LONDON, June 3: England seamer Martin Saggers took a wicket with his first Test ball on home soil before rain and bad light limited New Zealand to 41 for one on the first day of the second Test at Headingley on Thursday.

The Kent bowler, playing in his second Test, bowled New Zealand opener Mark Richardson for 13 and swung the ball more than the other England bowlers in his two overs. He was called into the squad on Wednesday and took the place of Simon Jones, who was ruled out of the Test on Thursday with a foot injury.

Only 19 overs were bowled in total on a frustrating day for both sides which ended early because of bad light. Michael Papps was unbeaten on 24 and Stephen Fleming, who recovered from an ear infection to play, was three not out.

Play had started two hours late after persistent rain at the Leeds venue and the players were forced from the field after 17 overs when the rain returned. Papps, in the side in place of the injured Craig McMillan, survived two dropped catches during the truncated day when he was on 15 and 20.

Mark Butcher first missed a difficult chance in the slips when the ball only just carried and Graham Thorpe then spilled an easier catch at chest height off Matthew Hoggard. Papps also escaped a run out when first Test centurion Andrew Strauss failed to hit the stumps from close in.

England captain Michael Vaughan won the toss and elected to field in a bid to exploit the overcast conditions. His wife is due to give birth during the Test and New Zealand have said they will allow England to play a substitute fielder if Vaughan dashes off to witness the birth.

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