LONDON: England finished day two on 111-2 and trail New Zealand by 267 runs in the first innings of the first Test after Devon Conway’s double ton took the game away from the home side on Thursday.

New Zealand were bowled out for 378 after lunch as England’s fast bowlers cleaned up the middle order and tail but they were left frustrated by number 11 Neil Wagner (25 not out) who helped Conway set his record score.

Conway’s 200 is the highest score on debut at Lord’s and the opener reached the milestone with a six over long leg. He nearly carried his bat but became the last wicket to fall when he was run out by mere millimetres.

In response, England lost two early wickets before tea with Kyle Jamieson trapping Dom Sibley leg before for a duck while Tim Southee had Zak Crawley caught behind but Rory Burns (59 not out) and skipper Joe Root (42 not out) steadied the innings.

The visitors had started the day on 246-3 but lost wickets at regular intervals as Mark Wood picked up three for just seven runs in a fiery spell in the first session while Ollie Robinson finished with 4-75 on his test debut.

Conway’s overnight partner Henry Nicholls was the first to be dismissed for 61 when a quick bouncer from Wood caught him off guard, forcing him instinctively to hook the ball to Robinson at long leg.

The breakthrough ended a patiently constructed 174-run partnership for the fourth wicket before the middle order collapsed.

B.J, Watling lasted only six deliveries, edging Wood to Dom Sibley in the slips, while all-rounders Colin de Grandhomme and Mitchell Santner departed without troubling the scorers.

Robinson nearly got his name on the Lord’s honours board with a fifth wicket but a lofted drive from Southee was dropped by Stuart Broad at mid off. The New Zealand bowler was later caught behind off James Anderson.

Robinson was the pick of the England bowlers but his Test debut was overshadowed by historical racist and sexist tweets coming to light, forcing him to apologise while the ECB initiated an investigation.

Scoreboard

NEW ZEALAND (1st Innings, overnight 246-3):

T.W.M. Latham b Robinson 23

D.P. Conway run out 200

K.S. Williamson b Anderson 13

L.R.P.L. Taylor lbw b Robinson 14

H.M. Nicholls c Robinson b Wood 61

B.J. Watling c Sibley b Wood 1

C. de Grandhomme lbw b Robinson 0

M.J. Santner c Anderson b Wood 0

K.A. Jamieson c Crawley b Robinson 9

T.G. Southee c Bracey b Anderson 8

N. Wagner not out 25

EXTRAS (B-7, LB-15, NB-2) 24

TOTAL (all out, 122.4 overs) 378

FALL OF WKTS: 1-58, 2-86, 3-114, 4-288, 5-292, 6-293, 7-294, 8-317, 9-338.

BOWLING: Anderson 28-7-83-2; Broad 27-5-79-0; Robinson 28-6-75-4 (2nb); Wood 27-8-81-3; Root

12.4-1-38-0.

ENGLAND (1st Innings):

R.J. Burns not out 59

D.P. Sibley lbw b Jamieson 0

Z. Crawley c Watling b Southee 2

J.E. Root not out 42

EXTRAS (B-2, LB-1, NB-5) 8

TOTAL (for two wkts, 43 overs) 111

FALL OF WKTS: 1-4, 2-18.

TO BAT: O.J.D. Pope, D.W. Lawrence, J.R. Bracey, O.E. Robinson, S.C.J. Broad, M.A. Wood, J.M. Anderson.

BOWLING (to-date): Southee 11-4-17-1; Jamieson

10-4-29-1 (1nb); de Grandhomme 9-3-12-0; Wagner

10-1-36-0 (3nb); Santner 3-1-14-0 (1nb).

Published in Dawn, June 4th, 2021