New Zealand were reeling at 61 for 6 at stumps after bowling out England for 140 on a chaotic first day of the first Test at Lord’s on Thursday.
The day belonged to the quicks, with overcast skies, rain interruptions and difficult batting conditions making life miserable for both teams. Not a single over of spin was bowled all day.
England pacer Ollie Robinson stole the show with figures of 4 for 10 from six overs. Playing his first Test since February 2024, Robinson struck three times in his very first over to leave New Zealand reeling.
He trapped Devon Conway lbw, forced Kane Williamson to lob a catch to short leg and then dismissed Rachin Ravindra, reducing the visitors to 9 for 3. Two of those decisions were upheld on umpire’s call, giving umpire Rod Tucker a memorable start to his 100th Test match.
Gus Atkinson then removed New Zealand captain Tom Latham for 3 to make it 12 for 4, while Robinson returned to clean up Daryl Mitchell’s off stump.
Josh Tongue added another blow by dismissing Tom Blundell as New Zealand slipped to 61 for 6 by stumps. The visitors could at least take comfort from avoiding their lowest-ever Test total of 26, recorded in 1955.
Glenn Phillips provided some resistance with an unbeaten 31 at the close, but he was New Zealand’s last recognised batter at the crease.
Earlier in the day, New Zealand’s fast bowlers had dominated after captain Tom Latham won the toss and chose to bowl.
Kyle Jamieson, playing his first Test since February 2024 after recovering from injury, led the charge with 5 for 62. He was well supported by Will O’Rourke (2 wickets) and Nathan Smith (3 wickets).
England lost debutant Emilio Gay early before collapsing from 31 for 1 to 34 for 4 after lunch. Nathan Smith trapped Ben Duckett lbw, while O’Rourke dismissed Jacob Bethell and Joe Root, who edged behind for just one run.
Harry Brook fought back and scored a fluent half-century. He survived two dropped catches and reached fifty off 64 balls, but eventually fell after hitting Nathan Smith straight to fine leg.
Ben Stokes, playing on his 35th birthday, looked set for a useful partnership with Brook before Kane Williamson produced a brilliant one-handed catch in the slips to dismiss the England captain.
Jamieson completed his five-wicket haul when he dismissed Robinson, earning his first Test five-for since helping New Zealand win the inaugural World Test Championship final against India in 2021.
England’s last-wicket pair of Tongue and Shoaib Bashir added a valuable 22 runs, helping the hosts reach 140. Those extra runs looked even more important by the end of a day when New Zealand’s batting collapsed under similar conditions.
