Gus Atkinson’s love-affair with Lord’s persisted as England defeated New Zealand by 115 runs to win the opening Test on Sunday.
On the fourth day of the 150th Test held at Lord’s, New Zealand, who were 254 to win, were dismissed for 138 before lunch—the highest at any ground.
In the three-match series, England grabbed a 1-0 lead thanks to Surrey pacer Atkinson’s 5-30 performance, his fourth five-wicket haul in three Test matches at Lord’s.
However, fellow seamer Ollie Robinson was named player-of-the-match after taking seven wickets in his first Test match in more than two years. This included a Test-best haul of 5-39, which included a rare triple-wicket maiden, in New Zealand’s pitiful first-innings 113.
“There was a time where I never thought I’d be back on a pitch with England so to get that win for the team is such a special feeling,” AFP quoted Robinson as saying at the presentation ceremony.
Robinson has taken 83 wickets in 21 Test matches at an average of just 21.91 per wicket, so his quality has rarely been questioned. However, concerns about the 32-year-old Sussex captain’s fitness and attitude resulted in a protracted ban from England duty.
“I know that this is just the start and there’s a lot more hard work to be done, but I want to make sure it’s a long career and there won’t be any let-up this time,” added Robinson.
This was England’s first Test match since a 1-4 series defeat in Australia in January, when they were criticized for an excessively aggressive style that prevented them from solidifying strong positions, and many questioned whether Brendon McCullum should continue as coach.
But McCullum, a former New Zealand captain, told the BBC on Sunday: “Our execution with the ball was outstanding, our plans were great. With the bat, I thought we were brave at times and calculated at other times.
“Bravery can be misunderstood, it’s not always running down wicket and banging it into the stands, bravery is about being able to manipulate your stance at the crease, manufacture ones. I thought our boys did a good job with that.”
England’s win also owed much to debutant opener Emilo Gay’s 57 in their second-innings 226, with skipper Ben Stokes saying: “I said to him that these conditions are at the top of the tough end in Test cricket, and the pressure that he was under in the third innings in such a low-scoring game. It was a monumental innings to get us to a lead that we were comfortable with.”
With a seventh-wicket stand of 53, Devon Conway (41) and Glenn Phillips (44 not out) held England at bay, New Zealand’s best in a low-scoring game. On a ground with varying bounce, England still needed just 19 overs to grab the five wickets they needed to win.
“It’s a surface that we weren’t expecting. There were two highly talented bowling attacks that exploited those conditions,” said New Zealand captain Tom Latham.
However, New Zealand did not help themselves with a number of missed opportunities.
“We had those opportunities from a fielding perspective and we weren’t able to capitalise. There are small moments that you have to take and we didn’t take them,” said Latham.
Pacer Josh Tongue dismissed Tom Blundell, changing New Zealand’s overnight score of 55-5 to 58-6. Phillips, the new batter, hit two fours against Robinson.
Then Phillips brought up New Zealand’s hundred by clipping his fifth ball through midwicket for another boundary after Stokes came on. However, Stokes had Conway edging a good-length ball, and Jacob Bethell ended the gutsy innings of the left-handed opener with a fine low catch at gully.
Phillips pulled Tongue for six with defiance, but all he could do was watch as Atkinson finished with 5-30 in 11.3 overs by bowling last man Matt Henry for a duck.
Only three bowlers—England legends Ian Botham, Fred Trueman, and James Anderson—have more five-wicket Test hauls at Lord’s than Atkinson.
The second Test of the series will begin on June 17 at the Oval in London.
