back the years by taking action in their command. Matthew Potts made a roaring debut, scalping four wickets, including the one of Kane Williamson. Top-four kiwis got dismissed for a single-digit score. The highest score of unbeaten 42 came from the bat of Colin de Grandhomme. However, the complete team fell to the English bowler's trap and got bundled for 132 in 40 overs.
When England came to bat, they got a good start from openers, with Alex Leed and Zak Crawley scoring 25 and 43. But again, bowlers outshined the batters as New Zealand bowlers took seven wickets for 116 runs before the stumps. Seam bowling unit Kyle Jamieson, Tim Southee and Trent Boult took two wickets each.
A day to be remembered for bowlers at Lords
Batting line-up: a concern for Stokes' led England
Former skipper Naseer Hussain feels England has a long journey if they keep following the trial-and-error approach to find a number three batter. He believes England is very far from their best. The Three Lions managed to bundle out visitors for 132, but they too got trapped to slump to 116/7 with the bat at stumps on Day 1.
The Ben Stokes-Brendon McCullum era looked to have a good start in inning one with the ball, but it raised many questions for players with the bat. The return of Anderson and Broad made captaincy look easy for Stokes, but soon the concern of stressed batting hovered.
Naseer Hussain wrote, "No matter how much good work Stokes did in the first half of the day, he was reminded in the second half that England's Test batting is still a big issue. There's plenty of work still to be done - technically, mentally and positionally."
"It was just a pity their old failings with the bat came back to haunt them", he added.
Writing on Ollie Pope being promoted to number three, he wrote, "Having Ollie Pope batting at No 3 for the first time was never going to be straightforward. But this is a structural, long-term problem, and it's not going to be solved overnight. Until that dreadful final session, there were reasons to be cheerful."
Resuming the play, Ben Foakes and Stuart Broad will look to bat long on Day 2 and create a significant lead for their team.
England last won a Test match against New Zealand in 2015, and to much coincidence, the 124-run win took place at the Lord's Cricket Ground. It makes it interesting to see if England makes a comeback from here.
23: Lords pauses to pay tribute to Shane Warne
English cricket paid an emotional tribute to Australian cricket legend Shane Warne during the Test match clash between England and New Zealand. Players from both teams halted the play at the end of the 23rd over. They stood together in silence to offer the leg-spinner applause. A video on the legend was screened on the large screen. The tribute lasted for 23 seconds as Warne used to wear the number 23 jersey in his cricket career. Earlier, a commentary box was renamed in his honour at Lord's.
Sky Sports cricket tweeted, sharing the video played, "After 23 overs, the game pauses for 23 seconds of applause in memory of the great Shane Warne".
Resharing the thread, former Indian cricketer Amit Mishra wrote, "And this is what cricket is all about. Remembering the greats and giving opportunities to the new ones. Such sights makes a cricket fan and a player super proud."
The tribute got circulated across social media overnight, including from die-hard English cricket fans, the Barmy Army. "At the 23rd over, a minute of applause is held for one of the greatest to have graced the game, Shane Warne," the group tweeted.
An unexpected Test debut for Matt Parkinson
The ECB on Thursday announced that leg-spinner Matt Parkinson will replace Jack Leach, who has suffered a concussion. Leach hit his head against the boundary cushion to save a boundary. Showing signs of concussion, he was forced to leave the game mid-way. This led to a temporary replacement call to Parkinson, who wasn't part of the team and had to be bought from Manchester as the squad didn't have any other spinner.
After joining the team, Parkinson will make his Test debut as England's first-ever concussion substitute.